October 10, 2024 • 54 mins
A year and a half ago, Peloton Producer Jessie Malone’s life took a dramatic turn when her Apple Watch alerted her that she was going into AFib (Atrial fibrillation) and needed to go to the emergency room right away. The shock of that moment and subsequent hospital stay led her to make profound changes in her life, including running her first marathon on the anniversary of her hospitalization. Now, Jessie is preparing to run the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon as part of her continued journey toward health and is raising money for the American Heart Association. Listen to her amazing story of transformation.
Then Meb joins the podcast for this week's Meb Minutes, and to interview our Member of the Week, 2024 Team Inspire member Ido Simyoni.
LINKS:
Jessie's TCS NYC Marathon Fundraising Page at AHA
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rob Simmelkjaer (00:00):
New York Road Runners is a non- profit organization with
a vision to build healthier lives and stronger communities through
the transformative power of running. The support of members and
donors like you helps us achieve our mission to transform
the health and well- being of our communities through inclusive
and accessible running experiences, empowering all to achieve their potential.
(00:21):
Learn more and contribute at nyrr. org/ donate.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Thank you, New York. Today, we're reminded of the power
of community and the power of coming together. Athletes, on
your mark.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
The first woman to finish, for the second straight year,
here in the New York City Marathon is Miki Gorman, a
smiling Miki Gorman. And why not? 2
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Look at the emotion of Shalane Flanagan as she comes to
the line.
Speaker 5 (00:57):
Pointing to his chest, pointing to the USA he so
proudly wears across his chest, a great day for Matt Kablowski.
Rob Simmelkjaer (01:10):
Hey everybody, and welcome to Set the Pace, presented by
Peloton. We are the official podcast of New York Road
Runners. I'm the CEO of New York Road Runners Rob
Simmelkjaer, and with me, my in deep, deep training mode,
but now maybe slightly injured co- host, Becs Gentry. Hello,
Rebecca. How are you today?
Rebecca Gentry (01:30):
I am on the mend. I'm on the mend.
Rob Simmelkjaer (01:35):
Yeah, I hear you had a little bit of a
disagreement with the end of your bed. I hate it
when those happen.
Rebecca Gentry (01:39):
I did. And for those of you who know me, as Rob
does, I'm a clumsy soul. I move in one plane
of movement, and I can do that well.
Rob Simmelkjaer (01:52):
Straight ahead?
Rebecca Gentry (01:52):
Straight ahead, yeah. Yeah. My proprioception's not great, so I
don't pay attention to what's around me. And my bed
was in the way, and I needed it not to be
in the way. Because I needed to get to the blinds
to close them. And yeah, the bed didn't want to
move and my foot went into it. And I was in
(02:13):
a rush, so it wasn't smooth.
Rob Simmelkjaer (02:15):
Who among us has not had an unpleasant encounter with the end of their
bed? Been there many times. How bad is it? Are
you limping? Is it affecting your running?
Rebecca Gentry (02:23):
I couldn't walk. Couldn't walk. Yeah. The crack and crunch
I heard on Sunday brought me down onto the bed
with a big scream, of which then Tallulah was screaming
downstairs, because she heard mama scream. And I think it was probably
the first time. And I tried to walk on it,
(02:44):
because we were going straight to the park. And as
a parent, you're like, " I'm fine, we need to go to the
park." And did that. And then, as the day went
on, it just started to grow in size, and yeah,
the colors are Halloween- esque on my foot right now.
Rob Simmelkjaer (03:03):
Well, it is the season, so you got that going
for you. Yeah.
Rebecca Gentry (03:05):
Yep. But honestly, day by day, it's gotten better. Sunday
afternoon, evening was just, there was a lot of pain. I was
very concerned. By Monday morning, the colors have brightened or
deepened, I don't know what's the right way to say,
but the ice and the swelling, the RICE situation, as
(03:26):
we call it in the sports world, rest, ice, recover essentially
has been great. Yesterday, I kept off it, and today,
I can walk. I'm teaching a walking class today. I'm
going to see how that goes. And I'm going to
get some acupuncture and be a good person and rest.
And I'm hoping I'll be back to running, we'll see
(03:47):
about tomorrow, but I'm hoping Thursday, I'll be back.
Rob Simmelkjaer (03:50):
All right, well, yeah, we hope you do. This definitely sounds like a
fairly high degree of bed injury. Sometimes, they're worse than
others. This sounds like it was a rough one. So hope you recover quickly
from that. I know I've certainly been there.
Rebecca Gentry (04:04):
I'm just thankful I'm not running Chicago this weekend.
Rob Simmelkjaer (04:07):
Seriously. And by the way, that's a good segue to
say good luck to everybody who's making the trip over
to the Windy City to run the Bank of America
Chicago Marathon, the second fall marathon in the Abbott World Marathon
Majors series. You know, Chicago is a fun one. The
(04:27):
thing I hear most about it, I haven't run it
yet, but it's just easy. And I don't just mean,
no marathon's easy, but obviously, it's relatively flat, pretty flat,
similar maybe to what we had in Berlin on the
flatness scale. And of course, there was a world record
set in Chicago just a year ago on the men's side. But then,
(04:48):
also, ease of kind of usability. Lot of people, if
you're visiting Chicago and you're staying in that downtown loop
area near the lake and all that, Miracle Mile, it's
pretty easy to get to the starting line from your
hotel, do that run, get back and you're pretty much
right in the same place. You can walk right back
(05:08):
to your hotel. So those loop courses, like Berlin and
Chicago, they have something to be said for them. You're
not getting on a bus at 5
of course, we all love our New York City Marathon
bus ride to Staten Island. We all love going across
the Verrazzano or taking the ferry.
Rebecca Gentry (05:23):
Exactly. It's part of it.
Rob Simmelkjaer (05:25):
It's part of the experience. So it's New York, you
got to want it, but Chicago definitely is a little
bit easier from that point of view. But everybody, good
luck out there this weekend. It should be a great,
great weekend. Always is.
Rebecca Gentry (05:37):
And Rob, how about you? How has your recovery been since your
phenomenal performance at Chicago?
Rob Simmelkjaer (05:45):
At Berlin, you mean. I want to tell you that I just enjoyed an absolutely fantastic
week of sitting on my you know what. I did not do anything. I took
that flight back from Berlin, which was painful. And then,
the next day and the next day I was still
feeling the quads, especially going down any stairs, and I
(06:08):
didn't do any of the things people will tell you,
go do a little run, go do massage, go do
whatever. I just sat on my backside and didn't do
much of anything, and it was amazing. And now, I
actually feel great. I did my first kind of workout
in quite a while this morning. We're here recording on
(06:28):
Tuesday, and I'm feeling great. So now, yeah, we'll see.
I'll just kind of ease back into some running. We
have the Staten Island Half this weekend. I will not
be running that, but I think I'll be there cheering
folks on. But I'll probably start to ease back into
some running and some races pretty soon. And the next
one I've got circled in my mind is the Ted
Corbitt 15K in December. That's such a fun race, such
(06:52):
a nice distance.
Rebecca Gentry (06:54):
It really is. Remind me what date that is.
Rob Simmelkjaer (06:56):
It's in December. I don't remember the exact date off
of hand, but it's in December. And it's one of
our special races, one that is really popular, in Central
Park. People love it. So that's probably the next one,
I think, I'll take on. Obviously going to be busy
the next few weeks as we get ready for the
one and only TCS New York City Marathon, which is
(07:18):
coming up fast and furious. And we are hoping everybody
out there is having good training. By the way, we
did have a race this past weekend, the Jersey City
5K. We were thrilled to head back out to Newport.
We had over 4, 100 runners cross the finish line. Congratulations
to the winners on Sunday. For the men, it was
Jared Moore with the time of 15
(07:41):
pretty flat course. A lot of our fast runners like
to go out and take that one on. For the
women, it was Alosha Southern. She came in at 17:25.
And in the non- binary category, yet again, Sofia Camacho
Ferral. We have seen their name a lot on this podcast. 16:
53 for Sofia. So congratulations to everybody who completed Jersey City.
Rebecca Gentry (08:05):
Oh my goodness, what incredible results and it seems like
we've had a huge amount of things to celebrate and
look forward to and hear results of. And yet, there is
still so much, if not the best, yet to come.
Rob Simmelkjaer (08:20):
A hundred percent. And by that, of course, you mean
the TCS New York City Marathon, 26 days away as
we record this on Tuesday, October 8th.
Rebecca Gentry (08:31):
26?
Rob Simmelkjaer (08:31):
26 days from today.
Rebecca Gentry (08:32):
Oh, that makes me so nervous.
Rob Simmelkjaer (08:33):
24 for those listening to the podcast on Thursday, so it'll
be getting even closer. But yeah, it's here, and I
know the nerves are starting to ramp up. And most
folks are kind of probably peaking out, I guess, in
terms of their training. So I wish them all luck
as they get closer and closer to their tapers. But
this week is another big milestone for the marathon season,
(08:57):
Becs. And it's the announcement of 2024's Team Inspire. And
in case you don't know, Team Inspire is what it
sounds like. We have 26 members this year, and they
present a snapshot of the full TCS New York City
Marathon field from first- time marathoners to charity runners to
(09:17):
seasoned veterans. But what makes them special is they all
have an incredible story, that reminds us why New York
City is the best city in the world, of course,
and why the TCS New York City Marathon is the
single best day of the year in New York City.
Becs, I always say we have 50,000 inspiring stories at
the starting line of the marathon every single year. And
(09:40):
if we pick out the best 26, they are unbelievable,
feature film worthy stories. And these 26 are going to
inspire us all over the next 30 or so days.
As we get closer and closer to the start of
the marathon, you'll see their stories on social media, on
television, and of course, right here on Set the Pace,
(10:00):
where we'll have many of them featured throughout the next
few weeks.
Rebecca Gentry (10:04):
Our guest today not only has a great story, but
she is a personal friend and colleague of mine. Jessie
Malone is a producer at Peloton, whose life took a
dramatic turn when her Apple Watch alert led her to
a hospital bed. And then, one year later, Jessie ran
her first marathon. Coming up, we'll hear all about how
(10:26):
Jessie has turned her life around and what is ahead.
Rob Simmelkjaer (10:29):
Can't wait to talk to Jessie. She's got an incredible
story, Becs. And also, for this week's member moment, Meb is
going to interview one of the members of Team Inspire, Ido
Simyoni. Like Jessie, Ido has spent more time in hospital
beds lately than he would like, but it didn't stop
him from running his 14th marathon one week ago with
(10:49):
me in Berlin. And he's also got his sights set
on his 15th marathon on November 3rd here in New
York. Can't wait to hear from Ido and Meb. And
of course, Meb will then continue his countdown to the
marathon with his tips for week 13 of training. It's
all about the taper. Stay tuned for Meb a little
(11:10):
bit later on.
Rebecca Gentry (11:11):
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(11:34):
step of the way, all access membership separate. Learn more
about Peloton Tread at onepeloton.com/ running. Peloton, the official digital
fitness partner for New York Road Runners. All right, today,
our guest is Jessie Malone. She is a producer at
Peloton, who went from managing a fast- paced life in
(11:54):
New York City to advocating for heart health, after a
very personal crisis. About a year and a half ago,
Jessie received an unexpected alert from her Apple Watch. And
the shock of that moment and subsequent hospital stay led
her to make profound changes in her life, including running
her first marathon on the anniversary of her hospitalization. Now,
(12:16):
Jessie is preparing to run the 2024 TCS New York
City Marathon, as part of her continued journey towards health.
And Jessie joins us here today to talk about the wake-
up call that set her on this new path on
her training and what it means to truly change your
life. Jessie, hi. Thanks for joining us.
Jessie Malone (12:37):
Thanks for having me. Hey, Rob.
Rebecca Gentry (12:39):
We are so excited to have you here today. When the
New York Road Runners team and I were talking about inspirational beings
around the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon, your name was high,
maybe even the highest, up there for me personally, and I
thought it would be remiss of us to not have
(13:01):
you on the podcast to share with the Set the
Pace listeners your story. Because everything about you is, I'm
biased, I love you, I adore you, you're one of my good friends,
but everything about you is truly magnificent, your past history
on Broadway and your personal music, to just the nature
(13:24):
that you are. And then, you add in your last
18 months of life, and it's extraordinary, the changes that
you have personally made. So let's start at, can we
start pre- Apple Watch alert? Let's start at, let's explain
who Jessie was before, because I think that's a really
(13:46):
good understanding to capture the whole journey to where Jessie
is today.
Jessie Malone (13:51):
Sure, yeah, I started working at Peloton about five years
ago, and I was on the facilities team. So I
guess I'll just start there. That's what started my 5:
00 AM morning wake- ups and getting to work. So
yeah, over the past five years, it's just been really
early mornings, working really long days, because I was working
(14:14):
multiple jobs. New York City. The dogs are barking, they agree.
Rebecca Gentry (14:18):
They're agreeing with you. Long days.
Jessie Malone (14:19):
Long days, got to pay the bills. And my main
focus just was work, not really even considering my health
as part of the mix. So leading up to this, I was
definitely burning the candle. I just kind of threw it
(14:40):
into the fireplace at that point.
Rob Simmelkjaer (14:44):
It's interesting, actually, when you think about that, you're working
really hard, long hours, focused on only work, not fitness,
not health, at Peloton. So there's some irony that you're
working in this health- focused place, but not thinking about
your own health, which, by the way, can happen. I
(15:05):
work really long hours at New York Road Runners. I
make sure to try to balance it out, but I
can see how that could happen. So okay, you're in
this place, and then, what does your Apple Watch have
to say about that?
Jessie Malone (15:19):
The irony of the fitness job is not lost on
me, because even part of my job as a producer
is making sure that the talent is in good shape,
everyone feels comfortable and great. But it's also finding clips
from class that are really inspirational. Like, " Oh, the members
will love this. This is great for the members," not me, "
(15:39):
This is great for everyone else." But yeah, I was on a
Citi Bike about a year and a half ago, just
riding back to my apartment on an electric bike, and
my Apple Watch flagged that my resting heart rate was
over 160. And I had never gotten an alert like that on
my watch. So I was like, " What? Okay, that's a bit
odd." I wasn't feeling great, but I was just like, " Let me
(16:01):
just get home." And I got 20 more blocks, and
then, it started blaring. It was like, " You've gone into
Afib, your heart rate is still over 160. You need
to seek medical attention." It was vibrating and saying, pretty much, "
Get to an emergency room." And luckily, I live catty-
(16:22):
corner to a hospital, so I just docked the bike,
I docked the bike, I texted my best friend, just
being like, " Listen, I don't know what's going on here,
but I'm just going to pop into the emergency room
just to check." Just because I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel
like I was in a really bad situation. I walked
(16:44):
into the emergency room, they took the vitals, and they
immediately took action. I guess it was a code, because
I was headed towards, they were saying it was either a
cardiac arrest or a stroke.
Rob Simmelkjaer (16:59):
Oh my god.
Jessie Malone (17:00):
Yeah. And I've never even taken TYLENOL for a headache.
So they were rolling me back and putting the defib
pads on me. And at that point, I called my friend,
because she was like, " Are you okay? What's going on?" And
I was like, " Listen, I don't know if this is
an emergency." I was just in shock, and the doctor
(17:25):
was like, " This is an emergency, she needs to get
down here. You need to call your family." And then,
they started asking questions like, " Has anyone in your family
ever died suddenly from a cardiac event or an unknown
cause?" And I was like, " No, can it not be me?"
Rob Simmelkjaer (17:45):
Wow.
Jessie Malone (17:46):
And I was trying to make light of it, because that's just my personality. And I was like, "
Are we good?"
Rob Simmelkjaer (17:55):
I just want to say, before, Becs, you ask the next question, and
I'm not trying to make so much light of this,
but I can't believe Apple Watch is capable of that.
And by the way, they're not a sponsor. We have
no relationship with Apple. I had no idea that the
Apple Watch could give an alert like that about, " You're
going into Afib," and have it be correct. That's incredible.
Jessie Malone (18:21):
I didn't know either. I got the watch, because I've got
the production assistant job and was like, " I need to be
on time." So I needed a digital proper launch. So
thanks for the promotion, Peloton...
Rebecca Gentry (18:35):
I was going to say in a roundabout way. In a roundabout way, the health company did actually
save your life.
Jessie Malone (18:41):
Yeah.
Rebecca Gentry (18:41):
It is that the whole story still brings tears into
my eyes, because I'm like, " Oh my god." There's a
big group of us who are all very good friends.
Jessie has been in our lives for a long time.
And I think it was only until I spoke to
Sims that I was like, " Oh my goodness, this is
(19:02):
really serious. She's in hospital." And the level of urgency
that your Apple Watch propelled you to take note of
is huge. That day, if you hadn't have docked that
bike and just you say that you're a very, very
(19:23):
fun person, you are, but you're also very sensible. And
I think having that way about you, to be like, "
I'm just going to pop in and double check what this
watch is saying and the truth behind it," saved your
life and put you on this trajectory now of training
for your second marathon. And I know, after you had
(19:49):
procedures, the hospital team were trying to find out, because
they didn't give you an exact diagnosis from the get- go.
Jessie Malone (19:57):
Right. Right. Because there are plenty of things that can cause
Afib. So after I had the procedure, the following day,
they were able to get my heart rate down to around 130 and
just monitored me for a full day. Because sometimes, your
heart will just go back naturally into its regular rhythm,
but mine didn't. So I ended up having a procedure
(20:18):
the next day. And after that, you wake up the
next morning. And it's scary, because you're like, " Is this
going to come back?" Because we don't know what caused
it exactly. So it was a lot of tests. They
tested for sleep apnea, but after doing a lot more
(20:39):
research about it, it was lifestyle.
Rob Simmelkjaer (20:44):
Too much work, not enough rest, not exercise, that kind
of thing?
Jessie Malone (20:49):
Yeah, also being overweight is a huge, huge part of
it. Not getting enough sleep, not eating well, way too
much caffeine. Yeah, I was literally doing all of the things wrong. I've
got decaf right now.
Rob Simmelkjaer (21:10):
Yeah. I'm showing her my cup of coffee here, just to point that little
issue out, yep.
Rebecca Gentry (21:14):
And I'm going to go with my water.
Jessie Malone (21:18):
Yes.
Rebecca Gentry (21:18):
But that's the thing, it takes a moment, because you
slip into habit. And we can slip into good habit
and we can slip into bad habit. Unfortunately, for you, the "
bad habit" was essentially survival, because as you said, you
were working multiple jobs, you're also a musician. So you were
at performances, gigs, on top of that, doing the things
(21:41):
in New York that you do, where you will go and enjoy the city. You're not
going to live here and not enjoy it. So you're out late,
you're up early, on repeat. And so, once the procedure
took place and all of the tests kind of kept coming
back not inconclusive, because I know that they gave you
(22:01):
guidance to help you on this path, but they didn't
give you a definitive answer of, " This is what's happening.
And this is what is going to change in the
future," or, " This is how we're going to change your
heart," or whatever it was. So you took it essentially
into your own hands of, " What can I do?" And so, what kickstarted you there?
Jessie Malone (22:22):
Right. Well, it's kind of really hard news to hear
that you're the cause of this problem, but it's also
the best news. Because great, I can get myself out
of this. I can make these changes. And I just
remember laying there, and I was like, " I will never be in
(22:45):
this position again, if I have anything to do with
it." So just off the bat, it was like things
we're giving up, caffeine, which was actually the hardest part
was giving up caffeine. Gave up caffeine. I was like, "
There's going to be no drinking," because that can contribute
to Afib. And then, I was like, " I need to
(23:08):
take my health as seriously as I take work." So
I was like, " If I set myself up on a
really good schedule and prioritize my health and my heart
has to be priority number one." So that's where it
started. It was basically started meal prepping and then, slowly
(23:30):
integrating movement. So the first thing, the first two days,
I was just at home on the couch, my parents
came, so it was just movies and crying. And then, Jess and
I went on a walk around the block with the
dogs, and I've never been more scared in my life
(23:52):
to go on a walk. Because I was like, " Am I okay? What's this going
to feel like? Is getting my heart rate up even
safe?" So yeah, I just started really, really slow, as far
as movement goes, and then, went from there.
Rob Simmelkjaer (24:14):
Of course, I have to ask, when did running get
into the mix? And when did this idea of not
just doing a bit of running, but running a marathon,
even get into your head? I am fascinated by that,
because a year after, the actual one- year anniversary or
so of this event, you end up running your first
(24:36):
marathon. How did that even get to be planted in
your mind?
Jessie Malone (24:41):
So that happened about six months in, because I slowly,
slowly was taking classes on the Peloton bike. Because I
had my heart rate monitor on. I felt safe that I
could see the number on the screen. That just felt
really good to me. And just I needed to build
muscle, and I was also losing weight at the same
(25:04):
time. So my six- month checkup is when I kind
of got out of the woods, even as far as
they were thinking maybe I might need a pacemaker. So
I got out of the woods for the pacemaker. I
was feeling good, as far as my training was going,
and I asked, I was like, " Can I push this
(25:25):
and do something big, let's say, a marathon?" And my
cardiologist gave the thumbs up. He was like I had
to go for checkups often, and if something wasn't feeling right,
then I would have to check in and say, " Okay,
this is not going to happen." But he kind of
(25:46):
gave me the green light. I called my best friend,
Jess, and I said, " Listen, I'm going to do a
marathon in six months. I'm going to do it the one year
from the hospital discharge." And I just wanted to map
it out myself in New York and just make it
kind of like a victory lap. And she was like, "
No, you have to sign up for a real marathon.
It's so exciting." She was like, " The energy from the crowd."
(26:10):
And me, I've only ever seen New York City. So
I was like, " Every marathon has a huge crowd and
there's energy." So I just signed up for one, that
was the date I wanted, I found it, and I
didn't really do research. Because I thought they were all
the same.
Rob Simmelkjaer (26:24):
Where was it?
Jessie Malone (26:25):
It was on the Potomac River in the middle of nowhere on a trail.
Rob Simmelkjaer (26:30):
Oh, a trail marathon. Yeah, I've heard of that marathon actually.
Rebecca Gentry (26:35):
In the pouring rain as well.
Jessie Malone (26:35):
In the pouring rain.
Rebecca Gentry (26:36):
The absolute pouring rain.
Jessie Malone (26:38):
Yeah, it ended up being perfect. But yeah, I signed up and then, took it from there.
Rebecca Gentry (26:46):
You did. And you owned it. Before the heart issue, you
ran, you took classes, we had multiple conversations, but weirdly,
and I always think back to this, you kept having
leg issues, there was your ankle. And in hindsight, I
(27:09):
always think to myself, was that a sign from your
body of like, " Don't push it too hard in the
run. I'm not going to let her push it too
hard in the run, because it's dangerous?" And all these
things that came together to then allow you to get
healed, work on yourself, mentally and physically, and then, be
(27:30):
able to push, because you haven't had any issues really
with your legs since?
Jessie Malone (27:35):
No, none.
Rebecca Gentry (27:36):
So that just always is on my mind. Whenever I
see you running your 20 miles or when I saw
you run your marathon, and you are so diligent with
your training as well, whether it's combination training, getting on
the Peloton bike and on the Tread to get cardio
(27:56):
in. And you trained through winter for your first marathon,
which I think is a huge accomplishment, and shout outs
to all the people out there who do that, who
train for a spring race through an East Coast winter.
Because it's miserable, it's difficult.
Jessie Malone (28:16):
Not cute.
Rebecca Gentry (28:16):
And you're like, " Hold on, I don't even know why I
am doing this, because I've never done this before." So
you did it. And talk us through that day, driving
to Washington with Jess and the dogs. And what were
you feeling?
Jessie Malone (28:33):
I was honestly just excited. I had gotten a text
from Sal, was someone also that we work with, and
she kind of put it into perspective for me where
she was just like, " You've already done all of the
work. This is just, you're going to finish, this is
just a celebration and you should just be so proud
of yourself." So it kind of put my mind at
(28:55):
ease like, " Yes, I did do all the work." And it was the perfect day.
It was raining, it had flooded the night before, so there were a
lot of puddles. And it was kind of muck and
rocky. I had my watch on, obviously, so I was
able to get texts from people. And I just kept
(29:17):
getting the right text at the right time. I think,
mile 18, I had a moment where I was just by
myself, just woods around, and I was like, " What am
I doing? What am I doing here?" And I just started thinking about the
whole year and where I was the year prior. And
(29:41):
it's just crazy. And I got a text from Jess
King just saying, " There's going to be a point here
where your mind is going to tell you you can't, but
you absolutely can. And we all love you and support
you." And I was like sobbing. It was kind of like
(30:07):
the perfect, I would call it, like a bookmark, on
a really crazy emotional year.
Rebecca Gentry (30:18):
Finishing it, just getting to that point on the soggy,
muddy river path with friends and family there, wearing the
Jessie Malone T- shirts and even Sienna Grace and Shai
were at...
Jessie Malone (30:34):
Yep, my kids.
Rebecca Gentry (30:36):
Your kids, the dogs, were there celebrating. And those of us
who couldn't make it, I was in Miami and I
was bawling my eyes out, just seeing the videos coming
in and so, so proud of you. And everything that
took for you to get there that day was huge.
(30:59):
And for you, what was that feeling, just seeing everyone
there that day?
Jessie Malone (31:05):
Oh God, it was incredible. I could cry right now (inaudible)
. It was absolutely incredible. It was absolutely incredible the
amount of support, because just deciding to do it first
and I didn't tell anyone until a month before. Because
we weren't sure what was going on or if I
(31:26):
was going to be able to do it. There's always
that question in the air. But I got a month
out, and that's when I really told everyone. And just
the amount of support. And it's also, obviously, it's easy
to see now in hindsight that I think training for
a marathon is the ultimate act of self- love. You have
(31:50):
to show up for yourself every single day, whether it's
in your training or your recovery or your nutrition, the
way you're eating, the way you're sleeping. You have to
prioritize yourself training for a marathon. So in hindsight, I
think it was the best thing I could have done
at that point in time for me.
Rob Simmelkjaer (32:11):
I love that. I may, Jessie, have to use that somewhere, "
Training for a marathon is the ultimate act of self- love."
It makes a lot of sense. It really, really does.
And having just gone through it, I feel that it's
pretty accurate. So amazing. Okay, so you went from running
a marathon to now being less than a month from
(32:36):
running, let's just say it, the marathon, the TCS New York
City Marathon, which is on your horizons. How are you
feeling about November 3rd? How has this training block been going?
Jessie Malone (32:51):
I can't wait. I can't wait. I just did the 20
Miler yesterday. Training for this one has been so much
easier than training for the first one, because I had a
good base. My speeds, which is I don't care how
fast anyone runs, it's just about spending the time and
(33:15):
getting it done. But just the time commitment before was
insane, because I couldn't go above a four. So I
was shuffling through my 16 miles, it was taking hours.
So even the time aspect, I feel much more confident in
my health and being able to. And I'm running the
(33:35):
New York City Marathon with the American Heart Association team.
So that just adds another layer of just, I just
feel so lucky to be a part of the team
and raising money. And every run just, I cry all
the time when I run. It's like I meditate, I
(33:58):
cry, feel so much joy, dance. But being able to
do that with the American Heart Association just means so
much to me.
Rebecca Gentry (34:07):
You've really upped the fundraising. I know you had a
fundraising event over the weekend of music night, where Jessie
sang and my babysitter couldn't make it. Anyway, that's my
personal annoyance. But when you've been on morning TV shows,
you've been a guest for multiple people talking about this,
(34:32):
and I think the mantra that you put out there
is something that a lot of people have latched onto
and you came up with it and this is what
you say, " If you want your life to change, you have to change your life." You're
going to kick me, and not that you're here, but it's so simple,
(34:53):
but it is like groundbreakingly true. And I think that
is what people miss, because without a doubt, look at
Jessie Malone two years ago from the outside, fun loving.
Your life may have looked amazing to so many people
out there, but little did they know and little did you know
(35:16):
that bubbling underneath was something different. And you have made
this change and your life now is so much more
vibrant and strong in many ways. And so, what, for
you, do you think has been the biggest mental challenge
(35:38):
in all of this change?
Jessie Malone (35:42):
Well, I think about this a lot, because I started working with a life coach. Because all
the change is a lot to navigate. So I was like, "
Okay, I need help and an outsider's perspective," because it's
so simple to say, " Okay, I'm not drinking caffeine anymore.
I'm not going to eat like crap." But you can't
just flip a switch and say, " I care about myself.
(36:08):
I'm going to take the time." So the biggest mental
hurdle was self- love, and it's still something I think
a lot of people work through. But the running, the community,
the getting stronger, it's all part of it.
Rebecca Gentry (36:29):
And it's amazing. It is unreal and amazing. You've raised
over $ 8, 000 right now. I guess that may have
gone up over the weekend, has it?
Jessie Malone (36:41):
Yeah, I think we're getting close to 9, 000, which is so cool.
Rebecca Gentry (36:43):
It's so, so cool. And in doing that, talk to us
a little bit about how being involved with Peloton has
sort of helped you raise awareness for what you're doing.
Jessie Malone (37:01):
Right. Well, being a part of Peloton is, well, because I had that kind of outsider's
perspective from the inside, I wasn't necessarily felt like I
was in the community. I felt like I worked there,
I loved, loved, loved the company, but now, I feel
(37:21):
like I'm also a member. So just the support, and I
keep saying support, but it's just so true. It's like
our Peloton community is incredible. I get to meet a
lot of the members and a lot of people have
these stories where they're like, " I felt kind of alone
(37:45):
starting on this fitness journey, but I got a Peloton
and I'm on the Facebook group." And I'm hearing all
these stories, and I'm like, " Wait, me too." But I worked
here, but now I'm taking classes with people. I'm in a
Power Zone group. It's just fun to talk about what
(38:05):
you're doing, how you're getting there, how it's having this
positive impact in your life. And people are just, they
hear the story, people are following my... I started posting
running things on Instagram, so people are like, " Oh gosh,
I saw that this morning and I was like, "You know what? I've got to get up and go for my run.""
Rob Simmelkjaer (38:25):
Now, you're a running influencer. Look up and there you are. It's
funny how you can tell. You can tell when people have gotten into running.
Their Instagram feeds totally change.
Jessie Malone (38:36):
Oh gosh.
Rob Simmelkjaer (38:37):
They go from the dinner they were at, the restaurant,
the bar, the whatever, and all of a sudden, you start
seeing all these Strava posts or they're always in running
clothes at a finish line somewhere. So I've seen that
transition in people's feeds.
Jessie Malone (38:54):
Yeah, it went from like a picture of a martini
glass to now just my legs in the Normatecs.
Rob Simmelkjaer (39:05):
That's the true sign. That's the true sign of a running transformation. And I'm just curious,
so going back to your Apple Watch for a second...
Rebecca Gentry (39:12):
Rob's getting one tonight.
Rob Simmelkjaer (39:12):
I have one, but I think I don't wear it all the time. I'm going
to start wearing it at least one day a week
now, just to make sure I'm not having a heart attack.
Jessie Malone (39:23):
It's crazy.
Rob Simmelkjaer (39:24):
Have you seen, Jessie, the actual physical manifestations, like your resting
heart rate now, for instance, or what it feels like
to walk upstairs or those kinds of changes that you
can now look and say, " Oh yeah, this has made
a real difference?"
Jessie Malone (39:42):
Yeah. And it's so cool. I have lost over, I'm close to 115
pounds down. It's been like a year and a half.
Rob Simmelkjaer (39:52):
I'm sorry, can you say that again? You have lost
how much?
Jessie Malone (39:57):
115, a hundred and fifteen.
Rob Simmelkjaer (39:57):
Oh my gosh.
Jessie Malone (40:00):
Yeah, in like a year and a half. Yeah, it's kind of crazy.
Rob Simmelkjaer (40:04):
That's amazing.
Jessie Malone (40:05):
It's so cool, because wearing the watch the entire time,
my VO2 max was well below average. It was like
a 24, but now, it's up to like a 42. So now,
I'm above average. So seeing the chart, I look at
it every couple of months like, " Yeah."
Rebecca Gentry (40:26):
Wow.
Jessie Malone (40:26):
But yeah, my resting heart rate now is in the fifties.
Rob Simmelkjaer (40:34):
Those are all great numbers. Yeah, those are the numbers
of a healthy, active person. So what can one say
but congratulations? It's just amazing. So Jessie, I give a
speech at the beginning of the marathon every year. Every
year, this will be my second year as CEO doing it.
And so, I'm curious if you could give a little
(40:56):
speech for folks now who are running the marathon this
year, if they're first timers like yourselves or people who
have gone through things, what would you say to runners
who are taking on this challenge in November?
Jessie Malone (41:10):
I would say there's just so much excitement, and we
all know, when you go out on a long run, there are
moments of it that suck. You're not going to feel
amazing all the time, but you're doing it for yourself.
The day showed up and you showed up and you're going to get
it done, so enjoy it even when it doesn't feel
(41:33):
the best. Because the finish line is well worth it.
Rebecca Gentry (41:38):
Love that.
Jessie Malone (41:39):
Yeah, it's such a blessing. Yeah, it's such a blessing to be able
to show up.
Rebecca Gentry (41:43):
It is. And it's true what they say, the finish
line is the start line for something new. And that
is hugely true for you, after finishing your first marathon
on the banks of the Potomac, I can never say
it, River, to the greatest marathon in the world and
(42:05):
having the city that tried to bring you down, but
is also now raising you up higher than ever before,
cheering for you on that day is going to be
unreal. I can't wait. I cannot wait to see you do it. I can't
wait for all of your running influencer posts over the
next few weeks, because seeing Jessie on taper tantrums is
(42:30):
going to be quite amusing.
Jessie Malone (42:36):
I know you're here for it, Becs. I know you're here for all of it.
Rebecca Gentry (42:36):
I'm here for all of it. You know I am here for all the support
and all the cheering. We'll be waiting at that finish
line for absolute sure.
Rob Simmelkjaer (42:45):
Jessie, amazing. Amazing story, and we thank you for sharing
it with us. And just wishing you all the best
on November 3rd. I hope it's a great, great day.
I promise you one thing, it will be different than
your trail marathon at the Potomac. You'll feel things that
you did not feel on that trail. So I think
(43:06):
it's going to be special for you. Can't wait to
see you at the finish line.
Jessie Malone (43:10):
Thank you. I can't wait for your speech.
Rob Simmelkjaer (43:13):
I'm going to channel. I'm going to channel some of
this. I love some of the messaging, and it really is
great stuff. You've got a great message. So wish you
all the best. Congratulations, and good luck.
Jessie Malone (43:24):
Thank you. Thank you both.
Rob Simmelkjaer (43:39):
For today's Member Moment, Meb welcomes a member of Team
Inspire, Ido Simyoni. Born with a rare disorder that causes
benign tumors, Ido has faced more than his share of
physical and emotional hurdles, including two surgeries, the loss of
his beloved dog, and a difficult breakup, all within the
past year. Despite these challenges, he committed to running, first
(44:02):
vowing to complete a marathon after his hospitalization, and now,
preparing for the TCS New York City Marathon, which will
mark his 15th marathon. Ido joined Meb from Berlin, fresh
off of his 14th marathon, the BMW 50th Anniversary Marathon
in Berlin.
Meb (44:19):
Thanks, Rob. Ido, welcome to the Set the Pace podcast.
How are you doing?
Ido Simyoni (44:23):
I am good. I had a marathon yesterday, so I'm kind
of recovering from a marathon.
Meb (44:30):
Marathon, work. Tell us which marathon you just did. And
I heard you were not feeling so good before the
start line. How was that?
Ido Simyoni (44:37):
Yeah, so I did Berlin Marathon, the 50th anniversary of
Berlin Marathon.
Meb (44:44):
(inaudible)
Ido Simyoni (44:43):
Yes, I will say the New York 50th is nicer.
I got that one as well. And I even have the necklace
from the 50th for New York City. Yeah, you know how it is, you wake
up in the morning of a race and I was just
not feeling well. I found myself throwing up and my
(45:04):
stomach was not in a good shape, but I actually
think that it was good. Because it happened before the
race. So when I got to the start line, I
was very focused like, " This is behind me. I got
all of it out of my system. I'm ready to perform." And
I'm very happy. I am very happy with my performance.
Of course, just like every race or at least every
(45:26):
race for me, I was going for a PR, but
I didn't get a PR. But I believe in finding the
good thing. So the good thing for me, this was
the first race, this is my 14th marathon, this was
the first time that I almost did a similar even
split. My first half was 1
(45:48):
54. And I finished in 2:55
the two halves. So I was very happy, because usually,
I'm going very strong, I'm very excited on the first
half, and then, I'm done and then, I'm tired.
Meb (46:02):
You know, Ido, that's my tips for people run even
pace or negative split it, but you cannot have executed
really well. And congratulations on this big achievements, but you
know how to overcome situations. You have had a really
tough year with your surgeries, losing your dog, Easel, and
the end of your relationship. How has running, especially train
for the New York City Marathon, helped you cope with
(46:25):
those hard times?
Ido Simyoni (46:26):
Yeah, so I will say about what I had with my head
especially, if you saw me last year, or I would say
the opposite, when you see me now, you don't see
anything. But just about a year and two months ago,
I didn't have a forehead, there was a hole. So
if you go in my Instagram, you will see a
hole in my head. And before that, there was a
(46:48):
tumor and there was a bone that they had to
take. So that was a lot to take. And even
back then, if I go back then, I didn't think
that I'm going to bounce back to running. And Meb, I have
to say something to you. Running was a lot of
love story for me. I don't know how it was
for you. I did not like running when I started.
(47:09):
It grew on me. But the amazing thing was, when
I had the surgery and the doctor told me, " You
can't run," and when I also knew that I maybe
won't be able to run again ever, I don't know
how I'm going to wake up, it's a head surgery. They
opened my head twice. I don't know how I'm going
to wake up. I was worried. And going to your
(47:31):
question, running, running is something that kind of moves you.
It's something that takes you from one place to another.
And it's interesting to say, I feel like my entire
life is a very long marathon. And it's funny that
we started talking about pacing. I usually pace terrible, because
I usually go very, very fast even in my life.
(47:53):
And this one actually forced me to slow down. And
now, as I'm coming back, as I got back to training, and
knowing that leading up to New York City Marathon, my
grand finale of the Six Star Majors that I'm going
to get at the end of the New York City
Marathon, it's a lot. It's a lot, but it's a lot of good
things. It's a lot of good things, because it's an
(48:16):
amazing feeling.
Meb (48:18):
Well, you make it look easy, but I know it's
not easy to have surgeries a couple times, like you said,
and losing your dog and be able to just run.
Running is hard, but surgery is incredibly hard. And you didn't even know, "
Can I run again? Can I walk again? Can I
breathe again?" Especially when you're dealing with the brain and
head. But for you now, put it in perspective, you didn't
(48:40):
like running, but you run a marathon. Now, you just, on your 14th one,
you just ran sub three hours for the eighth. What is
that feeling like? That's amazing.
Ido Simyoni (48:48):
It was the first time that I did an even split.
So that's an amazing feeling. And it was a strong sub
three, because the one I did in Boston earlier this
year was 2
I got 2
(49:14):
finish a marathon. It's an amazing feeling to see all
the work that you put in together, you put into
it. And I was very happy and proud of myself.
And I think that's something that I keep reminding myself
to be kind to myself. It's very easy to be
hard on yourself. And I think, going back again to
the surgery and losing my dog, Easel, Meb will tell
(49:38):
you, I run a lot and I cry while I
run. I'm always saying, if runners will see me, they
will be like, " What's going on with this guy? Why
is he crying?" Thankfully, in Berlin, I didn't cry, but
back when I ran in London earlier this year, I
started crying during the race. And it little bit messed
me up. I missed the sub three by 40 seconds,
(49:58):
because I was just crying.
Meb (50:01):
Oh, we humans, at different times, whether you're running a
recreational run or in your long run or middle of
the run or races, it's just, sometimes, hits you in
your soul that is, say, we all break down, it's
part of nature. But how has the running community have helped
you to come from the bottom to the top? What
does that mean to have the community of running behind you?
Ido Simyoni (50:23):
That's such a great question, and I think a lot of people don't know it
when they start running. And actually, when I started running,
I was very solace. I was like, " I don't understand.
How can you run with other people? What does it
mean? I'm just going for a run." And again, I don't know if
you've heard it before, I didn't even consider myself as
a runner before. I think the first two years, I say, "
(50:44):
I'm someone who goes on runs, but I'm not a runner. I'm not a
runner." I did maybe four marathons by then. I'm like, "
No, I'm not a runner, I'm just someone who goes for a run." But the community
is something that, as you keep going on running and
you go to races, and I want to give a big kudos to New
York Road Runners, and I encourage a lot of my
friends who are, just like me, starting to run, they
(51:08):
see me and they're like, "Hey, I want to go run." Or, " I went
for a run." I'm like, " Go for a race." " No, I
can't go for a race." " Why can't you go for
a race?" I think the word, " race," scares people, but
what I want to say is that I met friends
through New York Road Runners races. So I'm not even
talking about run clubs, I'm talking about going to a
race, being in a corral. By the way, I started in
(51:31):
corral B when I started running, and then, now, I'm
in corral A for New York Road Runners. But the
people, you see them every week, and you run next
to them on the race. At the end of the
race, you talk to them and you walk, you do the
walk outside and you make friends. And that's an amazing
feeling. And that community stayed with me. And I think that's
(51:53):
another fear that I had. I am off running. I
was not running for almost seven months after my surgery.
I don't share the same hobbies with them. I don't
go for runs with them. And they did. They were
there for me and they were there in the most genuine
and beautiful way of like, " We're waiting for you. Don't
(52:16):
worry. Your shoes are here. The road is waiting for
you. The races are waiting for you. Just get the
approval from your surgeon to run, and you'll be able
to do it."
Meb (52:26):
Well, you're doing a great job, Ido. Running is something
from point A to point B, as long you accomplish
your own pace, your own desire. But the New York
Road Runner has been phenomenal and inspiring in welcoming people
to the sport of running to help them be the
best version of themselves. So you have done that. Congratulations
on all your accomplishments and keep running strong.
Ido Simyoni (52:47):
Thank you so much.
Rob Simmelkjaer (52:47):
Thank you, Ido, for joining us, and thank you for being
such an inspiring member of New York Road Runners and
a member of Team Inspire as well. Hope you have
a great day on November 3rd. Now, on to the
final part of our show, today's Med Minutes.
Meb (53:00):
Week 13, start tapering. I always taper my mileage in
the weeks leading to the race. It is time to
let your body recover and consolidate that all the hard
work. Reduce your mileage gradually and focus on maintaining fitness
and mental sharpness. This is the fun part. The hay is
(53:22):
in the barn. You've done all the hard work, but
now, you just try to enjoy being fit. But with that,
comes a little bit of mind game. You have to
be able to stretch a little bit, start visualizing as
what you're going to do in the race. So don't
do this little things that you can do or during
taper science to get fitter, but there's a lot of
(53:42):
things you can do to mess it up. So don't
try to mess it up. Just stay relaxed, stretch a
little bit, and know that you are almost at the
starting line. Enjoy the process of being fit.
Rob Simmelkjaer (53:52):
That does it for another episode of Set the Pace.
We want to thank our awesome guest today, Jessie Malone
of Peloton and Ido Simyoni. If you like the episode,
please go ahead, subscribe, rate, leave a comment, throw us
a question, wherever you listen. This will help us and
also help others find the show as well. Thanks everybody.
Enjoy the miles, and we'll see you next week.
New York Road Runners is a non- profit organization with
a vision to build healthier lives and stronger communities through
the transformative power of running. The support of members and
donors like you helps us achieve our mission to transform
the health and well- being of our communities through inclusive
and accessible running experiences, empowering all to achieve their potential.
(00:21):
Learn more and contribute at nyrr. org/ donate.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Thank you, New York. Today, we're reminded of the power
of community and the power of coming together. Athletes, on
your mark.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
The first woman to finish, for the second straight year,
here in the New York City Marathon is Miki Gorman, a
smiling Miki Gorman. And why not? 2
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Look at the emotion of Shalane Flanagan as she comes to
the line.
Speaker 5 (00:57):
Pointing to his chest, pointing to the USA he so
proudly wears across his chest, a great day for Matt Kablowski.
Rob Simmelkjaer (01:10):
Hey everybody, and welcome to Set the Pace, presented by
Peloton. We are the official podcast of New York Road
Runners. I'm the CEO of New York Road Runners Rob
Simmelkjaer, and with me, my in deep, deep training mode,
but now maybe slightly injured co- host, Becs Gentry. Hello,
Rebecca. How are you today?
Rebecca Gentry (01:30):
I am on the mend. I'm on the mend.
Rob Simmelkjaer (01:35):
Yeah, I hear you had a little bit of a
disagreement with the end of your bed. I hate it
when those happen.
Rebecca Gentry (01:39):
I did. And for those of you who know me, as Rob
does, I'm a clumsy soul. I move in one plane
of movement, and I can do that well.
Rob Simmelkjaer (01:52):
Straight ahead?
Rebecca Gentry (01:52):
Straight ahead, yeah. Yeah. My proprioception's not great, so I
don't pay attention to what's around me. And my bed
was in the way, and I needed it not to be
in the way. Because I needed to get to the blinds
to close them. And yeah, the bed didn't want to
move and my foot went into it. And I was in
(02:13):
a rush, so it wasn't smooth.
Rob Simmelkjaer (02:15):
Who among us has not had an unpleasant encounter with the end of their
bed? Been there many times. How bad is it? Are
you limping? Is it affecting your running?
Rebecca Gentry (02:23):
I couldn't walk. Couldn't walk. Yeah. The crack and crunch
I heard on Sunday brought me down onto the bed
with a big scream, of which then Tallulah was screaming
downstairs, because she heard mama scream. And I think it was probably
the first time. And I tried to walk on it,
(02:44):
because we were going straight to the park. And as
a parent, you're like, " I'm fine, we need to go to the
park." And did that. And then, as the day went
on, it just started to grow in size, and yeah,
the colors are Halloween- esque on my foot right now.
Rob Simmelkjaer (03:03):
Well, it is the season, so you got that going
for you. Yeah.
Rebecca Gentry (03:05):
Yep. But honestly, day by day, it's gotten better. Sunday
afternoon, evening was just, there was a lot of pain. I was
very concerned. By Monday morning, the colors have brightened or
deepened, I don't know what's the right way to say,
but the ice and the swelling, the RICE situation, as
(03:26):
we call it in the sports world, rest, ice, recover essentially
has been great. Yesterday, I kept off it, and today,
I can walk. I'm teaching a walking class today. I'm
going to see how that goes. And I'm going to
get some acupuncture and be a good person and rest.
And I'm hoping I'll be back to running, we'll see
(03:47):
about tomorrow, but I'm hoping Thursday, I'll be back.
Rob Simmelkjaer (03:50):
All right, well, yeah, we hope you do. This definitely sounds like a
fairly high degree of bed injury. Sometimes, they're worse than
others. This sounds like it was a rough one. So hope you recover quickly
from that. I know I've certainly been there.
Rebecca Gentry (04:04):
I'm just thankful I'm not running Chicago this weekend.
Rob Simmelkjaer (04:07):
Seriously. And by the way, that's a good segue to
say good luck to everybody who's making the trip over
to the Windy City to run the Bank of America
Chicago Marathon, the second fall marathon in the Abbott World Marathon
Majors series. You know, Chicago is a fun one. The
(04:27):
thing I hear most about it, I haven't run it
yet, but it's just easy. And I don't just mean,
no marathon's easy, but obviously, it's relatively flat, pretty flat,
similar maybe to what we had in Berlin on the
flatness scale. And of course, there was a world record
set in Chicago just a year ago on the men's side. But then,
(04:48):
also, ease of kind of usability. Lot of people, if
you're visiting Chicago and you're staying in that downtown loop
area near the lake and all that, Miracle Mile, it's
pretty easy to get to the starting line from your
hotel, do that run, get back and you're pretty much
right in the same place. You can walk right back
(05:08):
to your hotel. So those loop courses, like Berlin and
Chicago, they have something to be said for them. You're
not getting on a bus at 5
of course, we all love our New York City Marathon
bus ride to Staten Island. We all love going across
the Verrazzano or taking the ferry.
Rebecca Gentry (05:23):
Exactly. It's part of it.
Rob Simmelkjaer (05:25):
It's part of the experience. So it's New York, you
got to want it, but Chicago definitely is a little
bit easier from that point of view. But everybody, good
luck out there this weekend. It should be a great,
great weekend. Always is.
Rebecca Gentry (05:37):
And Rob, how about you? How has your recovery been since your
phenomenal performance at Chicago?
Rob Simmelkjaer (05:45):
At Berlin, you mean. I want to tell you that I just enjoyed an absolutely fantastic
week of sitting on my you know what. I did not do anything. I took
that flight back from Berlin, which was painful. And then,
the next day and the next day I was still
feeling the quads, especially going down any stairs, and I
(06:08):
didn't do any of the things people will tell you,
go do a little run, go do massage, go do
whatever. I just sat on my backside and didn't do
much of anything, and it was amazing. And now, I
actually feel great. I did my first kind of workout
in quite a while this morning. We're here recording on
(06:28):
Tuesday, and I'm feeling great. So now, yeah, we'll see.
I'll just kind of ease back into some running. We
have the Staten Island Half this weekend. I will not
be running that, but I think I'll be there cheering
folks on. But I'll probably start to ease back into
some running and some races pretty soon. And the next
one I've got circled in my mind is the Ted
Corbitt 15K in December. That's such a fun race, such
(06:52):
a nice distance.
Rebecca Gentry (06:54):
It really is. Remind me what date that is.
Rob Simmelkjaer (06:56):
It's in December. I don't remember the exact date off
of hand, but it's in December. And it's one of
our special races, one that is really popular, in Central
Park. People love it. So that's probably the next one,
I think, I'll take on. Obviously going to be busy
the next few weeks as we get ready for the
one and only TCS New York City Marathon, which is
(07:18):
coming up fast and furious. And we are hoping everybody
out there is having good training. By the way, we
did have a race this past weekend, the Jersey City
5K. We were thrilled to head back out to Newport.
We had over 4, 100 runners cross the finish line. Congratulations
to the winners on Sunday. For the men, it was
Jared Moore with the time of 15
(07:41):
pretty flat course. A lot of our fast runners like
to go out and take that one on. For the
women, it was Alosha Southern. She came in at 17:25.
And in the non- binary category, yet again, Sofia Camacho
Ferral. We have seen their name a lot on this podcast. 16:
53 for Sofia. So congratulations to everybody who completed Jersey City.
Rebecca Gentry (08:05):
Oh my goodness, what incredible results and it seems like
we've had a huge amount of things to celebrate and
look forward to and hear results of. And yet, there is
still so much, if not the best, yet to come.
Rob Simmelkjaer (08:20):
A hundred percent. And by that, of course, you mean
the TCS New York City Marathon, 26 days away as
we record this on Tuesday, October 8th.
Rebecca Gentry (08:31):
26?
Rob Simmelkjaer (08:31):
26 days from today.
Rebecca Gentry (08:32):
Oh, that makes me so nervous.
Rob Simmelkjaer (08:33):
24 for those listening to the podcast on Thursday, so it'll
be getting even closer. But yeah, it's here, and I
know the nerves are starting to ramp up. And most
folks are kind of probably peaking out, I guess, in
terms of their training. So I wish them all luck
as they get closer and closer to their tapers. But
this week is another big milestone for the marathon season,
(08:57):
Becs. And it's the announcement of 2024's Team Inspire. And
in case you don't know, Team Inspire is what it
sounds like. We have 26 members this year, and they
present a snapshot of the full TCS New York City
Marathon field from first- time marathoners to charity runners to
(09:17):
seasoned veterans. But what makes them special is they all
have an incredible story, that reminds us why New York
City is the best city in the world, of course,
and why the TCS New York City Marathon is the
single best day of the year in New York City.
Becs, I always say we have 50,000 inspiring stories at
the starting line of the marathon every single year. And
(09:40):
if we pick out the best 26, they are unbelievable,
feature film worthy stories. And these 26 are going to
inspire us all over the next 30 or so days.
As we get closer and closer to the start of
the marathon, you'll see their stories on social media, on
television, and of course, right here on Set the Pace,
(10:00):
where we'll have many of them featured throughout the next
few weeks.
Rebecca Gentry (10:04):
Our guest today not only has a great story, but
she is a personal friend and colleague of mine. Jessie
Malone is a producer at Peloton, whose life took a
dramatic turn when her Apple Watch alert led her to
a hospital bed. And then, one year later, Jessie ran
her first marathon. Coming up, we'll hear all about how
(10:26):
Jessie has turned her life around and what is ahead.
Rob Simmelkjaer (10:29):
Can't wait to talk to Jessie. She's got an incredible
story, Becs. And also, for this week's member moment, Meb is
going to interview one of the members of Team Inspire, Ido
Simyoni. Like Jessie, Ido has spent more time in hospital
beds lately than he would like, but it didn't stop
him from running his 14th marathon one week ago with
(10:49):
me in Berlin. And he's also got his sights set
on his 15th marathon on November 3rd here in New
York. Can't wait to hear from Ido and Meb. And
of course, Meb will then continue his countdown to the
marathon with his tips for week 13 of training. It's
all about the taper. Stay tuned for Meb a little
(11:10):
bit later on.
Rebecca Gentry (11:11):
Take your running to the next level with the Peloton
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(11:34):
step of the way, all access membership separate. Learn more
about Peloton Tread at onepeloton.com/ running. Peloton, the official digital
fitness partner for New York Road Runners. All right, today,
our guest is Jessie Malone. She is a producer at
Peloton, who went from managing a fast- paced life in
(11:54):
New York City to advocating for heart health, after a
very personal crisis. About a year and a half ago,
Jessie received an unexpected alert from her Apple Watch. And
the shock of that moment and subsequent hospital stay led
her to make profound changes in her life, including running
her first marathon on the anniversary of her hospitalization. Now,
(12:16):
Jessie is preparing to run the 2024 TCS New York
City Marathon, as part of her continued journey towards health.
And Jessie joins us here today to talk about the wake-
up call that set her on this new path on
her training and what it means to truly change your
life. Jessie, hi. Thanks for joining us.
Jessie Malone (12:37):
Thanks for having me. Hey, Rob.
Rebecca Gentry (12:39):
We are so excited to have you here today. When the
New York Road Runners team and I were talking about inspirational beings
around the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon, your name was high,
maybe even the highest, up there for me personally, and I
thought it would be remiss of us to not have
(13:01):
you on the podcast to share with the Set the
Pace listeners your story. Because everything about you is, I'm
biased, I love you, I adore you, you're one of my good friends,
but everything about you is truly magnificent, your past history
on Broadway and your personal music, to just the nature
(13:24):
that you are. And then, you add in your last
18 months of life, and it's extraordinary, the changes that
you have personally made. So let's start at, can we
start pre- Apple Watch alert? Let's start at, let's explain
who Jessie was before, because I think that's a really
(13:46):
good understanding to capture the whole journey to where Jessie
is today.
Jessie Malone (13:51):
Sure, yeah, I started working at Peloton about five years
ago, and I was on the facilities team. So I
guess I'll just start there. That's what started my 5:
00 AM morning wake- ups and getting to work. So
yeah, over the past five years, it's just been really
early mornings, working really long days, because I was working
(14:14):
multiple jobs. New York City. The dogs are barking, they agree.
Rebecca Gentry (14:18):
They're agreeing with you. Long days.
Jessie Malone (14:19):
Long days, got to pay the bills. And my main
focus just was work, not really even considering my health
as part of the mix. So leading up to this, I was
definitely burning the candle. I just kind of threw it
(14:40):
into the fireplace at that point.
Rob Simmelkjaer (14:44):
It's interesting, actually, when you think about that, you're working
really hard, long hours, focused on only work, not fitness,
not health, at Peloton. So there's some irony that you're
working in this health- focused place, but not thinking about
your own health, which, by the way, can happen. I
(15:05):
work really long hours at New York Road Runners. I
make sure to try to balance it out, but I
can see how that could happen. So okay, you're in
this place, and then, what does your Apple Watch have
to say about that?
Jessie Malone (15:19):
The irony of the fitness job is not lost on
me, because even part of my job as a producer
is making sure that the talent is in good shape,
everyone feels comfortable and great. But it's also finding clips
from class that are really inspirational. Like, " Oh, the members
will love this. This is great for the members," not me, "
(15:39):
This is great for everyone else." But yeah, I was on a
Citi Bike about a year and a half ago, just
riding back to my apartment on an electric bike, and
my Apple Watch flagged that my resting heart rate was
over 160. And I had never gotten an alert like that on
my watch. So I was like, " What? Okay, that's a bit
odd." I wasn't feeling great, but I was just like, " Let me
(16:01):
just get home." And I got 20 more blocks, and
then, it started blaring. It was like, " You've gone into
Afib, your heart rate is still over 160. You need
to seek medical attention." It was vibrating and saying, pretty much, "
Get to an emergency room." And luckily, I live catty-
(16:22):
corner to a hospital, so I just docked the bike,
I docked the bike, I texted my best friend, just
being like, " Listen, I don't know what's going on here,
but I'm just going to pop into the emergency room
just to check." Just because I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel
like I was in a really bad situation. I walked
(16:44):
into the emergency room, they took the vitals, and they
immediately took action. I guess it was a code, because
I was headed towards, they were saying it was either a
cardiac arrest or a stroke.
Rob Simmelkjaer (16:59):
Oh my god.
Jessie Malone (17:00):
Yeah. And I've never even taken TYLENOL for a headache.
So they were rolling me back and putting the defib
pads on me. And at that point, I called my friend,
because she was like, " Are you okay? What's going on?" And
I was like, " Listen, I don't know if this is
an emergency." I was just in shock, and the doctor
(17:25):
was like, " This is an emergency, she needs to get
down here. You need to call your family." And then,
they started asking questions like, " Has anyone in your family
ever died suddenly from a cardiac event or an unknown
cause?" And I was like, " No, can it not be me?"
Rob Simmelkjaer (17:45):
Wow.
Jessie Malone (17:46):
And I was trying to make light of it, because that's just my personality. And I was like, "
Are we good?"
Rob Simmelkjaer (17:55):
I just want to say, before, Becs, you ask the next question, and
I'm not trying to make so much light of this,
but I can't believe Apple Watch is capable of that.
And by the way, they're not a sponsor. We have
no relationship with Apple. I had no idea that the
Apple Watch could give an alert like that about, " You're
going into Afib," and have it be correct. That's incredible.
Jessie Malone (18:21):
I didn't know either. I got the watch, because I've got
the production assistant job and was like, " I need to be
on time." So I needed a digital proper launch. So
thanks for the promotion, Peloton...
Rebecca Gentry (18:35):
I was going to say in a roundabout way. In a roundabout way, the health company did actually
save your life.
Jessie Malone (18:41):
Yeah.
Rebecca Gentry (18:41):
It is that the whole story still brings tears into
my eyes, because I'm like, " Oh my god." There's a
big group of us who are all very good friends.
Jessie has been in our lives for a long time.
And I think it was only until I spoke to
Sims that I was like, " Oh my goodness, this is
(19:02):
really serious. She's in hospital." And the level of urgency
that your Apple Watch propelled you to take note of
is huge. That day, if you hadn't have docked that
bike and just you say that you're a very, very
(19:23):
fun person, you are, but you're also very sensible. And
I think having that way about you, to be like, "
I'm just going to pop in and double check what this
watch is saying and the truth behind it," saved your
life and put you on this trajectory now of training
for your second marathon. And I know, after you had
(19:49):
procedures, the hospital team were trying to find out, because
they didn't give you an exact diagnosis from the get- go.
Jessie Malone (19:57):
Right. Right. Because there are plenty of things that can cause
Afib. So after I had the procedure, the following day,
they were able to get my heart rate down to around 130 and
just monitored me for a full day. Because sometimes, your
heart will just go back naturally into its regular rhythm,
but mine didn't. So I ended up having a procedure
(20:18):
the next day. And after that, you wake up the
next morning. And it's scary, because you're like, " Is this
going to come back?" Because we don't know what caused
it exactly. So it was a lot of tests. They
tested for sleep apnea, but after doing a lot more
(20:39):
research about it, it was lifestyle.
Rob Simmelkjaer (20:44):
Too much work, not enough rest, not exercise, that kind
of thing?
Jessie Malone (20:49):
Yeah, also being overweight is a huge, huge part of
it. Not getting enough sleep, not eating well, way too
much caffeine. Yeah, I was literally doing all of the things wrong. I've
got decaf right now.
Rob Simmelkjaer (21:10):
Yeah. I'm showing her my cup of coffee here, just to point that little
issue out, yep.
Rebecca Gentry (21:14):
And I'm going to go with my water.
Jessie Malone (21:18):
Yes.
Rebecca Gentry (21:18):
But that's the thing, it takes a moment, because you
slip into habit. And we can slip into good habit
and we can slip into bad habit. Unfortunately, for you, the "
bad habit" was essentially survival, because as you said, you
were working multiple jobs, you're also a musician. So you were
at performances, gigs, on top of that, doing the things
(21:41):
in New York that you do, where you will go and enjoy the city. You're not
going to live here and not enjoy it. So you're out late,
you're up early, on repeat. And so, once the procedure
took place and all of the tests kind of kept coming
back not inconclusive, because I know that they gave you
(22:01):
guidance to help you on this path, but they didn't
give you a definitive answer of, " This is what's happening.
And this is what is going to change in the
future," or, " This is how we're going to change your
heart," or whatever it was. So you took it essentially
into your own hands of, " What can I do?" And so, what kickstarted you there?
Jessie Malone (22:22):
Right. Well, it's kind of really hard news to hear
that you're the cause of this problem, but it's also
the best news. Because great, I can get myself out
of this. I can make these changes. And I just
remember laying there, and I was like, " I will never be in
(22:45):
this position again, if I have anything to do with
it." So just off the bat, it was like things
we're giving up, caffeine, which was actually the hardest part
was giving up caffeine. Gave up caffeine. I was like, "
There's going to be no drinking," because that can contribute
to Afib. And then, I was like, " I need to
(23:08):
take my health as seriously as I take work." So
I was like, " If I set myself up on a
really good schedule and prioritize my health and my heart
has to be priority number one." So that's where it
started. It was basically started meal prepping and then, slowly
(23:30):
integrating movement. So the first thing, the first two days,
I was just at home on the couch, my parents
came, so it was just movies and crying. And then, Jess and
I went on a walk around the block with the
dogs, and I've never been more scared in my life
(23:52):
to go on a walk. Because I was like, " Am I okay? What's this going
to feel like? Is getting my heart rate up even
safe?" So yeah, I just started really, really slow, as far
as movement goes, and then, went from there.
Rob Simmelkjaer (24:14):
Of course, I have to ask, when did running get
into the mix? And when did this idea of not
just doing a bit of running, but running a marathon,
even get into your head? I am fascinated by that,
because a year after, the actual one- year anniversary or
so of this event, you end up running your first
(24:36):
marathon. How did that even get to be planted in
your mind?
Jessie Malone (24:41):
So that happened about six months in, because I slowly,
slowly was taking classes on the Peloton bike. Because I
had my heart rate monitor on. I felt safe that I
could see the number on the screen. That just felt
really good to me. And just I needed to build
muscle, and I was also losing weight at the same
(25:04):
time. So my six- month checkup is when I kind
of got out of the woods, even as far as
they were thinking maybe I might need a pacemaker. So
I got out of the woods for the pacemaker. I
was feeling good, as far as my training was going,
and I asked, I was like, " Can I push this
(25:25):
and do something big, let's say, a marathon?" And my
cardiologist gave the thumbs up. He was like I had
to go for checkups often, and if something wasn't feeling right,
then I would have to check in and say, " Okay,
this is not going to happen." But he kind of
(25:46):
gave me the green light. I called my best friend,
Jess, and I said, " Listen, I'm going to do a
marathon in six months. I'm going to do it the one year
from the hospital discharge." And I just wanted to map
it out myself in New York and just make it
kind of like a victory lap. And she was like, "
No, you have to sign up for a real marathon.
It's so exciting." She was like, " The energy from the crowd."
(26:10):
And me, I've only ever seen New York City. So
I was like, " Every marathon has a huge crowd and
there's energy." So I just signed up for one, that
was the date I wanted, I found it, and I
didn't really do research. Because I thought they were all
the same.
Rob Simmelkjaer (26:24):
Where was it?
Jessie Malone (26:25):
It was on the Potomac River in the middle of nowhere on a trail.
Rob Simmelkjaer (26:30):
Oh, a trail marathon. Yeah, I've heard of that marathon actually.
Rebecca Gentry (26:35):
In the pouring rain as well.
Jessie Malone (26:35):
In the pouring rain.
Rebecca Gentry (26:36):
The absolute pouring rain.
Jessie Malone (26:38):
Yeah, it ended up being perfect. But yeah, I signed up and then, took it from there.
Rebecca Gentry (26:46):
You did. And you owned it. Before the heart issue, you
ran, you took classes, we had multiple conversations, but weirdly,
and I always think back to this, you kept having
leg issues, there was your ankle. And in hindsight, I
(27:09):
always think to myself, was that a sign from your
body of like, " Don't push it too hard in the
run. I'm not going to let her push it too
hard in the run, because it's dangerous?" And all these
things that came together to then allow you to get
healed, work on yourself, mentally and physically, and then, be
(27:30):
able to push, because you haven't had any issues really
with your legs since?
Jessie Malone (27:35):
No, none.
Rebecca Gentry (27:36):
So that just always is on my mind. Whenever I
see you running your 20 miles or when I saw
you run your marathon, and you are so diligent with
your training as well, whether it's combination training, getting on
the Peloton bike and on the Tread to get cardio
(27:56):
in. And you trained through winter for your first marathon,
which I think is a huge accomplishment, and shout outs
to all the people out there who do that, who
train for a spring race through an East Coast winter.
Because it's miserable, it's difficult.
Jessie Malone (28:16):
Not cute.
Rebecca Gentry (28:16):
And you're like, " Hold on, I don't even know why I
am doing this, because I've never done this before." So
you did it. And talk us through that day, driving
to Washington with Jess and the dogs. And what were
you feeling?
Jessie Malone (28:33):
I was honestly just excited. I had gotten a text
from Sal, was someone also that we work with, and
she kind of put it into perspective for me where
she was just like, " You've already done all of the
work. This is just, you're going to finish, this is
just a celebration and you should just be so proud
of yourself." So it kind of put my mind at
(28:55):
ease like, " Yes, I did do all the work." And it was the perfect day.
It was raining, it had flooded the night before, so there were a
lot of puddles. And it was kind of muck and
rocky. I had my watch on, obviously, so I was
able to get texts from people. And I just kept
(29:17):
getting the right text at the right time. I think,
mile 18, I had a moment where I was just by
myself, just woods around, and I was like, " What am
I doing? What am I doing here?" And I just started thinking about the
whole year and where I was the year prior. And
(29:41):
it's just crazy. And I got a text from Jess
King just saying, " There's going to be a point here
where your mind is going to tell you you can't, but
you absolutely can. And we all love you and support
you." And I was like sobbing. It was kind of like
(30:07):
the perfect, I would call it, like a bookmark, on
a really crazy emotional year.
Rebecca Gentry (30:18):
Finishing it, just getting to that point on the soggy,
muddy river path with friends and family there, wearing the
Jessie Malone T- shirts and even Sienna Grace and Shai
were at...
Jessie Malone (30:34):
Yep, my kids.
Rebecca Gentry (30:36):
Your kids, the dogs, were there celebrating. And those of us
who couldn't make it, I was in Miami and I
was bawling my eyes out, just seeing the videos coming
in and so, so proud of you. And everything that
took for you to get there that day was huge.
(30:59):
And for you, what was that feeling, just seeing everyone
there that day?
Jessie Malone (31:05):
Oh God, it was incredible. I could cry right now (inaudible)
. It was absolutely incredible. It was absolutely incredible the
amount of support, because just deciding to do it first
and I didn't tell anyone until a month before. Because
we weren't sure what was going on or if I
(31:26):
was going to be able to do it. There's always
that question in the air. But I got a month
out, and that's when I really told everyone. And just
the amount of support. And it's also, obviously, it's easy
to see now in hindsight that I think training for
a marathon is the ultimate act of self- love. You have
(31:50):
to show up for yourself every single day, whether it's
in your training or your recovery or your nutrition, the
way you're eating, the way you're sleeping. You have to
prioritize yourself training for a marathon. So in hindsight, I
think it was the best thing I could have done
at that point in time for me.
Rob Simmelkjaer (32:11):
I love that. I may, Jessie, have to use that somewhere, "
Training for a marathon is the ultimate act of self- love."
It makes a lot of sense. It really, really does.
And having just gone through it, I feel that it's
pretty accurate. So amazing. Okay, so you went from running
a marathon to now being less than a month from
(32:36):
running, let's just say it, the marathon, the TCS New York
City Marathon, which is on your horizons. How are you
feeling about November 3rd? How has this training block been going?
Jessie Malone (32:51):
I can't wait. I can't wait. I just did the 20
Miler yesterday. Training for this one has been so much
easier than training for the first one, because I had a
good base. My speeds, which is I don't care how
fast anyone runs, it's just about spending the time and
(33:15):
getting it done. But just the time commitment before was
insane, because I couldn't go above a four. So I
was shuffling through my 16 miles, it was taking hours.
So even the time aspect, I feel much more confident in
my health and being able to. And I'm running the
(33:35):
New York City Marathon with the American Heart Association team.
So that just adds another layer of just, I just
feel so lucky to be a part of the team
and raising money. And every run just, I cry all
the time when I run. It's like I meditate, I
(33:58):
cry, feel so much joy, dance. But being able to
do that with the American Heart Association just means so
much to me.
Rebecca Gentry (34:07):
You've really upped the fundraising. I know you had a
fundraising event over the weekend of music night, where Jessie
sang and my babysitter couldn't make it. Anyway, that's my
personal annoyance. But when you've been on morning TV shows,
you've been a guest for multiple people talking about this,
(34:32):
and I think the mantra that you put out there
is something that a lot of people have latched onto
and you came up with it and this is what
you say, " If you want your life to change, you have to change your life." You're
going to kick me, and not that you're here, but it's so simple,
(34:53):
but it is like groundbreakingly true. And I think that
is what people miss, because without a doubt, look at
Jessie Malone two years ago from the outside, fun loving.
Your life may have looked amazing to so many people
out there, but little did they know and little did you know
(35:16):
that bubbling underneath was something different. And you have made
this change and your life now is so much more
vibrant and strong in many ways. And so, what, for
you, do you think has been the biggest mental challenge
(35:38):
in all of this change?
Jessie Malone (35:42):
Well, I think about this a lot, because I started working with a life coach. Because all
the change is a lot to navigate. So I was like, "
Okay, I need help and an outsider's perspective," because it's
so simple to say, " Okay, I'm not drinking caffeine anymore.
I'm not going to eat like crap." But you can't
just flip a switch and say, " I care about myself.
(36:08):
I'm going to take the time." So the biggest mental
hurdle was self- love, and it's still something I think
a lot of people work through. But the running, the community,
the getting stronger, it's all part of it.
Rebecca Gentry (36:29):
And it's amazing. It is unreal and amazing. You've raised
over $ 8, 000 right now. I guess that may have
gone up over the weekend, has it?
Jessie Malone (36:41):
Yeah, I think we're getting close to 9, 000, which is so cool.
Rebecca Gentry (36:43):
It's so, so cool. And in doing that, talk to us
a little bit about how being involved with Peloton has
sort of helped you raise awareness for what you're doing.
Jessie Malone (37:01):
Right. Well, being a part of Peloton is, well, because I had that kind of outsider's
perspective from the inside, I wasn't necessarily felt like I
was in the community. I felt like I worked there,
I loved, loved, loved the company, but now, I feel
(37:21):
like I'm also a member. So just the support, and I
keep saying support, but it's just so true. It's like
our Peloton community is incredible. I get to meet a
lot of the members and a lot of people have
these stories where they're like, " I felt kind of alone
(37:45):
starting on this fitness journey, but I got a Peloton
and I'm on the Facebook group." And I'm hearing all
these stories, and I'm like, " Wait, me too." But I worked
here, but now I'm taking classes with people. I'm in a
Power Zone group. It's just fun to talk about what
(38:05):
you're doing, how you're getting there, how it's having this
positive impact in your life. And people are just, they
hear the story, people are following my... I started posting
running things on Instagram, so people are like, " Oh gosh,
I saw that this morning and I was like, "You know what? I've got to get up and go for my run.""
Rob Simmelkjaer (38:25):
Now, you're a running influencer. Look up and there you are. It's
funny how you can tell. You can tell when people have gotten into running.
Their Instagram feeds totally change.
Jessie Malone (38:36):
Oh gosh.
Rob Simmelkjaer (38:37):
They go from the dinner they were at, the restaurant,
the bar, the whatever, and all of a sudden, you start
seeing all these Strava posts or they're always in running
clothes at a finish line somewhere. So I've seen that
transition in people's feeds.
Jessie Malone (38:54):
Yeah, it went from like a picture of a martini
glass to now just my legs in the Normatecs.
Rob Simmelkjaer (39:05):
That's the true sign. That's the true sign of a running transformation. And I'm just curious,
so going back to your Apple Watch for a second...
Rebecca Gentry (39:12):
Rob's getting one tonight.
Rob Simmelkjaer (39:12):
I have one, but I think I don't wear it all the time. I'm going
to start wearing it at least one day a week
now, just to make sure I'm not having a heart attack.
Jessie Malone (39:23):
It's crazy.
Rob Simmelkjaer (39:24):
Have you seen, Jessie, the actual physical manifestations, like your resting
heart rate now, for instance, or what it feels like
to walk upstairs or those kinds of changes that you
can now look and say, " Oh yeah, this has made
a real difference?"
Jessie Malone (39:42):
Yeah. And it's so cool. I have lost over, I'm close to 115
pounds down. It's been like a year and a half.
Rob Simmelkjaer (39:52):
I'm sorry, can you say that again? You have lost
how much?
Jessie Malone (39:57):
115, a hundred and fifteen.
Rob Simmelkjaer (39:57):
Oh my gosh.
Jessie Malone (40:00):
Yeah, in like a year and a half. Yeah, it's kind of crazy.
Rob Simmelkjaer (40:04):
That's amazing.
Jessie Malone (40:05):
It's so cool, because wearing the watch the entire time,
my VO2 max was well below average. It was like
a 24, but now, it's up to like a 42. So now,
I'm above average. So seeing the chart, I look at
it every couple of months like, " Yeah."
Rebecca Gentry (40:26):
Wow.
Jessie Malone (40:26):
But yeah, my resting heart rate now is in the fifties.
Rob Simmelkjaer (40:34):
Those are all great numbers. Yeah, those are the numbers
of a healthy, active person. So what can one say
but congratulations? It's just amazing. So Jessie, I give a
speech at the beginning of the marathon every year. Every
year, this will be my second year as CEO doing it.
And so, I'm curious if you could give a little
(40:56):
speech for folks now who are running the marathon this
year, if they're first timers like yourselves or people who
have gone through things, what would you say to runners
who are taking on this challenge in November?
Jessie Malone (41:10):
I would say there's just so much excitement, and we
all know, when you go out on a long run, there are
moments of it that suck. You're not going to feel
amazing all the time, but you're doing it for yourself.
The day showed up and you showed up and you're going to get
it done, so enjoy it even when it doesn't feel
(41:33):
the best. Because the finish line is well worth it.
Rebecca Gentry (41:38):
Love that.
Jessie Malone (41:39):
Yeah, it's such a blessing. Yeah, it's such a blessing to be able
to show up.
Rebecca Gentry (41:43):
It is. And it's true what they say, the finish
line is the start line for something new. And that
is hugely true for you, after finishing your first marathon
on the banks of the Potomac, I can never say
it, River, to the greatest marathon in the world and
(42:05):
having the city that tried to bring you down, but
is also now raising you up higher than ever before,
cheering for you on that day is going to be
unreal. I can't wait. I cannot wait to see you do it. I can't
wait for all of your running influencer posts over the
next few weeks, because seeing Jessie on taper tantrums is
(42:30):
going to be quite amusing.
Jessie Malone (42:36):
I know you're here for it, Becs. I know you're here for all of it.
Rebecca Gentry (42:36):
I'm here for all of it. You know I am here for all the support
and all the cheering. We'll be waiting at that finish
line for absolute sure.
Rob Simmelkjaer (42:45):
Jessie, amazing. Amazing story, and we thank you for sharing
it with us. And just wishing you all the best
on November 3rd. I hope it's a great, great day.
I promise you one thing, it will be different than
your trail marathon at the Potomac. You'll feel things that
you did not feel on that trail. So I think
(43:06):
it's going to be special for you. Can't wait to
see you at the finish line.
Jessie Malone (43:10):
Thank you. I can't wait for your speech.
Rob Simmelkjaer (43:13):
I'm going to channel. I'm going to channel some of
this. I love some of the messaging, and it really is
great stuff. You've got a great message. So wish you
all the best. Congratulations, and good luck.
Jessie Malone (43:24):
Thank you. Thank you both.
Rob Simmelkjaer (43:39):
For today's Member Moment, Meb welcomes a member of Team
Inspire, Ido Simyoni. Born with a rare disorder that causes
benign tumors, Ido has faced more than his share of
physical and emotional hurdles, including two surgeries, the loss of
his beloved dog, and a difficult breakup, all within the
past year. Despite these challenges, he committed to running, first
(44:02):
vowing to complete a marathon after his hospitalization, and now,
preparing for the TCS New York City Marathon, which will
mark his 15th marathon. Ido joined Meb from Berlin, fresh
off of his 14th marathon, the BMW 50th Anniversary Marathon
in Berlin.
Meb (44:19):
Thanks, Rob. Ido, welcome to the Set the Pace podcast.
How are you doing?
Ido Simyoni (44:23):
I am good. I had a marathon yesterday, so I'm kind
of recovering from a marathon.
Meb (44:30):
Marathon, work. Tell us which marathon you just did. And
I heard you were not feeling so good before the
start line. How was that?
Ido Simyoni (44:37):
Yeah, so I did Berlin Marathon, the 50th anniversary of
Berlin Marathon.
Meb (44:44):
(inaudible)
Ido Simyoni (44:43):
Yes, I will say the New York 50th is nicer.
I got that one as well. And I even have the necklace
from the 50th for New York City. Yeah, you know how it is, you wake
up in the morning of a race and I was just
not feeling well. I found myself throwing up and my
(45:04):
stomach was not in a good shape, but I actually
think that it was good. Because it happened before the
race. So when I got to the start line, I
was very focused like, " This is behind me. I got
all of it out of my system. I'm ready to perform." And
I'm very happy. I am very happy with my performance.
Of course, just like every race or at least every
(45:26):
race for me, I was going for a PR, but
I didn't get a PR. But I believe in finding the
good thing. So the good thing for me, this was
the first race, this is my 14th marathon, this was
the first time that I almost did a similar even
split. My first half was 1
(45:48):
54. And I finished in 2:55
the two halves. So I was very happy, because usually,
I'm going very strong, I'm very excited on the first
half, and then, I'm done and then, I'm tired.
Meb (46:02):
You know, Ido, that's my tips for people run even
pace or negative split it, but you cannot have executed
really well. And congratulations on this big achievements, but you
know how to overcome situations. You have had a really
tough year with your surgeries, losing your dog, Easel, and
the end of your relationship. How has running, especially train
for the New York City Marathon, helped you cope with
(46:25):
those hard times?
Ido Simyoni (46:26):
Yeah, so I will say about what I had with my head
especially, if you saw me last year, or I would say
the opposite, when you see me now, you don't see
anything. But just about a year and two months ago,
I didn't have a forehead, there was a hole. So
if you go in my Instagram, you will see a
hole in my head. And before that, there was a
(46:48):
tumor and there was a bone that they had to
take. So that was a lot to take. And even
back then, if I go back then, I didn't think
that I'm going to bounce back to running. And Meb, I have
to say something to you. Running was a lot of
love story for me. I don't know how it was
for you. I did not like running when I started.
(47:09):
It grew on me. But the amazing thing was, when
I had the surgery and the doctor told me, " You
can't run," and when I also knew that I maybe
won't be able to run again ever, I don't know
how I'm going to wake up, it's a head surgery. They
opened my head twice. I don't know how I'm going
to wake up. I was worried. And going to your
(47:31):
question, running, running is something that kind of moves you.
It's something that takes you from one place to another.
And it's interesting to say, I feel like my entire
life is a very long marathon. And it's funny that
we started talking about pacing. I usually pace terrible, because
I usually go very, very fast even in my life.
(47:53):
And this one actually forced me to slow down. And
now, as I'm coming back, as I got back to training, and
knowing that leading up to New York City Marathon, my
grand finale of the Six Star Majors that I'm going
to get at the end of the New York City
Marathon, it's a lot. It's a lot, but it's a lot of good
things. It's a lot of good things, because it's an
(48:16):
amazing feeling.
Meb (48:18):
Well, you make it look easy, but I know it's
not easy to have surgeries a couple times, like you said,
and losing your dog and be able to just run.
Running is hard, but surgery is incredibly hard. And you didn't even know, "
Can I run again? Can I walk again? Can I
breathe again?" Especially when you're dealing with the brain and
head. But for you now, put it in perspective, you didn't
(48:40):
like running, but you run a marathon. Now, you just, on your 14th one,
you just ran sub three hours for the eighth. What is
that feeling like? That's amazing.
Ido Simyoni (48:48):
It was the first time that I did an even split.
So that's an amazing feeling. And it was a strong sub
three, because the one I did in Boston earlier this
year was 2
I got 2
(49:14):
finish a marathon. It's an amazing feeling to see all
the work that you put in together, you put into
it. And I was very happy and proud of myself.
And I think that's something that I keep reminding myself
to be kind to myself. It's very easy to be
hard on yourself. And I think, going back again to
the surgery and losing my dog, Easel, Meb will tell
(49:38):
you, I run a lot and I cry while I
run. I'm always saying, if runners will see me, they
will be like, " What's going on with this guy? Why
is he crying?" Thankfully, in Berlin, I didn't cry, but
back when I ran in London earlier this year, I
started crying during the race. And it little bit messed
me up. I missed the sub three by 40 seconds,
(49:58):
because I was just crying.
Meb (50:01):
Oh, we humans, at different times, whether you're running a
recreational run or in your long run or middle of
the run or races, it's just, sometimes, hits you in
your soul that is, say, we all break down, it's
part of nature. But how has the running community have helped
you to come from the bottom to the top? What
does that mean to have the community of running behind you?
Ido Simyoni (50:23):
That's such a great question, and I think a lot of people don't know it
when they start running. And actually, when I started running,
I was very solace. I was like, " I don't understand.
How can you run with other people? What does it
mean? I'm just going for a run." And again, I don't know if
you've heard it before, I didn't even consider myself as
a runner before. I think the first two years, I say, "
(50:44):
I'm someone who goes on runs, but I'm not a runner. I'm not a
runner." I did maybe four marathons by then. I'm like, "
No, I'm not a runner, I'm just someone who goes for a run." But the community
is something that, as you keep going on running and
you go to races, and I want to give a big kudos to New
York Road Runners, and I encourage a lot of my
friends who are, just like me, starting to run, they
(51:08):
see me and they're like, "Hey, I want to go run." Or, " I went
for a run." I'm like, " Go for a race." " No, I
can't go for a race." " Why can't you go for
a race?" I think the word, " race," scares people, but
what I want to say is that I met friends
through New York Road Runners races. So I'm not even
talking about run clubs, I'm talking about going to a
race, being in a corral. By the way, I started in
(51:31):
corral B when I started running, and then, now, I'm
in corral A for New York Road Runners. But the
people, you see them every week, and you run next
to them on the race. At the end of the
race, you talk to them and you walk, you do the
walk outside and you make friends. And that's an amazing
feeling. And that community stayed with me. And I think that's
(51:53):
another fear that I had. I am off running. I
was not running for almost seven months after my surgery.
I don't share the same hobbies with them. I don't
go for runs with them. And they did. They were
there for me and they were there in the most genuine
and beautiful way of like, " We're waiting for you. Don't
(52:16):
worry. Your shoes are here. The road is waiting for
you. The races are waiting for you. Just get the
approval from your surgeon to run, and you'll be able
to do it."
Meb (52:26):
Well, you're doing a great job, Ido. Running is something
from point A to point B, as long you accomplish
your own pace, your own desire. But the New York
Road Runner has been phenomenal and inspiring in welcoming people
to the sport of running to help them be the
best version of themselves. So you have done that. Congratulations
on all your accomplishments and keep running strong.
Ido Simyoni (52:47):
Thank you so much.
Rob Simmelkjaer (52:47):
Thank you, Ido, for joining us, and thank you for being
such an inspiring member of New York Road Runners and
a member of Team Inspire as well. Hope you have
a great day on November 3rd. Now, on to the
final part of our show, today's Med Minutes.
Meb (53:00):
Week 13, start tapering. I always taper my mileage in
the weeks leading to the race. It is time to
let your body recover and consolidate that all the hard
work. Reduce your mileage gradually and focus on maintaining fitness
and mental sharpness. This is the fun part. The hay is
(53:22):
in the barn. You've done all the hard work, but
now, you just try to enjoy being fit. But with that,
comes a little bit of mind game. You have to
be able to stretch a little bit, start visualizing as
what you're going to do in the race. So don't
do this little things that you can do or during
taper science to get fitter, but there's a lot of
(53:42):
things you can do to mess it up. So don't
try to mess it up. Just stay relaxed, stretch a
little bit, and know that you are almost at the
starting line. Enjoy the process of being fit.
Rob Simmelkjaer (53:52):
That does it for another episode of Set the Pace.
We want to thank our awesome guest today, Jessie Malone
of Peloton and Ido Simyoni. If you like the episode,
please go ahead, subscribe, rate, leave a comment, throw us
a question, wherever you listen. This will help us and
also help others find the show as well. Thanks everybody.
Enjoy the miles, and we'll see you next week.
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