I DNF'd My World Championships Qualifier... Here's What I Learned

Alex heads to Edmonton for the Canadian Half Marathon Championships with one goal: run fast enough to punch his ticket to the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen. What actually happens is a start-line scare over recording gear, a rough patch and a stomach that wouldn't cooperate.

In this episode, Alex gives Alexis (and you) the full, unfiltered "word vomit" recap recorded just 24 hours after the race: the good, the bad, and the humbling. Along the way there's a chance airport run-in with Canadian Olympian Cam Levins that completely resets Alex's perspective on what it actually takes to be mentally tough at the top of the sport.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro: Recording apart for the first time
0:56 Welcome to For Better or For Worse
3:59 Race weekend arrives: Edmonton & the elite athlete panel
6:44 Content creator vs. competitor: the mental switch
9:46 Pre-race night: carb loading & an early bedtime
10:30 Race morning nerves (and throwing up)
12:22 Warming up with the pros at the start line
13:08 The smart glasses controversy: no audio allowed in a race
16:48 The gun goes off: chasing a 63:10 qualifying time
18:44 Feeling terrible early — the nausea creeps in
19:29 The DNF: dropping out at 6K
21:07 Alexis reacts: processing a heartbreaking result
22:57 Media duties post-DNF: the job doesn't stop
24:42 Crunching the results: is a Worlds spot still possible?
25:57 A chance airport encounter with Olympian Cam Levins
28:30 The "Mamba mentality": what separates the pros mentally
30:15 Asking Cam the one question that mattered
32:18 What's next for Alex: resetting after a Worlds-obsessed summer
35:43 How to actually process disappointment
39:36 Shoutouts to Cam Levins, Ben Preisner & Rory Linkletter
41:21 Q&A: should you chase a backup race after a bad one?
44:05 Alexis's training week 1 recap (post-wedding life)
47:47 Repeat the workout or move on? More lessons from Cam Levins
49:00 Coaching corner: how long should your warmup and cooldown be?
51:45 When a long run turns into an accidental 5K race
53:02 The purpose of every run — and why it matters
55:29 Living apart for a week & missing your running buddy
57:24 Thanks for listening + what's coming next

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