Shadowing Practice: Episode 1 - Olympic Trials or DIE TRYIN' - Learn English Speaking with Video

I feel like we've been here.

Back in my life's favorite fit.

Your shirt.

And your hat.

You look ridiculous.

Yeah, I know.

I was thinking about taking off the shirt.

It's fine.

Yeah, no, just take it off.

You have a nickel table.

Oh, shit.

So we did 16 miles today, walked the dog, this dog right here, 1.7 miles, 20 minutes on a doing leg exercises in here,

hip exercises, making sure that I'm not going to get injured.

Let me run through the numbers real quick for everyone in case you're new here

or in case you haven't heard me before.

2023, guess how many miles I ran in the entire year?

60 miles, okay?

which is essentially nothing 2024 how many miles did i run 1500

that comes out to roughly 30 miles a week all right

so still new to this game 2025

that year just happened how many miles did i run around

3400 3300 comes out to about 60 miles a week

that is 40 miles on the table that i'm leave it on the table

that could be making me that much better

so I'm going to be ramping up the mileage to 100 miles a week there's been people

that are speculating that 229 is about where my max is

so the 14 minute PR is just too big to even

consider it a possibility like like I peaked at 229

when in reality that was a bad race for me

and going on 60 miles a week we haven't even scratched the surface ladies

and gentlemen speed work two to three times a week drop

in body weight healthily I should say 157 every single morning for the past two weeks 19

and a half miles yesterday this is the last day of

2025 big goals require big sacrifices let's see what I'm weighing in 155.4.

I don't know if you guys know this, that is Brad Pitt Fight Club weight.

HALU!

Come on man.

We really like this place.

Do I look like him?

Mhm.

Thank you for answering that.

If you guys don't remember in 300, Leonidas, when he's talking about why he dropped his helmet, dropped his shield, because it threw him off balance,

and then he had the spear.

That was nearly a perfect throw to kill Xerxes.

That's what I'm doing right now with my lats.

He got rid of his lats and his chest

and his legs got thinner and thinner and his arms got thinner so that he could run faster and faster.

Larry the Lobster reporting for duty.

Like I said, 19 and a half miles yesterday and a few good pushes in there.

The fact of the matter is I am not fast enough yet.

I am not quick enough.

I am fast and I can run for a long time.

I'm tough enough to run a marathon.

gotta get that leg turnover going so but you'll understand

that I'm saying I'm not fast enough yet as in the

best is yet to come not giving up I'm just gonna

make myself faster never defeated I'm just I have breath in my lungs

and health so 155 positive there getting lighter

and then I'm just gonna go and and give my best every single day until that goal is accomplished

New Year starts tomorrow, same goal in mind, get better.

Let's go.

Even dipping below that at times.

Fast, efficient.

I was at like 8% body fat last January.

I was eating about a lot more protein, not that many carbs, about 100 to 200 carbs a day grams of carbs

and today I'm doing about 400 grams of carbs with less of a focus on protein

so naturally my body composition is changing no more weightlifting not even touching my upper body

so I'm successfully becoming skinny fat by design

because I want to be able to run fast for 26.2 miles

and I am making sure that everything is being taken care of from point A to point Z.

You guys remember plan Z in the Spentrop Squarepants movie?

It is gold, baby, and that's going to be the X factor.

Z is going to be the X factor.

It doesn't make any sense, but it freaking does when you think about it, right?

All right, so this is very important for you guys to hear.

There's going to be people that are going to come for you

if you want to try to achieve something

that is difficult this late in your life you got to do this that this

that you got to look this certain way you got to

you should have done this 10 years ago i'm on the outside looking into a lot of people

but what i want to tell you right now is

if you're undeterred and you're willing to put in the work i'm 29 years old

if you're willing to put in the work you can make

your dreams become reality that's what this entire series is all about

this is for us this is for all of us they

not like us all right you can't even get in all right good job baby that's a good one

so what i'm trying to say is

it's personal not just for me to accomplish this this is for anyone

and everyone who wants to accomplish something great in this life and that hasn't followed the exact textbook plan

This is for all of us.

I'm gonna make sure we get it all for one one for all three musketeers

Man the Iron Mask Leonardo DiCaprio check it out Have you ever seen that movie?

Never ever.

It could suck Was there anything else I needed to say?

She's cold I'm hot I'm in my shirt.

I'm feeling good

It's gonna take more than just rain to stop me the

show goes on on 18 miles today 108 for the week we want it

and we want it bad one step at a time one

100

day at a time y'all know the drill by now relentless this is the olympic trials

101

or die trying which means I'm going to give my absolute all to make sure this becomes a reality.

102

This is no gimmick, not a marketing play, not for views or likes.

103

I just want to bring you guys along for the journey that all starts with right now, being present in this moment,

104

finishing this 15-mile day, and then lacing up getting back after it tomorrow every day let's go okay That is...

105

Buckle up.

106

Safety.

107

That's 14 on the day.

108

I did a 5 mile warm up and then I had to do...

109

I was gonna do just 12 400s.

110

Cause I told you guys that I have to work on speed.

111

Speed, speed, speed.

112

Body holds up after 100 mile race.

113

No problem.

114

Leadville.

115

That was a good sign of that.

116

My mechanics are all good.

117

Everything's good.

118

Tough enough.

119

Just not fast enough.

120

So we're gonna work on that.

121

Olympic trials are died trying.

122

Gotta be fast to qualify for the Olympic trials.

123

That's what today's effort was towards, like I said, I was just gonna do 12 400s and then I'm doing 16 and that was at, it was like 430 pace.

124

So then that comes out to around like 70 seconds per lap.

125

So you know, a good push.

126

I don't normally go that fast and it's just good to get

127

that leg turnover going want to make sure get fast enough to where a 5 10 mile is boring right now

128

honestly right now i could probably do that for a 5k and then i'm tapped out so that's 3.1 miles

129

i need to do that for 20 so

130

that starts with efforts like today and then it's going to be a lot of days like that.

131

A lot of days over this year.

132

Today's January 1st. So off to a good start, but it's just you got to get lost in the sauce.

133

Get lost in the evidence.

134

Self-belief is only, can only take you so far.

135

You need evidence that you are, who you say that you are.

136

That's someone's quote.

137

I don't know who's, but it's true.

138

Stacking evidence starting the first day of the year.

139

Been stacking in the last year and a half or so since I've started running consistently.

140

this is what it takes let's get going how do you like them apples?

141

normally this trail is packed but if you throw in a little bit of rain people wash away

142

the itchy bitchy spider one step at a time man come on now

143

what's the lowest body of apples What kind of you've seen?

144

Big.

145

Like, 11%?

146

That's as close to seeing this.

147

Alright, we're gonna win.

148

Yeah.

149

People talking about that I need to go through a big body transformation.

150

What they don't know is I already have.

151

I just got a DEXA scan done today.

152

And check this out.

153

I thought I was lean.

154

Brad Pitt, Fight Club lean.

155

Reports say he was like 7% body fat or something when he did that role.

156

I thought it was around there at least, but 11%, just a touch over 11% body fat.

157

When I got a DEXA scan done last January, 173 pounds.

158

This year, 154.

159

That is 19 pounds.

160

My lean tissue last year is what I weigh total now.

161

Lean tissue out of the 173 is 153.

162

My lean tissue now at 154 pounds, 137.

163

I have lost 16 pounds of muscle.

164

Where did it come from?

165

I can promise you I do not know.

166

Actually, like my arms, it was like three pounds difference.

167

Crazy.

168

Mileage, food, weight goes down.

169

That's what I've learned.

170

I think my body is holding on to some fat because

171

if it didn't then I'd be dead

172

So I did 14 miles today did 17 yesterday You guys can see the trend here.

173

It's high mileage.

174

No weights last year.

175

I was getting ready for the pull-up record

176

So it was a lot of blood flowing to all the

177

muscles Still had a pretty good lifting routine going on there

178

And now I've dropped all I used to think that I was um

179

Cut then and that I was cutting back on food then

180

if you were to ask me I would have said I was probably like 160 some pounds on record day

181

Turns out I was probably more like

182

After being full of all that food to probably like 175 on that pull-up bar

183

Now if I was in to do more pull-ups geez I could probably crush it, but

184

That's the thing in the past because it is Olympic trials

185

or die This is episode one so you guys can see what I look like right now 154 pounds

186

legs skinny arms skinny chest pretty lean

187

and back um i don't know how to flex my back

188

but so that's what we're at right now currently i told you guys i'd feel fine

189

if it was 150 episodes deep this is episode one we're

190

going to see just what it takes to get to that level of cutting off like 14 minutes of my marathon time.

191

154 right now, that's even a little bit too big if I had to guess.

192

This will be a good point of reference

193

and let's see what we get down to but I'm feeling fast

194

and I'm feeling dangerous Austin Marathon is let is a little over a month away gonna shock the world if you

195

What's that one thing say?

196

They're with me or against me or you're in my way Gucci Mane So

197

Is there anything else I wanted to say it's crazy we're getting so dang lean so so fragile Victim weight,

198

I think I could still bench 225 if you yeah, cuz I just did We just did like a week ago.

199

Yeah.

200

Another day, another chance to get better.

201

And we're making sure we're making the most of it.

202

Make sure to park my car four miles away from the gym because I'm running to the gym.

203

Going to do my speed work and making sure

204

that I'm four miles away so that I can get that cool down and the necessary mileage in.

205

the only way I'm going to hit this goal is if I am fully dedicated and little actions like that

206

well they guarantee that I'm fully dedicated

207

because I need my car I just feel good I'm just excited

208

but all the possibilities

209

so much room for activities just finished up the workout running back to the truck now gonna be 14

210

and a half on the day we're just gonna do six

211

reps of the speed work ended up doing seven baby

212

go one extra keep going stay resilient

213

it's just fatigue how bad do you want it is what

214

it comes down to you have to want it you have to make it happen

215

and we're making it happen every single day

216

playing the long game just like i always have when you're someone like me you have no choice

217

but man do i love it journey baby it's all about

218

the journey all right we are getting scientific out here check the data on my garmin

219

CIM 166 steps per minute 229.

220

Eugene Marathon 234 170 steps per minute.

221

The difference is I felt great at Eugene.

222

Guess what shoe I was wearing?

223

The ASIC Metaspeeds versus the Alpha Phi 3s at CIM.

224

I'm starting to look at this from a mechanical approach.

225

I don't know if you guys have noticed, but when I'm really striding out, trying to go fast, my strides too long.

226

So I'm actually working harder and then

227

that can lead to blowing up later in the race and not being able to maintain pace.

228

So I'm going to make it a concerted effort to try to increase cadence,

229

which comes with refined speed work of course, but also shoes that complement the way that your body wants to move as of right now,

230

which seems to be the A6.

231

So for the Austin Marathon next month,

232

gonna go the A6 route and see if the kind of shape I'm in is able to be amplified

233

through those shoes and that mechanical way that I want to move already.

234

That's the cool thing about being your own coach is you can do whatever the heck you want

235

and it's either you know what you're talking about or you don't but it all starts and ends with you.

236

Accountability.

237

That's the end of week one.

238

One week better.

239

One week closer to the goal.

240

About a hundred and forty-nine more of these so let's see how much faster I can get.

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182 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Episode 1 - Olympic Trials or DIE TRYIN'”. This video has 240 sentences and 2421 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:29. The speaker talks at a steady 147 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
lean verb	/ˈliːn/	To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
marathon noun	/ˈmæɹəθən/	A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race.
carb noun	/kɑɹb/	The hole on a pipe which is covered and opened to control the inflow of air.
mileage noun	/ˈmaɪləd͡ʒ/	The total distance travelled in miles or in air miles.
skinny adjective	/ˈskɪni/	Thin, generally in a negative sense (as opposed to slim, which is thin in a positive sense).
accomplish verb	/əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/	To finish successfully.
lat noun	/lɑt/	A coin or bill of either currency.
stride verb	/stɹaɪd/	To walk with long steps.
dedicate verb	/ˈdɛdɪˌkeɪt/	To set apart for a deity or for religious purposes; consecrate.
gram noun	/ˈɡɹæm/	A unit of mass equal to one-thousandth of a kilogram. Symbol: g.
turnover noun	/ˈtɝnoʊvɚ/	The amount of money taken as sales transacted in a given period.
weigh verb	/weɪ/	To determine the weight of an object.
stack noun	/stæk/	A large pile of hay, grain, straw, or the like, larger at the bottom than the top, sometimes covered with thatch.
scan verb	/skæn/	To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely.
amplify verb	/ˈæm.plə.faɪ/	To render larger, more extended, or more intense.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
pull up verb	/ˌpʊl ˈʌp/	To lift upwards or vertically.
blow up verb		To explode or be destroyed by explosion.
come down to verb		To reach by moving down or reducing.
cool down verb	/kuːl ˈdaʊn/	To become cooler; to be reduced in temperature.
cut off verb	/ˌkʌt ˈɔf/ [ˌkɐɾ ˈɔf]	To remove by cutting.
end up verb		To bring to a conclusion.
finish up verb		To complete the last details of a task.
get back verb		Return to where one came from.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

I feel like we've been here.
Back in my life's favorite fit.
Do I look like him?
That's what I'm doing right now with my lats.
Guess what shoe I was wearing?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result	if it didn't then I'd be
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	we've been · haven't heard · there's been
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is accomplished · being taken · is packed
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	everyone who wants · trying which means

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 88 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, gonna, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: accomplish /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/, crush /kɹʌʃ/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like lean, marathon, carb.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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