Real Life Runners with Angie and Kevin Brown

If you are searching for a training plan because you are looking to get fitter or because you have an upcoming race, there are a wide variety of options to choose from just a couple of clicks away. On this episode, we talk about why those plans each come with their own positives and negatives.   Please check out our show notes at  https://www.realliferunners.com/blog/episode85 Thank you for listen...

How do you deal with negativity directed towards you?  Especially when it is coming from family and friends?  or even random people on the internet?   Change is hard.  We have to find the motivation and drive to change our mindset to change our actions.  There is usually a good deal of negative voices coming from within that we need to overcome.  Sometimes those voices are external. Friends, famil...

As coaches and runners we are familiar of coming up short in some of the biggest moments.  There are always athletes who manage to step up when it is all on the line, and others who...well, don’t.  What is it that separates these performances? The answer is generally in your head rather than in your legs. In this episode, we cover the obstacles that prevent us from reaching our full potential.  Al...

So many times in our lives we get caught up. Caught up in the day to day, our weekly runs, our million to-do items.  On this episode we cover how living with intention can lead to much greater levels of success in running and all areas of your life. First, you must start by setting your priorities.  This task sounds simple but is at the basis of living fully and non just mindlessly drifting throug...

In this episode we thoroughly discuss the concept of the long run.  We cover the physical and mental benefits from a scientific and anecdotal point of view.  If you do not currently have a long run regularly in your training schedule, after about 20 minutes, you will understand why you should. The back half of the show goes into the details on how to schedule the long run, how fast to go during th...

We believe that cross training is important for every real life runner.  It helps you to get in better shape, train muscles that you don't normally train while running, and increase or maintain cardiovascular fitness if you are injured.   Running-specific types of cross training: pool running, elliptical, ElliptiGo Other cross training: swimming, cycling, hiking, stair climbing, yoga, pilates...

Running is great for getting in shape, improving cardiovascular health, improving mood and so many other things, but is it good for your weight?  Some people lose weight when running, some people gain, and some don't notice much of a change.  What gives?   In this episode, we talk about the various factors that go into weight control, including running, eating, snacking, strength training, in...

Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.  -Vince Lombardi In this episode, we dive into the concept of winning and try to put a definition onto it, or at least name some qualities of winning.   If you have been listening to us for any amount of time, you can probably guess that we categorize winning as much more than simply crossing the finish line before anyone else.  There are two major ch...

Today’s episode is all about relativity especially how it relates to time, how we spend it and how there never seems to be enough of it.  The inspiration for the episode comes from a book Angie just read called The Big Leap, which is now going to be the audiobook playing on my ride to and from work.   One of the biggest points of the book is the concept of time and it is explained in classic Newto...

On this episode, we dive into the need we all have for support with an emphasis on running, but an acknowledgement that to accomplish any difficult task, it is harder when you feel alone.   Professional athletes have an entire crew of coaches and trainers around them, not to mention a probable training crew.  If they seem to need this full support system, shouldn’t we all reach out to find a suppo...

Decluttering is the word of the moment and although Angie got in on the decluttering movement a few years back after reading the book, we are currently undergoing a massive decluttering of the house.  This, of course, got us thinking about how decluttering applies to our lives and naturally, running. In this show, we bring you a little more into our lives with a discussion of the decluttering tran...

Today, we update our effort levels a bit, transitioning from a 1-5 scale to a 1-10 scale.  Here's a little breakdown of what the numbers mean. Effort Levels (adapted from 80/20 running and RPE):   Extremely Easy - "I could run/walk forever at this pace" Very Easy - "I feel like I'm really holding myself back" - full conversations, singing, yodeling Easy - "I feel...

We have talked extensively about ways to improve on this show.  We have episodes devoted to training paces and ideal workouts for different distances.  If you search the internet, you can find lots of resources and opinions on this topic. Check out social media and you can find a slew of athletes announcing their latest workout or training plan.   That is not the point of this episode.  On this sh...

Last weekend was the Key West Half Marathon and a big weekend for both of us in terms of racing.  Heading into the race, both of us had lofty expectations that we were trying to keep rational. The goal was to go test ourselves and see what we could do, but it had been awhile since either of us had raced a half marathon which increased the size of the question mark over what was possible. On our pr...

It’s race week for the Real Life Runner household and with that comes this week’s episode on pre-race anxiety.  The episode gives us a chance to discuss the concept, talk about our own emotions heading into the upcoming race, and cover some methods of calming the nerves.  We start with a major point that everyone is going to have some feelings connected to an upcoming race.  It is simply natural t...

New year, new you!  It’s time to go all out on training.  You have signed up for a race and it’s approaching rapidly so you need to get your running cranked up.  Enthusiasm is great, but can lead to some major issues involving overtraining. In this episode let’s cover some signs of overtraining, how to avoid it, and how it may sneak up anyway. Overtraining can pop up whether you are a new or seaso...

Gain access to my new secret podcast, Unbreakable: The Runner's Guide To Injury-Proofing Your Body After 40. Click here: https://www.realliferunners.com/secret Join the Team! -->  https://www.realliferunners.com/team   Thanks for Listening!! Be sure to hit FOLLOW on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or your favorite podcast player  Leave a review on Apple Podcasts . Your ratings and reviews reall...

As we wrap up the end of the holiday season, and especially Christmas in this household, the idea of delayed gratification has been forefront in my mind.  We were able to watching our two little girls count down the days until they were done with school and then until Christmas morning. It seemed like every day our little one would announce “I can’t wait until Friday!”  After I asked why I realize...

Gratitude is an incredibly important quality to carry with you throughout the day.  It frames how you perceive everything around you and tilts the day in a much more positive direction.   In our busy lives, one of the things that is very easy to skip past is the feeling of thankfulness and gratitude.  Angie and I both like to start the day bringing to mind 1-3 specific things that we are thankful...

The holidays can be so busy, with h oliday parties,  Christmas concerts, g ift exchanges, and f amily and friend get togethers. Where does running and health fit in?   First, let’s think about the benefits of fitting in running Running and healthy eating during the holidays are ways for you to take care of yourself PHYSICALLY.  Running b uilds strength, h elps to control the balance between energy...

The best gifts are something that the recipient wants but does not want to buy for themselves.  The gift is removing the barrier of spending money on something they they could live without, but don’t want to.   Here are some of our favorites.  Find them all at this link . Running-specific gear:  Running vest- upgrade an older worn out version.  Our favorite is the Noxgear Tracer360 Super watch - c...

The treadmill.  I have heard it called many things.  The dreadmill. A winter refuge. A shelter from stifling heat or powerful thunderstorms.  A human hamster wheel. The long road to nowhere. Cardio.  Personally, I like to think of the treadmill as cheap therapist that I can occasionally visit on a long lunch break or while the team heads out for a distance run.   Whatever your relationship with th...

Life moves fast and sometimes we need to step back and enjoy the moment or expand our point of view and look at the big picture.  That is not the point of this episode.  That was last week. Sometimes we need to move fast.  We need to get in a speed workout to test our physical potential.  We need to get four lunches packed, get in a full day of work, shuttle the kids to four places at the same tim...

“Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”  This quote from the iconic Ferris Bueller drives home the importance of going slow.  There are plenty of life lessons contained in the episode and we start with a discussion of balance. Life is a constant balancing act between getting things done and enjoying what we are doing. We need to keep up at wo...

Do you have that friend who seems to run a race every single weekend?  In this episode, we look into the good and the bad of constant racing. With a background in high school racing, Kevin has so many races in his rear view mirror, he cannot count.  On the other hand, Angie came into running as an adult, and naturally has fewer races to reflect on. She does however have several lined up through th...