Real Life Runners with Angie and Kevin Brown

What is food?  Food is fuel, but food is so much more than just fuel.  Food describes who we are, where we come from, and how we live our lives.  The choices that we make about our food are far-reaching and say a lot about us.  In today's episode we talk about:  What is food? How does food fuel us? What else does food do besides just fuel us? What is good nutrition? How is good nutrition diff...

Maybe you are one of those runners that never leaves the house without headphones.  Maybe you are one of those runners who can't stand the idea of having something in your ears.  We have each been both of those runners at one point in our running journey.  Which one is which now? There are definite benefits of running with music and definite benefits of running unplugged.  Which is better? To...

Sometimes racing goes well.  We have that day when we hit a PR and all is right in the world.  Then there are those days when it doesn't.  We don't hit our goal, we don't PR, and we feel like crap.   Kevin had one of those races this weekend and today we talk about what went wrong.  There a lot of gems in this episode, so we hope you like it.   We talk about:  Mental strategies to u...

In a world where everyone wants more all the time, is that really what is best?  When is more a good thing, and when is more just, more? This is a big pitfall for a lot of runners.  People get better and faster when they start adding more miles or more speed work, so they think that continuing to add more will continue to get them better and faster.  Unfortunately, this is not always the case.   M...

We all want to look good, feel strong, and be in good shape.  That's why a lot of people start running in the first place.  However, while some people naturally lose weight in the process, it's not so easy for others. What gives?  If we start running, shouldn't the weight just fall off?  Unfortunately for most of us, that's not the case.  There are a lot of factors that go into...

Injury.  The runner’s nemesis. Sometimes it is avoidable.  Other times, it is not. Sometimes we trip and fall.  Sometimes the injury is a result of overtraining. Either way, many runners will find themselves needing to rebuild their mileage after injury.   Today, we talk about rebuilding speed and power after injury.  We start out with some tips on how to prevent those little aches and pain from t...

Make sure you stretch so you don’t get hurt!  Sometimes there is sage wisdom that can stand the test of time.  Other times, it’s just a training method that has been passed down for years without anyone actually questioning the point.  As real life runners, we are often pressed for time when working out. We hate wasting time with any activity that does not have an actual benefit on performance.  ...

In this episode, we discuss the benefits and difficulties that come from being a new runner.  While new runners are able to quickly adapt to new stresses on the body, everything is a new stress and that greatly increases the chance of an injury.   New runners tend to get caught in a couple of traps. Recognizing the pitfalls will hopefully help any new runners, or runners that seem to have plateaue...

There are so many terms floating around in the world of food nowadays - paleo, vegan, vegetarian, plant-based - what the heck do they all mean?  In this episode, we try to provide some clarity on several terms inside the food and diet community.   As a teacher, I often get education companies emailing me about their products and one that caught my eye was a vocabulary company.  They asked what app...

When it comes to getting anything done in our day, we need a reason.  The more challenging and new a task is, the greater reason, motivation, and focus we need to accomplish that task.  So many people are able to start a new exercise plan or healthy eating lifestyle, but fall back to old habits after a few weeks.  When a race or a workout gets tough, knowing your reason for why you are doing it he...

In general, running tends to be a very numbers-oriented sport.  If you gather a group of runners together, it won’t take long before people start comparing PR’s.  Check out a runner’s social media feed and you will find lots of mileage, times, and paces.  While there is nothing exactly wrong with this, it can lead to some negative thinking and undue stress.   Today we discuss how treating running...

The big race is over.  You've been training for months, and now it's done.  Maybe you met your goal, maybe you didn't.  Now where do we go from here? Angie just finished her second half marathon ever, and her first as a mother of 2 last weekend.  Keep in mind, our youngest child is 5 1/2 years old.  :) It took awhile, but she did it.   Today's episode is basically a coaching ca...

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...

We've all been there before.  Whether we are at the start of our fitness journey or we have fallen off the wagon, we all have been faced with trying to start or restart a healthy habit.  We know we need to exercise, but how do we make it a normal part of our day that we don't even have to think about? Enter in The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.  This latest read explains the science b...

We've all heard it before: to lose weight, we need to burn more calories than we consume.  We need to eat less and exercise more, right?  We gain weight because we eat too much, have lack of self-control, and just don't exercise enough.  Wrong!   Weight control is about so much more than just calories in-calories out.  Sure, calorie restriction plans can work in the short term, but then...

A few episodes ago, we talked about the benefits of a training plan, and there are a lot!  However, today we look at the other side.  Are there negatives of following a training plan, and if so, what are they?   Well, the first is that training plans don't always take into account our real life.  Stuff happens.  We are under a lot of stress, we get sick, kids get sick, family drama, lack of s...

There are two main ways that people start on their running journey: on a team or as an individual.  Kevin started off on the cross country team in high school and has transitioned into solo running throughout the years.  On the other hand, Angie started off solo and has recently started running and training with a group.   This week, we talk about some of the pros and cons of running with a group,...

 The mental aspect of competition often takes a backseat to making sure that you have racked up the miles of preparation.  In this episode, we cover one of the worst outcomes of any race...choking.  We spend some time going into the nuances of another chapter out of Matt Fitzgerald's book  How Bad Do You Want It?  to dive into the details of what choking is and how to avoid this terrible race...

Technology has paved the way for huge advancements in running.  While not many are going to argue the benefits of shoe updates and wicking fibers, the picture becomes a little less clear when you look at activity trackers and phone apps.  Have we become so dependent on technology that we are missing the human component of running and training?    Today we will talk about:  What is the point of hea...

Running is bad for your knees, right?  That's what we all hear from everyone around us that doesn't run, but is it true?  Today, we get a little medical, and talk about a condition that plagues a LOT of runners: knee pain.   Here's the spoiler: Running is NOT bad for your knees, when done correctly.  Unfortunately, knee pain does tend to affect a lot of runners, so we are here today...

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...

Goal setting: It's something that we know we should do, but do we always do it?  And if we do, are we setting effective and appropriate goals that are pushing us to succeed or setting us up for failure? When we look at our lives and want to improve our health, our running, or just our life in general, we should be setting goals.  In this episode, you will learn:  What are 3 big challenges whe...

What the heck is periodization of training?  It's a fun vocabulary word that refers to cycling your training plan.  If you are shooting for a goal race, or if you just want to keep improving and getting faster, training cycles are very important.   Macro cycles are the big chunks of your training plan that have one goal in mind, like one season of the year.  Micro cycles are the weeks within...

In a world of distracted drivers and stories of runners being hurt, thinking about running safety is now more important than ever.  We tell you all about why this has become very important to us recently, with the development of a new medical condition.  In this episode, we talk about running safety, especially the topics of:  How to stay safe when running in the dark What gear is important for ni...

In case you hadn't heard, Kevin and Angie are high school cross country coaches.  Kevin has been coaching for over 10 years, and Angie joined the team a few years ago.  We just got back from the state championship last weekend, so we wanted to think about what lessons we have learned over the course of the season and figure out ways to improve next year.   Anytime we train, we should always t...