Real Life Runners with Angie and Kevin Brown

391: 5 Things To Leave in 2024

• Angie Brown

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One thing I have learned over and over again this year is that we must "let go to let in". As 2025 approaches, we  need to bring closure to 2024 to allow space for future successes, joy, and achievements in running and life. In this episode we highlight five key things runners should consider letting go of and leave in 2024. 


02:06 The Clothing Analogy: Letting Go to Let In

08:23 Five Things to Let Go of in 2024

13:39 Debunking the 'More is Better' Myth

20:28 Balancing Hard and Easy Workouts

21:46 Effort-Based Training and Cross Training

23:50 Embracing Quality Over Quantity

26:12 Letting Go of Arbitrary Numbers

32:23 The Power of Self-Acceptance

35:15 Avoiding Harmful Comparisons 


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Angie:

Welcome to the Real Life Runners podcast. Today we're talking about the concept of letting go To let in, because 2025 is right on the horizon. as we look ahead to 2025 and start thinking about our goals, it's important to first bring closure to 2024, because if we want to bring in more success and more joy, And more faster times and more mileage and whatever you're trying to accomplish. We must also let go of some of the things that could be weighing us down. We must let go to let in. So today we're going to take a look back at all the wins and lessons of 2024 so that we know how to move powerfully into 2025. And we're going to give you five things that you might want to let go of and leave in 2024 as we move forward. So stay tuned. What's up runners. Welcome to the show today. It is the last episode of 2024 and I don't know if you guys agree with us But if I just I'm looking back on Like I can't believe 2024 is over already.

Kevin:

You like ran out of words. I know describe your emotions there

Angie:

Because it's just to me this it was a blink this year went so quickly I don't know. I know they say that Time tends to pass quicker as we get older and I definitely felt that about this year.

Kevin:

That doesn't make any sense We're young and

Angie:

sprightly like spry

Kevin:

Yes, I mean we feel that

Angie:

way I think you know I think that's the important thing of how we train and how we choose to live our lives is that we do still feel very Young like I don't feel the age that I am but I know that I am and I've got the wisdom of

Kevin:

I have an age group bracket that I get loaded into at any race that we run into. I've got

Angie:

some of those little lines on my face that might insinuate that idea. But today we want to really talk about letting go to let in. And this is, been triggered by a couple of different things. So number one, just this whole idea that 2024 is coming to a close and we want to really put closure on that. It before we move into 2025, but it also is inspired by an incident that happened this morning at our house as we were getting ready for church and our girls were getting ready and trying to find clothing to wear and, We have a 12 year old and a 15 year old, and it was one of those mornings where nobody had anything to wear. I have no clothes.

Kevin:

that's because it's bitterly cold here. And so everybody had to figure out their warm weather clothes because it was, in the 60s. it was chilly, and then you've got to figure out what you're going to wear. And now I Myself, I lean towards the clothes that I wore, when I was still in college because I still have those sweaters. So I break them out two or three times a year when it gets super, super cold and,

Angie:

super, super cold. Yeah. That was two supers for a sixties.

Kevin:

Yeah. this morning when I started running, it was in the low fifties. So it was,

Angie:

The perfect running weather.

Kevin:

I know it's, I wore shorts and a t shirt and gloves, which I think is a great combination. but when you're holding a water bottle, I think the gloves actually help because otherwise my fingers just do get cold.

Angie:

Yeah. So if you have teens, you, and also if you're just a person, you've probably had this experience. Problem as well. Like you're looking at all of these clothes in your closet in your drawers like oh my god I have nothing to wear even though your closet is literally filled with clothing And this is what is going on with our girls too, right? They're coming out telling me I have nothing to wear even though their closets and their drawers are just completely filled with clothing And so it made me think okay. I Hear you I'm not gonna start arguing with them that you know, you don't have anything where I just Said, okay, we'll put something on. We need to go to church. So I don't care what you wear. Just put something on. We need to go to church and It made me think of this idea though that they cannot fit more into their closets and into their drawers until they get rid of the old clothing that they no longer wear. So it is this, you have to let go if you want to let in because you can't fit anymore. It's full. So you have to let go of the things that are no longer serving you. You have to let go of the things that you don't wear or don't like or don't fit. And so clothing, that's still very much similar to what we need to do with some of the other areas of our lives.

Kevin:

Yeah, that's the thing with clothes is you might just be done wearing it in life There are things that have become part of our routine and so it just feels so good to hold on to them Even if they're not really serving you if they're not benefiting you anymore I've got too many t shirts like I've got drawers full of t shirts, But I don't wear like 60 different t shirts. I just own 60 different t shirts. They're not all really serving me, serving a benefit for me. And I think that we do that in all sorts of different areas of our life is we just hold onto this thing because it's the way that we've always done it.

Angie:

and we like them, right? Like you have those t shirts and you like those t shirts, but you just don't wear them all the time, right? I think that. When I look at my drawers, because I've tried doing this before too, of okay, I really need to get rid of clothing because I'm really having to shove things into these drawers. They, I know that they're full, but I don't like, I like that shirt because it reminds me of that race or it reminds me of this. And you don't, it's hard to let go of things sometimes because you, there are emotional attachments that you have to those items.

Kevin:

Yes, the emotional tensions. There's literally shirts that I don't wear anymore, because if we wash it too many more times, then I can't wear it because it'll have holes in it. But that's this weird paradox that I can't wear the shirt. But I also it because then it would get wrecked. But then that means I never actually get to wear the shirt, which is tragic. I'm thinking of my Chicago Marathon shirt.

Angie:

Yeah. And so you're Just holding on to it because of the emotional attachment or for, what it signifies for you is that was your first marathon, like that's a big deal, but it's just sitting there.

Kevin:

Yes. I don't know. The last time that I wore it, it just takes up space in my drawer.

Angie:

Yeah. And before I thought of this, clothing analogy, it was really this idea of, realizing that we are all. Carrying this backpack of rocks or we all have drawers full of clothing use whatever analogy or metaphor Is it a metaphor or does it analogy? It's the same thing.

Kevin:

It's what's the difference pretty sure that it's a metaphor

Angie:

I can't remember the difference between analogy and it's as right isn't it? That's a simile. Oh, that's a simile Yeah, so but yeah, I mean use whatever metaphor you want, right? So it's like it's Either you can think about this idea that you have a closet full of clothing and drawers full of clothing and you have to let go to let in, or think about it as we are all carrying a backpack of rocks. And so if you want to start off on a journey and you want to start going faster, there's a lot that you can do, right? When you start off on your running journey, or maybe you're, into your running journey, but you're still wanting to improve in some way, there's a lot that you can do. You can. Run more. You can lift weights to get stronger. You can put in more hours on the road or in the gym. And I think that a lot of us tend to default to this. Let's just do more. Let's add in some more. Clearly, I'm not doing enough. We're just always trying to do more or add more. And a lot of times that leads to this one step forward, two steps back. We make temporary progress, but then we keep just doing more. And so our body is breaking down, maybe we get sick, maybe we get injured, maybe that ache and pain pops back up again and you have to take time off. And so you're going backwards again and then you have to build back up, right? And there's a lot of runners that are in that vicious cycle of I want to do more and I want to get better, but then they overdo it and then set themselves back and they're never actually making that longterm progress. So if we can realize. That we're all carrying around this backpack filled with rocks instead of just doing more and adding more to our plan we can choose to just lighten the load by removing some of the rocks that are weighing us down and then we will be able to go further and Faster because you must let go of the things that are holding you back and that are weighing you down Before you can let in More success, more joy, more connection, more miles, more speed, like all of these things that you might want. And this obviously applies to both running and the rest of our lives. So today we really want to talk about what are five things we would like to suggest that you let go of at the, here in, at the end of 2024 and. whatever year you're listening to this podcast down the road, because that's the beautiful thing about podcasts is that they live on forever. You can choose to do this at any point in time. It doesn't have to be a year in activity, when we get to the end of the year, it does tend to be a time of reflection. So today we're going to talk about five things to, to let go of so that you can let more into your life.

Kevin:

I like your backpack of rocks analogy. I, it reminds me, cause we've got the running podcast. So we may have some people that catch the running humor on this. it's like the, the UTMB backpack that you have to carry because the list of things that has to go into your backpack in order to participate in one of their races, especially like the big one that they put on over in Europe is phenomenal. Like you have to have like

Angie:

requirements. Oh yeah.

Kevin:

No requirements. And then there's gear checks along the way. Yeah. Yeah. And if you don't have the appropriate equipment in your bag, you're like, you're time penalized. If it's, depending on what it is, I think that they can just remove you from the race. But like multiple jackets and like three extra layers of clothes and pants and people joke, they're like, it's in France and then runs through various countries and stuff. So you have to have a charcuterie board and like a wheelie. Don't forget a baguette. And a baguette at all times and like various types of cutlery. But like the stuff that you have to have is ridiculous. And, as if you're a runner and you're used to carrying the, like your gear in a backpack, you can think about this, what would be, how much easier would it be to run if you had just like a handheld water bottle versus a backpack that's carrying like a gallon and a half of water? Like you're going to be able to do that. More with just a simple handheld what if you could go from the backpack and just have a waist belt like you don't necessarily Need all of this gear they do it for safety reasons. They just you have to have all these things in life It's just some inconvenient things that we're just holding on to and we can't see it because it's stuck in a backpack So we don't even realize how much we're weighing ourselves down because it's just I don't know We just keep throwing it and shoving into the backpack and then you realize that you're holding on to these things from years ago that You don't need anymore,

Angie:

right? And so the first step of all of this is bringing awareness to these things because Kevin just mentioned, you might not even realize that you're holding on to these things because you might not have even realized that you put them there because this could have been done by your subconscious mind. Like this could have been done when you were. kid of like the lessons that you learned in like P. E. or in your family or who knows where some of these beliefs came from, they could have been put in your backpack a really long time ago and still be weighing you down.

Kevin:

Did you gain a lot of lessons from grade school P. E.?

Angie:

Grade school P. E. The biggest thing that I remember is Mr. Connor was my P. E. teacher. And the big thing I remember about him was because I broke my arm at it was either recess or P. I think it was during recess. so I do remember him, cause I, I fell off the monkey bars when I was in second grade and I broke my arm on the school playground. And so I do remember Mr. Connors cause he like helped me and he was just like very helpful. So I just remember playing kickball and so I don't have any, no, I don't have Vivid memories from grade school PE, do you?

Kevin:

Nothing that you like really took away, like clear knowledge that you were imparted by your genius. Cause they're always just

Angie:

they're

Kevin:

not the teacher that's What do

Angie:

you have? You have, I feel like you have something. no. I gained

Kevin:

absolutely nothing from grade school PE.

Angie:

Oh, because PE was like the time that you went out to have fun. It was like, it was your learning break, your brain break, which was so necessary.

Kevin:

It was supposed to be. And I'm sure that we all have lessons, even if we're like, Oh, there's nothing that I possibly gained from my PE teacher. But you probably did. that's the thing is you probably did gain some lessons, especially, it is. During this like early athletic growth, depending on who your PE teacher was, especially if they gave you a lot of unstructured play, that's honestly ideal. People are like, Oh, the PE teacher just has to throw some balls and the kids will all figure it out. That would be ideal, actually, is it lets kids just go out and play and have fun. And that kind of could lead to some really great thoughts on running or on athletics in the first place.

Angie:

Absolutely. like I said, there could be positive things in there, there could be negative things in there, but most of us don't have those clear memories until we actually start to dig in and start to do some of that deeper work, but, all right, let's dig into the five things that we would. Invite you to let go of, right? It's up to you. You can hold on and carry whatever the heck you want into 2025. and also the thing to note about these before we move forward is that it's not like you realize it once and you put it down and it never comes back up again. these rocks are tricky. They try to keep jumping back into your backpack. They're like those, Mexican jumping beans. That's

Kevin:

what you're

Angie:

going with. I don't know. It just came to me. I went with whatever it came to me, but it's they do try to jump back in and you have to recognize it and put it back down and put it back down. All right. Is there a better analogy? Just

Kevin:

careful. There's a worm inside of these rocks. A

Angie:

worm?

Kevin:

That's what makes them jump.

Angie:

Really? Mexican jumping beans? Yes. That's funny. The

Kevin:

more you know. Thank you. All right.

Angie:

Is it the same bean that goes into the tequila or the same worm from the tequila? I don't think so. Okay. there you go. all right. the first thing we would invite you to let go of is the worm. The idea that more is better, right? I think that a lot of us have learned this, have adopted this belief that more is better. If I want to be a better runner, I just have to do more. I have to run more. I have to lift more. I have to do more. And as we Crest the age of 40 and move into the second half of our life in the second half of our running We really need to embrace the idea of quality over quantity Now Kevin and I are gonna get into a little discussion here because yeah, we are this is one of those things that Has asterisks and has caveats, but I do think that it's important for us to in general, let go of this idea of more is better. Would you agree with that? Like in general? Yes,

Kevin:

I like it.

Angie:

Okay. But there are times where if you add a little bit to your running routine, you could get better results. And that's one of the things Kevin's going to talk about. But at the same time, one of the things I'm going to talk about is And when you add more, sometimes you're just breaking your body down and you're not getting any results and you're actually making yourself weaker in the process.

Kevin:

Yeah. So my suggestion would be that adding more mileage, because I think it's important that when we talk about adding more, that there's really two areas that you can add more to you. Okay. In general, you can add more running and you can add more strength training. That's usually where most people go to. I,

Angie:

there's cross training too.

Kevin:

So you jumped ahead because there's a third category, but most people, if they look at their general running calendar, they're like, all right, I can put in more miles or I can lift harder. I could throw in another lifting day, but like you suggested there, there is actually a third area. I think that this whole idea that more is better is most people trying to put things into one of those two buckets.

Angie:

I'm going to offer that there's a fourth category.

Kevin:

Oh, what do you got?

Angie:

Rest.

Kevin:

All right. that's a good one. And that I think needs to come in very importantly, because my argument would be that as many miles as you can healthily sustain is going to lead to the best results.

Angie:

But healthily sustained is the key there. And that changes for each individual that changes in different seasons of your life, depending on what else is going on in your life. So understanding that maybe during certain seasons, like if you're in a marathon training cycle, your body might be able to sustain more miles. Whereas if you're in another season of life and life is really stressful. doing that same amount of mileage might break your body down. Yes.

Kevin:

in general, if you're running, say, just to give random numbers and nice round numbers, if you're running 20 miles a week, you could probably get faster by moving your 20 to 25 miles a week. Maybe. Unless you then have crossed over this threshold where you just feel constantly stressed all the time because you're trying to squeeze an extra five miles out of the week, but in general, that you're going to get in better shape by putting a little bit more miles into it. If you're lifting one day during the week, you will, in general, get in better shape by adding a second day of lifting.

Angie:

No, I think you just, I think you just have to add in a second day. I don't think that it's one versus two. It's really two versus three.

Kevin:

Okay, so you're good with just throwing extra strength at it without any sort of caveats. Did you My extra five miles, that's, that was your tipping point?

Angie:

Can you see where our biases lie? Get in your

Kevin:

extra five miles, you're gonna run faster.

Angie:

No, but please do understand that the 20 miles that Kevin just mentioned is an arbitrary number, which we are going to be talking about later, in the podcast. But let's go back to the idea real quick of this quality over quantity because I think that's where we need to start because there is a certain baseline that Kevin, mentions here that I do agree with. I think that we all have a certain baseline. That baseline is different for each individual though, and that's where it gets tricky because a lot of people see what other people are doing or what some random training plan or training app is telling you to do and they think, okay, that's what I need to do and that might not be the best idea for you. And so it. It does require some trial and error with, with you and some guidance, you know, coaching and guidance. One of the beautiful things about having a coach or having guidance in your running journey is that you require less trial and error because it's not that there's going to be none of it, that you don't, it's just going to be, okay, if I have a coach, I'm just going to always know the way and nothing's going to go wrong. that's clearly not what it is, but the coaches can help you guide you. Based on their years of experience based on who you are and what your life looks like So that there's less of that trial and error that's necessary to get you to where you want to go

Kevin:

Yeah, there's always trial and error There's always experimentation because every person is an n of one but you can look at somebody and be like Oh, it seems like they're familiar towards this person Previous person that I've coached in this works really It gives you a better starting off point that is more likely to be successful Not that it has to be but it usually instead of trying like 40 different options You can be like it's probably gonna be one of these five options. Yeah,

Angie:

and so When we start looking at this idea of quality versus quantity or quality over quantity, you have to find out, figure out what that baseline is for you. And if you want to start adding more to it, always understanding the point of that workout and why you're doing that thing so that you understand, okay, what is the quality? What is what am I actually going for here versus I just need to add more, right? I just need to run more, do more, spend more time working out. Always understanding the point of the workout and what you're trying to gain from that I think is the really is really the way that we want to look at that and define that quality over quantity idea

Kevin:

That's a good one. I'll agree with that. I'll jump on board with that one. But sometimes especially for longer races We're talking half marathon and up adding extra easy cardio Is going to be beneficial and as runners, most of us are like, all right, so that means that my four mile run becomes a five or my six mile run becomes a seven. I'll just start adding an extra mile to my weekend long run, whatever it is. But as you suggested earlier, there are other ways to increase the amount. Even if the goal is simply easy cardio, there are ways to increase it. Instead of just going out for more running, you could find a cross training modality you. That you enjoy, you can add easy cardio that way,

Angie:

right? So biking, swimming, any type of activity that gives, get your heart rate a little bit higher, but still in that easy range, it still feels easy. Hiking is a great one. Walking with a weighted vest, like speed walking with a weighted vest, walking on an incline. All of those things are going to help raise your heart rate. So it's going to help to improve your cardio system without the additional impact and pounding on the body that running might bring the other thing that cross training brings in here is For those people that have a hard time keeping their runs easier cross training is a fantastic option Because it allows you to put more of that easy Cardio in so that you're getting that benefit of that like low intensity training without Needing to have to go out to run so that really takes us to point number two which is One of the next thing we want to invite you to let go of is the need to push hard in every workout because When you push hard in your workout, you're breaking your body down And if you're continuing to break your body down every single day and not allowing easy days not allowing recovery days You're gonna get hurt. You're gonna get sick. You're not gonna make the progress that you want So we really would invite you to shift over to this thinking of more easy days than hard days You still need hard days. You still need to stress the body if you want to improve So you still need to run longer and you still need to do speed work. You still need to lift heavy So that you're putting that stress on the body But you also need to have enough easy days and recovery days in there so that you're actually reaping the benefits of your training

Kevin:

Alright, here's another one We're gonna combine the first couple of things here The idea that the only way that you can get faster is by doing hard running workouts If you've tried that for years and it seems to continuously put you into an injury cycle You could try using cross training as your harder days Yes And because running faster is going to put even more strain on the body because it increases your impact forces than running easier. So running extra fast increases your likelihood of getting hurt. So you could, instead of saying, every week I've got to make sure that I get in my speed run, you could swap out every other week and make it a speed workout on a bike, make it a speed workout. On an elliptical and this is the benefit and the glory of using effort based training because you're like How fast am I supposed to go on the bike? How what level do I put it to on an elliptical? The one that it feels moderate the one that it feels like a level seven the whatever level you're aiming for That's the one like there's not a number Because it varies by person to person and this one it really gets me if you put me on a bike I am not going that fast and that hard and suddenly it feels like level seven because I'm just not that comfortable on a bike I'm solid on an elliptical, but I'm not I just don't feel comfortable on a bike And so it can very quickly feel difficult for me And this is why knowing your how your body feels at different efforts is super important but I think that opening yourself up to possibly cross training as your hard workout on the week Is a big one here

Angie:

Yeah, I completely agree. And like you said, it does matter where you're coming from. we have a client that used to be a swimmer and played water polo. So swimming, like she's just so used to the pool and it's just so easy for her to go swim and her body's he knows it. Whereas me, if I go into the pool, that is a harder workout for me because I'm not a swimmer. I don't like my body doesn't know it. So it, I think that my heart rate, I haven't done it in a while, but. when I do, have done it in the past, like my heart rate does get up to a higher level. So it is what your body is used to. And so we really would invite you to embrace that need to push hard in every single workout. You don't need to push hard in every single workout, which really does Go hand in hand with that quality over quantity as well, right? Like the quality of your workout, the point of your workout. Is this supposed to be an easy day? Is this supposed to be a hard day? Because you need a balance of both and you need a little bit of moderate. You need less of that moderate intensity as you get older. as we get older, it is more important for us to. Polarize our training so that we're having more easy days and then more hard days and less of that middle ground But it is still important to keep touching on all of those things especially if you're training for certain things like if you're training for a 10k if you're training for A half marathon, you do need to be able to sustain, to, to sustain that moderate effort, right? So you have to do some of it. You can't just ignore it completely, but the ratios change as we get older and as we start to shift our training, shift our goals and have different focuses for things. Yeah.

Kevin:

The sandwich training of training above and below the pace becomes extra important because you want to make sure that you're always being able to feed that power and make sure that you're getting the higher end speed. Even if you're like, I'm training for a marathon, I'm going to be out there for hours and hours. Why would I need to make sure that I'm hitting my strides as fast as I'm hitting them? It's because the faster your fast pace, every pace underneath it, then feels more comfortable at a faster pace. that's how it works. Like the faster you can go, the easier marathon pace is going to feel.

Angie:

Yeah, exactly. All right. Anything else you want to add in about those two?

Kevin:

no. I, on the cross training idea, like you pointed out swimming. I'm such an inefficient swimmer that I don't think that I could even use that as a modality.

Angie:

You could if you practiced. I could

Kevin:

if I practiced, but like after five minutes, I don't have a version of swimming laps that is an easy level.

Angie:

you could do pool running.

Kevin:

I could do pool running. I'm very good at pool running. I did that for so many injury weeks and months during college. I still think that I could flip back into that even though it's been Oh, so many years. But I think that I still have my mind that I could do that one bit swimming, just trying to swim down and back in our pool. I'm so quickly out of breath, I don't even want to try and take what my heart rate would be at that point. I don't have an easy level swim. So it'd be an interesting one.

Angie:

So know yourself, right? All right. That takes us into number three. So the third thing that we would invite you to let go of. are arbitrary numbers. We all have these numbers that we have made up in our minds. So maybe that looks like, if I don't run at least three miles, it's not worth it, or it doesn't count, or why would I even get dressed for that? And this one, I was talking to one of our neighbors the other day about this, And he was talking about how he's been going out on 20 minute runs. And those of you that follow me on Instagram, I talked about this last week on one of the reels that I posted. If you don't follow us on Instagram yet, what are you doing? Go over to Instagram right now at real life runners and hit follow. but I was talking to him about it and he was telling me how he was going out on these 20 minute runs and how. Good. It's making him feel and how he's been so much more consistent because he doesn't have to build himself up Oh, I have to go out and get in 30, 45, 60 minutes. It's Oh, it's just 20 minutes. Like he brought that barrier, like that obstacle of entry down. So it's Oh, it's only 20 minutes. I can do 20 minutes. No problem. And how he's noticing that he's feeling so much better. He's got that consistency and then he's still able to go out and hit, eight mile runs or things like that on the weekend. He also, rides his bike so he can still hit those longer things, even though, quote, unquote, even though I'm only running for 20 minutes during the week because he's maintaining that level of consistency. And so we all have these, arbitrary numbers that we've make up and maybe it's a distance. Maybe it's a time. Maybe it's that need to hit a certain pace on every single run or having some sort of lower limit, Oh, I'm never going to allow, okay. I'll get on board with this easy training, but. I'm not actually going to run slower than a 10 minute mile or an 11 minute mile or whatever that number is for you. Like having some sort of limit on that you've just essentially made up in your head.

Kevin:

Yeah, that one I fully embrace this year. I think this was the year that I completely got on board with letting go of what the pace on my watch said relative to easy.

Angie:

Yeah.

Kevin:

Of no. Easy is whatever it needs to be. To what

Angie:

actually feels easy.

Kevin:

Yeah. And it varies drastically from one day to the next. is it the Monday following a super long run on Sunday? Easy pace is a completely different number than if I have two easy days in a row, the second easy day, I might be a full minute faster and feel just as comfortable or just like whatever the effort load still feels comfortable. I think that this is the first year that I've really. fully let go of what the watch says and oh man that was built in from college

Angie:

Yeah, and we've been preaching this for years and years on this podcast, right? so this is one of those examples of the rock doesn't always get out Like it's not like you put the rock down one time and it never comes back again This is one of those things where you might have to take it out and then it jumps back in and you take it out and it jumps back in. But eventually, as you continue to take it out, it stops jumping back in.

Kevin:

Yeah, and it's a lot smaller when it comes back in.

Angie:

Oh, there you go. I like that too.

Kevin:

you take out the rock and it comes back in as a smaller rock. It gets smaller, yeah. You take it out and now it's back in as a pebble. You don't see it anymore. it's it's hiding underneath some of these other rocks that we're trying to get rid of. But you're like, Oh, wait, it popped back up. I checked my watch and I thought, Ooh, I'm not going fast enough today. yes, you are. You're going just fine because it's an easy run. You're going at whatever pace needs to be your easy

Angie:

pace. Yeah. And I think that also includes the ability to embrace walking breaks as needed also, And I think that's one of the things that you've done and people often will look at you and what your average pace is during these runs, during your marathon and. During ultra marathon and Oh, Kevin never has to walk. And it's no, Kevin walks too. Sometimes especially, you walk during that a hundred miles, but your average pace was still, especially for the first half of it. Like you can look at some of your splits in the beginning. You're like, wow. But you did embrace them walking in the recovery, the weeks. to recover from that as well.

Kevin:

Yeah. I also have decided that my most efficient way of fueling during these things is to walk every time I take in food. Like I, and shoot the last marathon I did, I walked through every aid station to make sure that I was actually getting in a cup of liquid instead of trying to splash into my face and hope that I was able to get a half a swallow of water. Embrace some of these walking breaks because it really does actually help the overall process,

Angie:

right? So letting go of this need to always hit a certain pace always hit a certain mileage always hit a certain time Whatever that might be and really starting to connect with your body. Listen to your body follow your training plan Of course, right but also understanding that But sometimes your training plan has arbitrary numbers on there too, right? Like yes, the training plan does matter. But if you do a 30 minute run instead of a 35 minute run, is it going to be a huge difference? No, not one time. If you do it time after time, then yes, right? Because then you're cutting out a ton of, time on your feet or mileage or whatever it might be, right? if you're cutting every run short, then that training plan is not right for you. It's way over your head for that phase of your life. If you cut some stuff short, shorter and just do 20 minutes, especially now during the holidays, I guess when this is coming out, it's after the holidays, technically

Kevin:

before new year's

Angie:

still before new year's. but when there's busy seasons of life, it's okay to adjust your things. And realizing that a lot of times the numbers in our head are arbitrary is a really important step. So letting go of some of those arbitrary numbers and embracing, Embracing what? Embracing this idea of you can run according to how you feel, and that's a good thing, right? You can adjust things thatembracing adjustments, and letting go of some of those things that might not be serving you.

Kevin:

Yeah, I think at this point you're looking at arbitrary numbers as, Mileage as paces, but also, all the way to what does your training plan say? do you feel compelled to check the box because the training plan is perfectly designed. No training plan is perfectly designed. Like I designed so many plans. I will fully admit they are not perfectly designed. There has to be some wiggle room in them for life to exist.

Angie:

Yeah. Absolutely. All right. Number four. One thing we would love for you to let go of is this feeling not good enough, right? This idea of it's not good enough. It's never enough because bullying yourself might work in the short term. There's a lot of people that believe I can't be content. I can't be satisfied. I can't celebrate my wins because I'm not there yet. I haven't achieved this milestone yet, or I'm still too slow. I'm still not good enough. And they. They refuse to acknowledge how much progress they've already made. They refuse to acknowledge how good they already are because in their mind, they're not where they want to be yet. And bullying yourself may work in the short term. There, there's sometimes. Where, you need to kick your own butt sometimes to get yourself out the door. You're like, come on, stop whining. Get yourself out the door. there's sometimes that can be a helpful tactic. I would, I don't know about bullying yourself, there's sometimes that being a little bit more stern with yourself can

Kevin:

work. if you get caught in a rut. Of like you're, you've been remarkably inconsistent and then the inconsistency led to an off day followed by an off day followed by an off day. You might need to give yourself a little kick in the pants to be like, all right, we're going out today, whatever it is, we're going out and getting in something that on occasion this might inspire you out of a rut.

Angie:

But bullying yourself and feeling not good enough is not going to lead to longterm success or consistency because we instead would invite you to embrace. The idea that working out is a gift that you are giving to yourself right now and also to your future self, especially to your future self, right? Like understanding and really acknowledging that what you're doing now is fantastic. even though you're You might not yet be where you want to be. Maybe you have a goal set for yourself and you're not there yet. That's totally okay. You can still acknowledge yourself in the moment, acknowledge the wins that you've had thus far in your running journey, and also still work to improve yourself.

Kevin:

Yes. I think that's really the best way to improve yourself is from a place of accepting where you are and that where you are is amazing. And that doesn't mean that you have to stay where you are, like what you, where you are currently at is great. You're out there. You're, you're listening to a running podcast. You've got some sort of running routine that you do, and that's fantastic. That doesn't mean that you have to stick with it. You could put in some, you can put in a second lifting day. That's fantastic. That's obviously the most important thing that we need to do.

Angie:

Clearly,

Kevin:

we're going to start there. but you can change your routine. You can put in some different things. You can try some speed. You can change your, the race that you're striving for. You can strive for bigger goals than what you could currently achieve while still accepting that where you currently are is a great place.

Angie:

Absolutely. All right. Number five. Letting go of comparison and this includes comparing yourself to others and also comparing yourself to other versions of yourself, specifically past versions of you that may have been faster or that may have been in quote unquote better shape than you currently are in and that kind of goes back to the bullying yourself, right? There's a lot of people that When they think about where they are now, they're like, Oh, how did I let myself get to this place? Or they think negatively of themselves now as compared to where they used to be. And we would really invite you to let go of that. And again, embrace where you are now. Look ahead to the future, that future version of you. What does that. Version of you look like, what is that version of you do on a daily basis? How do you feel five years from now ten years from now two months from now, whatever it might be right that future? Self what you're doing now is investing in the health and the life of your future self So comparison is getting in your way Then it's a great time to start releasing that.

Kevin:

What about the comparison to the imaginary version of yourself that started a few months ago?

Angie:

Ooh, I like that one.

Kevin:

Oh, if I had just been more consistent in 2024, imagine where I would have been right now. Okay, but you weren't and you can't go back and change that. Oh, if I just didn't get sick, or if I didn't have that trip, if you can come up with all sorts of reasons that led to an inconsistency that changed what you were hoping to accomplish in 2024. But you can't go back and fix any of those things. You can't adjust anything that has already happened. You're currently where you are. So comparing yourself to an imaginary version of where you were hoping to be at the end of 20, 24 is an awful comparison because that's not where you are. Like you are where you currently are. And now let's start looking forward. Like I was like, Hey, we already, Goal setting? Is that going to be the thing? No, we do. We have to look back a little bit of the things that we want to release, but you can't just dwell there. You can't have this horrid comparison. It's what's The sunk cost fallacy of, I really, I wish that, man, I wish I had invested in that company years ago, or I've gone too far down this path. I can't change it anymore. It's a sunk cost of it's too late to get going. And I, I. I'm just stuck where I currently am it leads to a horrible comparison It's no today is a great day to start whatever new path, you know When if you're listening to this when it comes out You don't have to wait till January 1st to start a new path You start that new path like we just get ourselves moving.

Angie:

Yeah, exactly so Releasing comparison is really going to help you do that, right? because if you're not Whether you're comparing yourself, usually, okay, so there's really two ways that you can compare yourself. There's the first way is to make yourself feel bad, right? Like you're comparing yourself to other people that are better than you or to a past version of yourself that is quote unquote better than you in order to make yourself feel bad. And then you can also use comparison in the opposite direction, which is to make yourself feel better about yourself, to make yourself feel good. And you're comparing either to people that are not doing as much as you or that are not as fast as you are not doing, what you're doing or have the same level of accomplishments, but what good is that doing as well? I think that's another invitation just to examine it. Like, why are you even comparing yourself to them to make yourself feel better? Like sometimes maybe if that's a little helpful, be like, okay, I'm Miles ahead of the people that never run or that are still on the couch right if that's a helpful thought for you Then great, but I would just invite you to examine like why are you comparing at all? if it's serving you and if it's giving you a benefit, okay, if not, maybe it's time to release it

Kevin:

I mean, I think this is like bullying yourself, like every once in a while, that might be the thing that you need to get yourself going sometimes that brief comparison, if that's going to actually, like you said, if it's serving you, if it's providing some sort of benefit that maintains a consistency, it can be helpful. But I would argue that If you can get to a point where you don't need that comparison in order to maintain your, quote unquote motivation in order to keep your consistency going, that's going to be healthier over the longterm. That's going to allow greater consistency and quite frankly, happiness and joy with your running over the long haul rather than having to always compare to something else.

Angie:

Absolutely. So I really hope this episode was helpful for you guys and helped you reflect on some of the things that you might want to let go of. I am guessing that there is plenty of other things that you might want to let go of. And I would like to invite you to think about those, what else do you want to let go of and leave in 2024 and not take with you into 2025? and if you want to share them with me, I would love for you to tag me on Instagram, either send me a DM. Post on your stories and tag me, at real life runners so that we can support you and acknowledge you for, your ability to do this type of self reflection and let go of some of these things so that you can grow both as a runner and as a person in your life. So if this episode was helpful, we would love for you to please write us a review on Apple podcasts or share it with a friend, share it on social media, tag us again so that we can see you. And also heads up the new and improved five day running challenge is coming at you January 6th through the 10th. So mark your calendars January 6th through 10th, 2025 is a, our free five day running challenge. We have not run this challenge since last year. Oh, I shouldn't say this challenge. We have not run. A challenge since last year in January, and this one is going to be new and improved. We've never, covered all of the content in this way before. I'm really excited about it, so make sure you mark your calendars. I'll let you know when that registration link is active. It will be going active, the week of December 29th. Okay. So if you are listening to this, that week of December 29th, you can, head over and I'll give you the update on how to register for that at the end of this episode. So as always, thanks for joining us. This has been the real life runners podcast, episode number 391. Now get out there and run your life.