July 17, 2025 • 22 mins
Pushing Through Life’s Challenges: How Running Builds Your Resilience
In this episode of The Real Life Runners Podcast, I’m getting real about feeling overwhelmed — from home repairs to family chaos to just life piling up. Honestly? My first instinct is often to shut down. But that’s not where growth happens.
Today, I’m sharing how running teaches us to keep moving forward, even when life feels heavy. The same skills we use on the run—taking one small step, focusing on the next breath, shifting “I have to” into “I get to”—can help us navigate life’s messier moments too.
I’ll walk you through how I’m leaning into these strategies myself right now, and how you can use them to stay grounded, find your strength, and keep showing up… both on the run and in life.
00:00 Introduction: When Life Feels Overwhelming
01:10 A Messy House and a Heavy Heart
02:34 Pushing Through the Tough Times
05:06 The Power of Gratitude and Reframing
05:55 Running as a Metaphor for Life
08:46 Zooming In and Zooming Out
12:58 Taking the Next Right Step
18:51 Embracing the Journey
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker (00:00):
You ever have a time where you feel like nothing is
going your way and it all justseems like it's piling up on you
and feels really heavy?
If so, I can relate to you andyou can probably relate to some
of the things that I'm feelingright now too.
I'm literally sitting in mycloset recording this episode
because.
Everything is, my house is justa complete mess.
(00:20):
So I'm gonna explain all thethings that are going on, but
the point of this episode is toreally get real and raw with you
in those times where you feellike you just wanna shut it all
down and things aren't goingwell.
How important it's for us tokeep pushing through, whether
that's in running or in the restof our lives, and how running
really helps us develop thatskill and the endurance to keep
(00:42):
pushing even when we just wannacurl up and avoid it all.
So let's get into it.
(01:10):
What's up runners?
Welcome back to the show.
I am in my closet, like Imentioned, staring at my
clothes.
And if I were to walk out ofthis closet, you would see, or
if you were here with me, youwould see my house is a mess.
As I look around my house, I'vegot.
P, like literally plasticzippers around like in the
(01:31):
hallway that is blocking off thewhole bathroom and hallway area
because we had a leak and turnsout there was mold.
And so essentially we had to.
Rip out basically the wholebathroom.
And so there's just dust,there's clutter.
Everything that was in thebathroom is now in boxes in our
living room.
(01:52):
Nothing is where it should be.
And I just, it's starting tofeel very heavy because I'm
looking at the timeline ofwhat's going on and.
Part of me wants to just curlup.
I just want to shut it down,hide under a blanket, not deal
with any of it.
And so if you've ever felt thatway, and I feel like everyone
probably has at some point, thenyou're gonna be able to relate
(02:14):
to this.
And I think that it's reallyimportant for us to talk about
this when things are not goingthe way that we want them to go.
And what do we do?
Those times because I can't justhit the pause button.
I can't just ignore what's goingon.
I have to deal with this.
Life doesn't just stop becausewe're stressed out.
So this episode is really aboutgetting real, about pushing
(02:38):
through when life feels heavy.
And I know that a lot of timesin this podcast we talk about
the importance of rest andrecovery and listening to your
body and pulling back becauseit's true.
There's a lot of us that.
Our condition to just pushthrough and to just keep going,
even when life is tough and itjust builds and builds on us.
And I think that's important.
It is important for us torecognize that and feel the
(03:00):
feelings and learn how to dealwith that and learn how to take
a step back.
And then also, sometimes it'simportant for us to just push
through and to avoid our.
Desire to just shut it all downbecause I'm safe.
Everything is fine here.
I just don't wanna deal with it.
And sometimes that happens inour running too.
(03:20):
Sometimes we're out on a run andyou just don't wanna do it.
And so there's a differencebetween really listening to our
body and figuring out when weneed to pull back and when we
need to stop pushing.
And then.
The difference between that andwhen our brain is having a
temper tantrum and just doesn'twanna deal with it and wants to
(03:40):
shut it down, because it alljust feels very heavy.
And that's where I am right nowbecause sometimes life just
piles on and sometimes it allfeels like it's just hitting at
once.
There's just one thing afteranother, and that's what's going
on with me right now.
And so I just think it'simportant for me to be real with
you so that you understand.
Just because I have a podcastand just because I have, all of
(04:02):
this training and personaldevelopment and things that I've
gone through, we all still gothrough crap and it can be very
overwhelming sometimes when wetalk about, the home and the
family and what's going on withmy kids and my business and
training, it all stacks up.
So it's not about.
Ignoring your feelings.
It's very important to recognizewhat's going on, and I've done
(04:26):
that.
I went on a walk this morning.
And was just feeling a lot ofemotions.
Like I've just been feeling anemotional rollercoaster because
up until this week I feel likeI've been doing pretty good,
like rolling with the punches,keeping a positive attitude, oh,
it's, everything's gonna befine.
And.
It is.
I know that is the truth.
(04:46):
Everything is going to be fine.
It will all work out and we'regonna have a beautiful new
bathroom after that.
And I do keep going back tothat.
And I keep going back to, beinggrateful that we have a second
bathroom and that my family'shealthy.
And thank goodness it doesn'tseem like this mold has affected
us health-wise.
And so I do keep going back togratitude and that is a very
(05:09):
important thing.
For us to, focus on sometimes,and then sometimes it's also.
Very normal and very human tofeel it all just piling up and
all just stacking up on you.
And we can use gratitude and wecan use reframing and thought
rewiring.
And I've been doing that and it,it works.
(05:30):
It does work it, there'ssometimes that your brain's just
dude, this really stinks, thisreally sucks sometimes.
And it's okay to suck, but.
I think that's where, reallywhere some of our training as
runners comes in.
'cause sometimes running suckstoo, and we have to keep
pushing.
It's not oh, this run sucks nowI'm just gonna quit.
(05:52):
I'm gonna keep walking.
You're not gonna make muchprogress if you do that.
And so I think that running isreally the perfect training
ground for life's hard momentsbecause there are so many days
that we don't feel like running,but we do it anyway.
Even yesterday, I woke up atfive 20 because on Tuesday
mornings I do speed work with myfriends.
And even though it's asummertime,'cause in the summer
(06:14):
I've been enjoying kind ofslower mornings.
My kids don't have school, soI've been sleeping in a little
bit more and, giving myself aslower morning, which has been
great.
But on Tuesdays.
I still run with my friends.
And so I woke up, my alarm wokeme up at five 20 yesterday and
my brain immediately startedthrowing a temper tantrum.
My brain immediately went to,no, I don't wanna go.
(06:37):
I don't wanna do this like that.
Whining three-year-old toddlerthrowing a temper tantrum.
And that's sometimes how ourbrains are.
And I think it's reallyimportant that, there's nothing
wrong with you when thathappens.
If that happens.
Every single time, then we canlook at something, right?
But there's always going to betimes where you just don't feel
like going.
You don't feel like doing thething, but we have to do it
(06:59):
anyway, or we get to do itanyway.
I guess I should say too.
I know, especially those peoplethat are listening that are on
our team.
That I've gone through myprograms where we talk about how
to rewire our thoughts.
One of the big things that wetalk about is this idea of
shifting from I have to, to Iget to, I, instead of, I have to
(07:20):
go for a run.
It's, I get to go for a runtoday.
And that simple word change,that simple shift in the way
that we think about and talkabout what we have to do or what
we get to do makes a huge worldof difference because instead of
this then becoming an obligationof I have to do this thing,
saying I get to makes it seemlike a choice.
(07:43):
Because it is a choice.
We always have a choice, andthat's part of what I'm going
through right now too with thissituation of part of it feels
like it's forced on top of me,right?
Like we can go back and forthand argue about this or debate
this, but it's not like Iplanned on this mold.
It's not like I obviously chosethis to happen.
(08:03):
I would never have chosen this,but I get to choose how I deal
with this.
I get to choose, how I wannamove forward with this.
And that's really.
What running keeps teaching usday after day, like even in
those days where our brainswanna throw a temper tantrum and
we don't wanna go out, get outthe door.
We can remind ourselves that Iget to meet up with three
awesome other ladies to go runand to push our bodies and to
(08:26):
challenge ourselves.
Like what a gift, what ablessing that my body's able to
do that.
That's definitely not what mybrain was saying at five 30 in
the morning, of course.
But we can continue to reframethese things and.
One of the other beautifulthings that running helps us to
do is to build that muscle ofjust take the next step.
(08:46):
And this is one of the thingsthat I think is really important
in any area of our life.
When we feel like we don't wannado it or we just wanna shut it
down.
We just have to take the nextstep.
And sometimes I know, like partof what is making me feel
overwhelmed with this wholesituation is when I zoom out and
I look at all the things thatI'm gonna have to do, I'm gonna
(09:08):
have to, now they're still inthe middle of the remediation,
right?
So they're still tearing thingsout and dealing with the mold
and getting that outta thehouse.
So once that's done.
Then we have to have acontractor.
I have to deal with theinsurance.
I have to design a new bathroomand pick out all the choices,
which I can see as somethingreally heavy and stressful.
Or I can choose to see that asfun and exciting because now I
(09:31):
get to design a whole newbathroom, right?
It's, I have to design a wholenew bathroom and pick out all
these things.
Or now I get to design a wholenew bathroom.
There's a big difference there.
And then I think about, thandealing with the contractor and
the rebuild and the timeline,because right now it's the
summertime, so it's not that bigof a deal that the four people
(09:52):
in my house are all sharing onebathroom.
But when school starts, it'sgonna be a little bit more
inconvenient that I have twoteenage daughters that are.
Normally they share a bathroom,and then Kevin and I obviously
have our master bath, but nowall four of us are gonna be
sharing my master bath.
And I don't have a big bathroom.
It's a pretty small master bath,so the, I know that they're
(10:13):
gonna be annoyed.
I know that they're gonna, it'sgoing to cause some more
fighting, like I should say.
I know that.
But I can anticipate we allright.
Like when you have teenagedaughters and they feel like
they don't have their own spacetoo.
I get it.
That's how I'm feeling right nowtoo.
I feel like I don't have my ownspace either.
I, like I said, am literally inmy closet recording this so I
(10:34):
can lean back then on running ofokay, instead of trying to zoom
out and see the big picture,which.
It can be helpful at times, butI'm noticing right now that zoom
out is making me feel moreoverwhelmed.
So right now I need to zoom inand just focus on the next right
thing.
Just take the next step.
What do I have to do today ortomorrow to keep moving this
(10:56):
thing forward in a timelyfashion?
And I think that this is verydifferent than ignoring the need
for recovery, right?
There are some times that.
We keep pushing ourselves and wejust push through even though
our body and our mind trulyneed.
Rest and recovery.
So that is not what I'm talkingabout here.
(11:18):
'cause right now I know like I'mfine physically, I'm fine
mentally, I'm fine.
I just feel like I don't wannadeal with it.
So it's not that I'm ignoring mybody's need for rest and
recovery because I did that.
I've been resting, I've beensleeping a little bit more.
I've been reframing things andrewiring things.
I've been feeling the feelings.
'cause all of those things arereally important and.
(11:40):
We have to just keep goingsometimes, right?
So sometimes, like right now,it's just discomfort and it's
just overwhelm.
So I need to keep going throughit because I'm not going to let
the overwhelm win.
I'm not going to let thisdiscomfort of this situation win
because it's not true pain,right?
We don't wanna push.
Pain but discomfort.
(12:02):
This is part of growth.
And so I ask myself, okay, whatis this all preparing me for?
What is this helping me topractice?
That can sometimes be helpfulalso what lessons am I supposed
to learn from this?
That can help me a lot of timesto zoom, zoom out again in that
bigger picture and kind of lookokay in the big picture of
(12:22):
things.
Is this that big of a deal?
No, it's really not.
It's going to be a month or acouple months of our lives,
depending on how long this wholeprocess takes.
And oftentimes, we'll probably,down the road we'll probably
look back and laugh about it andrecognize like how ridiculous
this whole situation was.
But right now it does feelreally heavy.
(12:42):
And so I am focusing on the nextright step, not the whole
remodel, not, the whole.
Big picture thing, but just thenext phone call or the next
small cleanup that I can do.
And sometimes if we wanna takethis and apply it to running,
maybe it's just the next run.
Maybe.
Maybe.
(13:03):
If you think about a big goalthat you have right now, say
you're training for your firsthalf marathon or a 5K, whatever
it is, whatever goal that you'retrying to work towards, and it
feels heavy.
It feels big.
You feel like.
You're never gonna get there.
Just focus on this goal rightnow, what you're doing.
(13:23):
Maybe it's today, maybe it'sjust the next run.
Maybe it's the next strengthtraining workout.
Maybe it's the next week.
Maybe you can, zoom out a littlebit and be able to take a look
at, okay, what do I have to dothis week?
That's okay.
You don't have to always belooking at the big picture and
sometimes it.
Looking at the big picture canput us into freeze mode because
(13:46):
overwhelm is a very suffocatingthing.
Sometimes when we feeloverwhelmed, our brain and our
body oftentimes just wants tofreeze, wants to curl up, wants
to go, wants it all to just goaway.
And so when you know, basicallythe two tools that I can offer
you that I've been using.
Regularly during this wholeprocess are, like I said, the
(14:09):
zooming in and the zooming out,and on different days and even
different times of the day, oneof those tools is going to be
better for me than the other,and so I, I use them
interchangeably, and so I wouldlove to offer those for you as
well.
If you are feeling stressed oroverwhelmed, whether it's with
your training or maybe you'redealing with an injury right now
(14:30):
and you're thinking, oh my God,it's going to take six weeks,
eight weeks, three months,whatever it might be, depending
on what you've got going on.
Or maybe you even have an injuryand you don't even know how
long, and so your brain wants togo to, oh my gosh, what's the
next three months, six months,year, gonna look like?
If that feels overwhelming,focus back in, zoom back in.
(14:51):
Okay.
What do you have to do rightnow?
Maybe you need to make a, anappointment with a physical
therapist.
Maybe you need to reach out to acoach that knows what they're
doing to help get you back intorunning safely and effectively.
Maybe you just need to go outand you need to actually walk on
your runs, and you have to getover that mental hurdle of okay
I don't really wanna walk, but Iknow it is better for my body
(15:13):
for me to do a run walk on myway back to recovery.
Recovery at this point.
So it's staying present andchoosing what part of the
picture that you wanna look at,because sometimes when you look
at the full picture, it can leadus to spiral.
And we don't wanna do thatbecause again, when we spiral,
(15:35):
we get into overwhelm.
And when we get into overwhelm,we just freeze and we don't get
into action and we need to be inaction sometimes.
Sometimes we just need to pushthrough, right?
So if your life feels like aconstruction zone right now in
any area, I want you to knowthat I see you because I'm
(15:55):
living it too, and you'vehandled hard things before.
You've gotten through them.
Remember that, and you can dothis.
Whatever it is that you'redealing with, you can get
through this.
And pushing through doesn't meanthat you're ignoring how hard it
is.
It means that you are.
Taking action anyway, that youcan acknowledge the discomfort.
(16:19):
You can acknowledge how hard itis.
You can acknowledge thechallenge of it all and take
action anyway, because that'sgoing to make you stronger and
more resilient on the other sideof it.
And maybe that's something thatyou can do in your workout,
right?
This technique that I justtalked about today of zooming in
and zooming out, that works inworkouts.
(16:40):
Also, like today, yesterday Idid a workout where I was doing,
like a minute hard and sayyou're doing quarter repeats,
right?
I won't, I don't need to explainmy exact workout, but say you're
doing quarter repeats and you'vegot.
Nine of them, or eight of them,or 12 of them.
And when you think about thatwhole workout, it seems very
overwhelming.
Just focus on one at a time,zoom in, focus on one at a time,
(17:04):
right?
So maybe that one workout isfeeling really heavy.
Zoom out and look at your wholetraining plan.
Okay I only have one speedworkout this week, and then I
get to enjoy some other easyruns.
Great.
Or maybe you really likestrength training.
Like me, focus on your strengthtraining exercises, right?
And just know that all of thisis part of the plan.
And like another thing that Idid too today is I was just
(17:26):
feeling a lot of emotions and Iwas, I couldn't even name it.
And I, so I went for a walk andI went for a walk around.
We have a little lake by ourhouse and I just started walking
and it was hot and I just letmyself, my body sweat and I just
allowed whatever needed to comeup for me.
I didn't have headphones, Ididn't have anything with me.
I didn't have anybody with me.
(17:46):
And I just allowed myself to bein it and it, what I recognized
is I was actually angry and Idon't get angry a lot.
I don't feel that emotion, angera lot, but I was feeling very
angry and then I was.
Like mad that I was feelingangry, like I was angry about
the anger.
It's like we have these emotionsand then a lot of times we judge
(18:08):
ourselves on top of them, andthat just complicates the
situation even more.
Like when I'm feelingoverwhelmed and then I judge
myself for feeling overwhelmedor.
Confused or whatever theemotion, the uncomfortable
emotion is that we don't reallylike.
Then a lot of times we putanother secondary emotion on top
of that, whether it's judgmentor anger or guilt or shame.
(18:31):
There's a lot of other thingsthat we can then layer on top
and that just makes thesituation even worse.
So using the zoom in and zoomout technique.
Is really helpful.
Whether that's in a workout orin real life, dealing with some
situation that you really don'twanna deal with, it can be
really helpful.
(18:51):
So that's pretty much what Ihave for you guys today.
I hope that this was helpful.
I hope that you could connect toit.
But this was just what was on myheart and I wanted to be raw and
real and let you know that.
Sometimes it feels like a lotand it's our job to just push
through and keep going.
(19:13):
So take a moment to breathe.
Think about the next thing, thenext right step that you wanna
do.
There's a song in Frozen two.
I'm not like, I wouldn't callmyself a Disney person, but I
love the movie Frozen and I lovethe movie Frozen too.
And I love the music in them.
And there's a song.
(19:33):
And frozen two and honestthings.
It, and it's about taking thenext right step.
Like I just have to take, shewas at a point where she just
wanted to shut it all down too,and we just have to take the
next right step sometimes.
And so whether that's in aworkout where you just focus on,
okay, I just have to get to thatstop sign.
I have, just have to get to thenext light pole.
I just have to do one morequarter repeat.
(19:55):
I need to just run one moremile.
Five more minutes, one moreminute.
A lot of times I'll tell myselfI can do anything for a minute,
right?
Sometimes we just have to takethat next right step, because
once we take that one, thenthere will be another one.
And another one after that.
And if we just keep taking thatnext right step, we're going to
(20:17):
get to where we need to be andknow that you're not alone in
this process.
Like we're all just figuringthis out together.
And if you need help, come reachout.
I would love for you to send mea message on Instagram.
You can reach me at real liferunners, or I actually have my
own personal account called it'sat Dr.
Angie Brown.
I would love for you to reachout and let me know what you
(20:40):
thought about this episode,because this is a very different
episode than what we normallydo, and I would love to hear
your thoughts on it.
But yeah, that's what I got foryou guys today.
So I hope you are all having awonderful summer.
If you are in a heavy season,I'm here with you and we're
gonna get through this.
No doubt.
And we're gonna be able tosupport each other throughout
(21:01):
all of it, and we're gonna comeout stronger and more resilient
on the other side with abeautiful bathroom to show,
right?
What are we gonna get at theend?
Because there's alwayssomething, and we might not be
able to see it yet, like I haveno idea what this bathroom is
going to look like, but I knowthat we're going to have a new
bathroom and I know that it'sgoing to be beautiful and I know
that it's going to have beenworth it.
(21:25):
I'm gonna decide right now thatgoing through all of this
process is going to make thatend result worth it, and
sometimes that means it looksdifferent than you expected.
Maybe you don't hit the exact PRthat you were hoping for, but
you worked through somethingreally hard and you came back to
yourself in a way that youdidn't expect.
(21:48):
It's all worth it.
We just have to keep going.
We just have to push through andjust take the next right step.
So if you found this episodehelpful, I would love for you to
write a review.
I would love for you to share itwith a friend, and I would love
to hear from you over onInstagram at Dr.
Angie Brown or at real liferunners.
And as always, thanks forjoining us.
This has been The Real LifeRunners Podcast, episode number
(22:10):
418.
Now, get out there and run yourlife.
You ever have a time where you feel like nothing is
going your way and it all justseems like it's piling up on you
and feels really heavy?
If so, I can relate to you andyou can probably relate to some
of the things that I'm feelingright now too.
I'm literally sitting in mycloset recording this episode
because.
Everything is, my house is justa complete mess.
(00:20):
So I'm gonna explain all thethings that are going on, but
the point of this episode is toreally get real and raw with you
in those times where you feellike you just wanna shut it all
down and things aren't goingwell.
How important it's for us tokeep pushing through, whether
that's in running or in the restof our lives, and how running
really helps us develop thatskill and the endurance to keep
(00:42):
pushing even when we just wannacurl up and avoid it all.
So let's get into it.
(01:10):
What's up runners?
Welcome back to the show.
I am in my closet, like Imentioned, staring at my
clothes.
And if I were to walk out ofthis closet, you would see, or
if you were here with me, youwould see my house is a mess.
As I look around my house, I'vegot.
P, like literally plasticzippers around like in the
(01:31):
hallway that is blocking off thewhole bathroom and hallway area
because we had a leak and turnsout there was mold.
And so essentially we had to.
Rip out basically the wholebathroom.
And so there's just dust,there's clutter.
Everything that was in thebathroom is now in boxes in our
living room.
(01:52):
Nothing is where it should be.
And I just, it's starting tofeel very heavy because I'm
looking at the timeline ofwhat's going on and.
Part of me wants to just curlup.
I just want to shut it down,hide under a blanket, not deal
with any of it.
And so if you've ever felt thatway, and I feel like everyone
probably has at some point, thenyou're gonna be able to relate
(02:14):
to this.
And I think that it's reallyimportant for us to talk about
this when things are not goingthe way that we want them to go.
And what do we do?
Those times because I can't justhit the pause button.
I can't just ignore what's goingon.
I have to deal with this.
Life doesn't just stop becausewe're stressed out.
So this episode is really aboutgetting real, about pushing
(02:38):
through when life feels heavy.
And I know that a lot of timesin this podcast we talk about
the importance of rest andrecovery and listening to your
body and pulling back becauseit's true.
There's a lot of us that.
Our condition to just pushthrough and to just keep going,
even when life is tough and itjust builds and builds on us.
And I think that's important.
It is important for us torecognize that and feel the
(03:00):
feelings and learn how to dealwith that and learn how to take
a step back.
And then also, sometimes it'simportant for us to just push
through and to avoid our.
Desire to just shut it all downbecause I'm safe.
Everything is fine here.
I just don't wanna deal with it.
And sometimes that happens inour running too.
(03:20):
Sometimes we're out on a run andyou just don't wanna do it.
And so there's a differencebetween really listening to our
body and figuring out when weneed to pull back and when we
need to stop pushing.
And then.
The difference between that andwhen our brain is having a
temper tantrum and just doesn'twanna deal with it and wants to
(03:40):
shut it down, because it alljust feels very heavy.
And that's where I am right nowbecause sometimes life just
piles on and sometimes it allfeels like it's just hitting at
once.
There's just one thing afteranother, and that's what's going
on with me right now.
And so I just think it'simportant for me to be real with
you so that you understand.
Just because I have a podcastand just because I have, all of
(04:02):
this training and personaldevelopment and things that I've
gone through, we all still gothrough crap and it can be very
overwhelming sometimes when wetalk about, the home and the
family and what's going on withmy kids and my business and
training, it all stacks up.
So it's not about.
Ignoring your feelings.
It's very important to recognizewhat's going on, and I've done
(04:26):
that.
I went on a walk this morning.
And was just feeling a lot ofemotions.
Like I've just been feeling anemotional rollercoaster because
up until this week I feel likeI've been doing pretty good,
like rolling with the punches,keeping a positive attitude, oh,
it's, everything's gonna befine.
And.
It is.
I know that is the truth.
(04:46):
Everything is going to be fine.
It will all work out and we'regonna have a beautiful new
bathroom after that.
And I do keep going back tothat.
And I keep going back to, beinggrateful that we have a second
bathroom and that my family'shealthy.
And thank goodness it doesn'tseem like this mold has affected
us health-wise.
And so I do keep going back togratitude and that is a very
(05:09):
important thing.
For us to, focus on sometimes,and then sometimes it's also.
Very normal and very human tofeel it all just piling up and
all just stacking up on you.
And we can use gratitude and wecan use reframing and thought
rewiring.
And I've been doing that and it,it works.
(05:30):
It does work it, there'ssometimes that your brain's just
dude, this really stinks, thisreally sucks sometimes.
And it's okay to suck, but.
I think that's where, reallywhere some of our training as
runners comes in.
'cause sometimes running suckstoo, and we have to keep
pushing.
It's not oh, this run sucks nowI'm just gonna quit.
(05:52):
I'm gonna keep walking.
You're not gonna make muchprogress if you do that.
And so I think that running isreally the perfect training
ground for life's hard momentsbecause there are so many days
that we don't feel like running,but we do it anyway.
Even yesterday, I woke up atfive 20 because on Tuesday
mornings I do speed work with myfriends.
And even though it's asummertime,'cause in the summer
(06:14):
I've been enjoying kind ofslower mornings.
My kids don't have school, soI've been sleeping in a little
bit more and, giving myself aslower morning, which has been
great.
But on Tuesdays.
I still run with my friends.
And so I woke up, my alarm wokeme up at five 20 yesterday and
my brain immediately startedthrowing a temper tantrum.
My brain immediately went to,no, I don't wanna go.
(06:37):
I don't wanna do this like that.
Whining three-year-old toddlerthrowing a temper tantrum.
And that's sometimes how ourbrains are.
And I think it's reallyimportant that, there's nothing
wrong with you when thathappens.
If that happens.
Every single time, then we canlook at something, right?
But there's always going to betimes where you just don't feel
like going.
You don't feel like doing thething, but we have to do it
(06:59):
anyway, or we get to do itanyway.
I guess I should say too.
I know, especially those peoplethat are listening that are on
our team.
That I've gone through myprograms where we talk about how
to rewire our thoughts.
One of the big things that wetalk about is this idea of
shifting from I have to, to Iget to, I, instead of, I have to
(07:20):
go for a run.
It's, I get to go for a runtoday.
And that simple word change,that simple shift in the way
that we think about and talkabout what we have to do or what
we get to do makes a huge worldof difference because instead of
this then becoming an obligationof I have to do this thing,
saying I get to makes it seemlike a choice.
(07:43):
Because it is a choice.
We always have a choice, andthat's part of what I'm going
through right now too with thissituation of part of it feels
like it's forced on top of me,right?
Like we can go back and forthand argue about this or debate
this, but it's not like Iplanned on this mold.
It's not like I obviously chosethis to happen.
(08:03):
I would never have chosen this,but I get to choose how I deal
with this.
I get to choose, how I wannamove forward with this.
And that's really.
What running keeps teaching usday after day, like even in
those days where our brainswanna throw a temper tantrum and
we don't wanna go out, get outthe door.
We can remind ourselves that Iget to meet up with three
awesome other ladies to go runand to push our bodies and to
(08:26):
challenge ourselves.
Like what a gift, what ablessing that my body's able to
do that.
That's definitely not what mybrain was saying at five 30 in
the morning, of course.
But we can continue to reframethese things and.
One of the other beautifulthings that running helps us to
do is to build that muscle ofjust take the next step.
(08:46):
And this is one of the thingsthat I think is really important
in any area of our life.
When we feel like we don't wannado it or we just wanna shut it
down.
We just have to take the nextstep.
And sometimes I know, like partof what is making me feel
overwhelmed with this wholesituation is when I zoom out and
I look at all the things thatI'm gonna have to do, I'm gonna
(09:08):
have to, now they're still inthe middle of the remediation,
right?
So they're still tearing thingsout and dealing with the mold
and getting that outta thehouse.
So once that's done.
Then we have to have acontractor.
I have to deal with theinsurance.
I have to design a new bathroomand pick out all the choices,
which I can see as somethingreally heavy and stressful.
Or I can choose to see that asfun and exciting because now I
(09:31):
get to design a whole newbathroom, right?
It's, I have to design a wholenew bathroom and pick out all
these things.
Or now I get to design a wholenew bathroom.
There's a big difference there.
And then I think about, thandealing with the contractor and
the rebuild and the timeline,because right now it's the
summertime, so it's not that bigof a deal that the four people
(09:52):
in my house are all sharing onebathroom.
But when school starts, it'sgonna be a little bit more
inconvenient that I have twoteenage daughters that are.
Normally they share a bathroom,and then Kevin and I obviously
have our master bath, but nowall four of us are gonna be
sharing my master bath.
And I don't have a big bathroom.
It's a pretty small master bath,so the, I know that they're
(10:13):
gonna be annoyed.
I know that they're gonna, it'sgoing to cause some more
fighting, like I should say.
I know that.
But I can anticipate we allright.
Like when you have teenagedaughters and they feel like
they don't have their own spacetoo.
I get it.
That's how I'm feeling right nowtoo.
I feel like I don't have my ownspace either.
I, like I said, am literally inmy closet recording this so I
(10:34):
can lean back then on running ofokay, instead of trying to zoom
out and see the big picture,which.
It can be helpful at times, butI'm noticing right now that zoom
out is making me feel moreoverwhelmed.
So right now I need to zoom inand just focus on the next right
thing.
Just take the next step.
What do I have to do today ortomorrow to keep moving this
(10:56):
thing forward in a timelyfashion?
And I think that this is verydifferent than ignoring the need
for recovery, right?
There are some times that.
We keep pushing ourselves and wejust push through even though
our body and our mind trulyneed.
Rest and recovery.
So that is not what I'm talkingabout here.
(11:18):
'cause right now I know like I'mfine physically, I'm fine
mentally, I'm fine.
I just feel like I don't wannadeal with it.
So it's not that I'm ignoring mybody's need for rest and
recovery because I did that.
I've been resting, I've beensleeping a little bit more.
I've been reframing things andrewiring things.
I've been feeling the feelings.
'cause all of those things arereally important and.
(11:40):
We have to just keep goingsometimes, right?
So sometimes, like right now,it's just discomfort and it's
just overwhelm.
So I need to keep going throughit because I'm not going to let
the overwhelm win.
I'm not going to let thisdiscomfort of this situation win
because it's not true pain,right?
We don't wanna push.
Pain but discomfort.
(12:02):
This is part of growth.
And so I ask myself, okay, whatis this all preparing me for?
What is this helping me topractice?
That can sometimes be helpfulalso what lessons am I supposed
to learn from this?
That can help me a lot of timesto zoom, zoom out again in that
bigger picture and kind of lookokay in the big picture of
(12:22):
things.
Is this that big of a deal?
No, it's really not.
It's going to be a month or acouple months of our lives,
depending on how long this wholeprocess takes.
And oftentimes, we'll probably,down the road we'll probably
look back and laugh about it andrecognize like how ridiculous
this whole situation was.
But right now it does feelreally heavy.
(12:42):
And so I am focusing on the nextright step, not the whole
remodel, not, the whole.
Big picture thing, but just thenext phone call or the next
small cleanup that I can do.
And sometimes if we wanna takethis and apply it to running,
maybe it's just the next run.
Maybe.
Maybe.
(13:03):
If you think about a big goalthat you have right now, say
you're training for your firsthalf marathon or a 5K, whatever
it is, whatever goal that you'retrying to work towards, and it
feels heavy.
It feels big.
You feel like.
You're never gonna get there.
Just focus on this goal rightnow, what you're doing.
(13:23):
Maybe it's today, maybe it'sjust the next run.
Maybe it's the next strengthtraining workout.
Maybe it's the next week.
Maybe you can, zoom out a littlebit and be able to take a look
at, okay, what do I have to dothis week?
That's okay.
You don't have to always belooking at the big picture and
sometimes it.
Looking at the big picture canput us into freeze mode because
(13:46):
overwhelm is a very suffocatingthing.
Sometimes when we feeloverwhelmed, our brain and our
body oftentimes just wants tofreeze, wants to curl up, wants
to go, wants it all to just goaway.
And so when you know, basicallythe two tools that I can offer
you that I've been using.
Regularly during this wholeprocess are, like I said, the
(14:09):
zooming in and the zooming out,and on different days and even
different times of the day, oneof those tools is going to be
better for me than the other,and so I, I use them
interchangeably, and so I wouldlove to offer those for you as
well.
If you are feeling stressed oroverwhelmed, whether it's with
your training or maybe you'redealing with an injury right now
(14:30):
and you're thinking, oh my God,it's going to take six weeks,
eight weeks, three months,whatever it might be, depending
on what you've got going on.
Or maybe you even have an injuryand you don't even know how
long, and so your brain wants togo to, oh my gosh, what's the
next three months, six months,year, gonna look like?
If that feels overwhelming,focus back in, zoom back in.
(14:51):
Okay.
What do you have to do rightnow?
Maybe you need to make a, anappointment with a physical
therapist.
Maybe you need to reach out to acoach that knows what they're
doing to help get you back intorunning safely and effectively.
Maybe you just need to go outand you need to actually walk on
your runs, and you have to getover that mental hurdle of okay
I don't really wanna walk, but Iknow it is better for my body
(15:13):
for me to do a run walk on myway back to recovery.
Recovery at this point.
So it's staying present andchoosing what part of the
picture that you wanna look at,because sometimes when you look
at the full picture, it can leadus to spiral.
And we don't wanna do thatbecause again, when we spiral,
(15:35):
we get into overwhelm.
And when we get into overwhelm,we just freeze and we don't get
into action and we need to be inaction sometimes.
Sometimes we just need to pushthrough, right?
So if your life feels like aconstruction zone right now in
any area, I want you to knowthat I see you because I'm
(15:55):
living it too, and you'vehandled hard things before.
You've gotten through them.
Remember that, and you can dothis.
Whatever it is that you'redealing with, you can get
through this.
And pushing through doesn't meanthat you're ignoring how hard it
is.
It means that you are.
Taking action anyway, that youcan acknowledge the discomfort.
(16:19):
You can acknowledge how hard itis.
You can acknowledge thechallenge of it all and take
action anyway, because that'sgoing to make you stronger and
more resilient on the other sideof it.
And maybe that's something thatyou can do in your workout,
right?
This technique that I justtalked about today of zooming in
and zooming out, that works inworkouts.
(16:40):
Also, like today, yesterday Idid a workout where I was doing,
like a minute hard and sayyou're doing quarter repeats,
right?
I won't, I don't need to explainmy exact workout, but say you're
doing quarter repeats and you'vegot.
Nine of them, or eight of them,or 12 of them.
And when you think about thatwhole workout, it seems very
overwhelming.
Just focus on one at a time,zoom in, focus on one at a time,
(17:04):
right?
So maybe that one workout isfeeling really heavy.
Zoom out and look at your wholetraining plan.
Okay I only have one speedworkout this week, and then I
get to enjoy some other easyruns.
Great.
Or maybe you really likestrength training.
Like me, focus on your strengthtraining exercises, right?
And just know that all of thisis part of the plan.
And like another thing that Idid too today is I was just
(17:26):
feeling a lot of emotions and Iwas, I couldn't even name it.
And I, so I went for a walk andI went for a walk around.
We have a little lake by ourhouse and I just started walking
and it was hot and I just letmyself, my body sweat and I just
allowed whatever needed to comeup for me.
I didn't have headphones, Ididn't have anything with me.
I didn't have anybody with me.
(17:46):
And I just allowed myself to bein it and it, what I recognized
is I was actually angry and Idon't get angry a lot.
I don't feel that emotion, angera lot, but I was feeling very
angry and then I was.
Like mad that I was feelingangry, like I was angry about
the anger.
It's like we have these emotionsand then a lot of times we judge
(18:08):
ourselves on top of them, andthat just complicates the
situation even more.
Like when I'm feelingoverwhelmed and then I judge
myself for feeling overwhelmedor.
Confused or whatever theemotion, the uncomfortable
emotion is that we don't reallylike.
Then a lot of times we putanother secondary emotion on top
of that, whether it's judgmentor anger or guilt or shame.
(18:31):
There's a lot of other thingsthat we can then layer on top
and that just makes thesituation even worse.
So using the zoom in and zoomout technique.
Is really helpful.
Whether that's in a workout orin real life, dealing with some
situation that you really don'twanna deal with, it can be
really helpful.
(18:51):
So that's pretty much what Ihave for you guys today.
I hope that this was helpful.
I hope that you could connect toit.
But this was just what was on myheart and I wanted to be raw and
real and let you know that.
Sometimes it feels like a lotand it's our job to just push
through and keep going.
(19:13):
So take a moment to breathe.
Think about the next thing, thenext right step that you wanna
do.
There's a song in Frozen two.
I'm not like, I wouldn't callmyself a Disney person, but I
love the movie Frozen and I lovethe movie Frozen too.
And I love the music in them.
And there's a song.
(19:33):
And frozen two and honestthings.
It, and it's about taking thenext right step.
Like I just have to take, shewas at a point where she just
wanted to shut it all down too,and we just have to take the
next right step sometimes.
And so whether that's in aworkout where you just focus on,
okay, I just have to get to thatstop sign.
I have, just have to get to thenext light pole.
I just have to do one morequarter repeat.
(19:55):
I need to just run one moremile.
Five more minutes, one moreminute.
A lot of times I'll tell myselfI can do anything for a minute,
right?
Sometimes we just have to takethat next right step, because
once we take that one, thenthere will be another one.
And another one after that.
And if we just keep taking thatnext right step, we're going to
(20:17):
get to where we need to be andknow that you're not alone in
this process.
Like we're all just figuringthis out together.
And if you need help, come reachout.
I would love for you to send mea message on Instagram.
You can reach me at real liferunners, or I actually have my
own personal account called it'sat Dr.
Angie Brown.
I would love for you to reachout and let me know what you
(20:40):
thought about this episode,because this is a very different
episode than what we normallydo, and I would love to hear
your thoughts on it.
But yeah, that's what I got foryou guys today.
So I hope you are all having awonderful summer.
If you are in a heavy season,I'm here with you and we're
gonna get through this.
No doubt.
And we're gonna be able tosupport each other throughout
(21:01):
all of it, and we're gonna comeout stronger and more resilient
on the other side with abeautiful bathroom to show,
right?
What are we gonna get at theend?
Because there's alwayssomething, and we might not be
able to see it yet, like I haveno idea what this bathroom is
going to look like, but I knowthat we're going to have a new
bathroom and I know that it'sgoing to be beautiful and I know
that it's going to have beenworth it.
(21:25):
I'm gonna decide right now thatgoing through all of this
process is going to make thatend result worth it, and
sometimes that means it looksdifferent than you expected.
Maybe you don't hit the exact PRthat you were hoping for, but
you worked through somethingreally hard and you came back to
yourself in a way that youdidn't expect.
(21:48):
It's all worth it.
We just have to keep going.
We just have to push through andjust take the next right step.
So if you found this episodehelpful, I would love for you to
write a review.
I would love for you to share itwith a friend, and I would love
to hear from you over onInstagram at Dr.
Angie Brown or at real liferunners.
And as always, thanks forjoining us.
This has been The Real LifeRunners Podcast, episode number
(22:10):
418.
Now, get out there and run yourlife.
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