307: Invest Wisely in Your Running - PODCAST AUDIO
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[00:00:00] This is the real life runners podcast, episode number 307. Invest wisely in your running.
[00:00:29] Angie: All right, so today we're talking about investing in yourself and investing in your running because
if you want to improve in any area of your life, and you need to invest either your time or your money, or both.
And one of the things that we see so many people thinking when it comes to running is that running should be easy and running is free.
And so today what we wanna talk about is two categories of investments of investing your time into your running and then investing your money into your running and what [00:01:00] we think are mandatory investments on both sides and what we think are optional investments on both
[00:01:05] Kevin: sides. Yeah. I think that's gonna be really interesting.
Yeah. Because this is like our take. And then just because this is what we think are necessarily mandatory versus optional does not mean they necessarily fall into the optional category for you.
Mm-hmm. Like there might be an aspect of running that you're like, no, no, no. That is a mandatory running expense because that's the aspect of running that brings me such joy. Mm-hmm. If that's a part of running that brings you joy, it. It might fall into the mandatory category for you, even if it doesn't, it might be, might, might be the massage, it might be different race entries for certain people.
[00:01:37] Angie: All right, so today we're gonna start out today with talking about investing your time. Okay. Because as you know, if you are a runner, it's going to require some of your time. If you wanna run, it's going to require some of your time. If you want to get better at running, and if you think that you should be making faster progress, or if you think that progress is [00:02:00] linear, that can lead to a lot of frustration and disappointment. That's
So instead of thinking that, You need to be making fast progress instead of thinking that you need to be making linear progress where you know the amount of effort that you put in is going to automatically give you the results that you want. We want you to start thinking about this a little bit differently. Okay? So let's first talk about mandatory time investments in your running. so number one, your training time. You need to spend time obviously running. And then I also say mandatory time strength training and doing some mobility work. That is all included in what I consider training time.
[00:02:37] Kevin: Which is going to completely vary from one person to the other. Mm-hmm.
Right. It's required, but how much has to match up with your overall lifestyle yeah. In general, putting in more time into your training program is going to get you better results, but it's gonna get to a point where it actually hurts you.
And where that point is, depends on where you're at in your [00:03:00] life. Depends on a whole bunch of different circumstances. Mm-hmm. But your training load and your lifestyle really have to mesh nicely.
[00:03:06] Angie: Yeah. Because more is not always better. More is often better. Like. When you first start running, if you are out and you're running, say twice a week, if you move from twice a week to three times a week, you are likely going to improve.
If you move from three times a week to four times a week, again, you are likely going to improve. More is often better in certain situations, unless you are pushing too hard or unless you're ramping it up too quickly.
[00:03:34] Kevin: This goes back to what we very said at the beginning here of it has to be the training load matching to your lifestyle. Don't go from 20 to 30 miles a week if you also have all sorts of stuff at work and like kids running around the house and you're already dicey on are you getting in enough sleep? Yeah. Like there's a lot going on. You have to make sure that your training load fits into your lifestyle.
[00:03:58] Angie: Right. They need to align. Right. Like [00:04:00] maybe. Not the best time to train for a marathon is the newborn stage, right? Like if you have a, a baby at home that's two months old, whether or not you're a male or a female, like obviously if you are a female and you burst that baby, your body is still recovering too. But if you are a dad and you are helping out just with nighttime feedings and you are, you know, up every two hours trying to help out because the baby's sleeping like you, your life, your sleep is also affected. Okay. So maybe the newborn stage might not be the best time to train for a marathon. I mean, you trained for your first half marathon while our baby was a, a newborn.
[00:04:38] Kevin: I was gonna say, I think my half marathon PR is with, yeah. Couple months.
[00:04:42] Angie: She, two months. She was, she was three months old when months old when ran that because it was in December and she was born in September.
[00:04:48] Kevin: Yes. Yeah. So I mean, It, it just,
[00:04:51] Angie: but we were also 28 at the time.
[00:04:53] Kevin: This is very, very true.
[00:04:54] Angie: Right. So like, there's something to be said about age also because we don't recover when we're [00:05:00] 42 the same way that we recovered when we were 28.
[00:05:02] Kevin: A hundred percent no. Right. Not even close.
[00:05:04] Angie: Like that's, that's, and there's something to be said of, you know, we don't believe that. Age should quote, unquote limit you. Right. But we do have to be smarter about the way that we train when we're in our forties versus when we're in our twenties.
[00:05:18] Kevin: Right. So we're talking about kind of like two things simultaneously here. Your training load and what goals you're aiming for. Yeah. And the goal that you're aiming for is somewhat connected to your training load. The, the load that you can undergo for really successfully pushing after a 5k mm-hmm versus the load that you need for a marathon. Those volume, the, the amount of miles you're putting in are, are different. And you could really run some high miles and say, I'm training for a, a 5k, but you don't necessarily need the same volume that you do for a marathon. So that's how like your goal and your lifestyle have to fit.
And then like what? What training load are you really trying to optimize and your lifestyle have to fit? I think both of them.
[00:05:59] Angie: Yeah, [00:06:00] exactly. So the other mandatory time investment that you need when it comes to your running, your health, your fitness is sleep and recovery. Okay. More sleep is necessary with higher training loads and your sleep and your recovery is not something that you wanna shortchange yourself with because there's this thing called the stress recovery cycle. So basically when you train in most of your workouts, you're breaking your body down. especially in your harder workouts. So in any speed workouts that you're doing, your strength training sessions, your long runs, those workouts are designed to break your body down. And it is during recovery that your body builds back stronger than it was before. So we have to stress the body. We have to break that body down with our training, and then we have to recover. In order for our body to build back stronger than it was before and reap the benefits of that training. So the stress that we put on our body has to then be followed by the appropriate amount of recovery if we are to [00:07:00] reap the benefits. And so a lot of times people try to shortcut their recovery. They try to, you know, have, they're good with the training side of things, right? Maybe they're, they're at stress. Yeah. And they're good at going out and getting those hard workouts in, but they're getting five hours of sleep at night, and so their body's not actually recovering. So sleep and recovery is also absolutely mandatory when it comes to a time investment.
[00:07:23] Kevin: Right? And how much recovery is necessary varies from person to person and like the, the timeframe and the other loads you have going on in your life. You pointed out, like I ran a very successful half marathon with a three month old, but we were working together.
You knew that the race was coming. I was taking naps in the middle of the afternoon, like I'd come home from. From cross-country practice and take a nap because I knew that I was gonna be up at some point in the middle of the night when the kid woke up. Mm-hmm. Like that was just going to happen. And so it was trying to figure out how can I get as much recovery as possible knowing the stresses that I've got, knowing that that [00:08:00] recovery's still probably not optimal.
Mm-hmm. But given, given my age, I didn't need the same quite amount of recovery as I do right now, coming off of, off of different workouts.
[00:08:09] Angie: Right. And then the final mandatory time investment that I believe that we need is planning your training. Okay. You need to make a plan or like figure out a plan. Right. And then you have to schedule in your workouts. Okay. You have to make a plan for your training. And this is a step that so many runners skip. They just feel like, oh, I'm just gonna go out and I'm gonna run. I've got about 30 minutes. I'm gonna get in a run here. I'm gonna do 45 minutes this day. And they kind of fly by the seat of their pants when it comes to their training.
[00:08:39] Kevin: Yeah. And having a training plan. It doesn't take a huge commitment upfront, right. To plan out what it is that you're going to do, but it leads to so much greater results when there's some organization to it and the plan itself builds from week to week.
[00:08:55] Angie: The time payoff is ridiculous. Yeah, right. Like the amount of time and frustration [00:09:00] that you save by just doing your planning ahead of time. I mean I, this is like meal planning for me. Yes. Right. Like on the weeks where I take the time to look at our calendar and sit down and say, okay, what do we have going this week? How many dinners do I need? Plan out ahead of time, what am I making for dinner? Go to the grocery store, make sure that I have those things.
It makes dinner that week so much easier, so much smoother, so much less stressful because I don't have to figure it out. I already know what we're having. I just have to go ahead and make it right. Yeah. So like taking that, what 10 minutes to plan ahead for the whole week makes the rest of my week so much smoother.
And the same thing with our running, same thing with our fitness. If we just take time to plan out our our workouts so that we know exactly what we're doing on every single day, and we know exactly when we're doing those things, it's going to make it so much easier for you to do it when the day actually comes because you don't have to figure it out, right?
It's one hurdle and one obstacle that you're taking [00:10:00] out ahead of time, that you're managing ahead of time so that when it comes to it, you can just get the job done.
[00:10:05] Kevin: Right? This is, this is you putting a time investment in early and then not having to put that same time investment in day after day after day, about what am I doing today? Wait, what? What was my workout yesterday and the day before? What do I have time for? How is it gonna fit in? Oh wait, I've got this, this meeting in the afternoon. Like it's looking ahead of time and saying, this is how the week is going to be able to play out. This is how I'm gonna be able to successfully fit in my training plan, and then just execute so you don't have to think about it on a daily basis. Just execute.
[00:10:35] Angie: Right? And, and. When you plan it out ahead of time. Also, you know that every workout that you're doing has a purpose. And so it's going to give you better results in the long run, both in the short term and in the long term to be, to be honest, right? Yes. Because you know that your workouts are designed with a goal in mind.
Mm-hmm. Right? And, and maybe that goal for you right now is just being in good [00:11:00] shape. Maybe it's just being fit like, and we have on many other podcasts, encouraged everyone to have more specific goals. But if you don't right now, that's okay. Like if your goal is to get stronger, if your goal is to you know, just be really fit in good shape, that's what my goal is a lot of times.
Okay. I'm not one of those runners that has to have a race on the calendar. I'm not one that loves racing so much. I like racing racing's fine, but I don't need to do a lot of races. Like, I just like being in good shape and getting faster, challenging myself with workouts, you know, making sure that I am.
Hitting various aspects of my fitness, but I plan that out ahead of time because it's just better that I know what I'm doing. Yeah.
[00:11:43] Kevin: I mean, I, I like having some, some races on there. Yeah. I, I haven't had one on the calendar in a little while. It's kind of, it, it goes into the optional time investment actually, because one of the things that you can spend time on that you don't need to, beyond researching training plans, is [00:12:00] researching various races instead of just picking one.
Mm-hmm. Like they're kind of connected. Yeah. Just pick one of figuring out a training plan, picking it, and then that's your schedule. Right. Pick a race. Picket, and then that's gonna be the race that you go for. Mm-hmm. Instead of being like, eh, I mean there's this option, but maybe I'll do that one or maybe I'll do that one.
Then you're not really committed to anything. Mm-hmm. And you constantly have to reevaluate like, am I training correctly? Based off of the possibility of these four different races and haven't signed up for any of them.
[00:12:28] Angie: Mm-hmm. Are you talking to yourself right now?
[00:12:30] Kevin: Possibly.
[00:12:31] Angie: Okay. All right, so let's just go into these optional time investments. Optional time investments. Okay. So, Those were our mandatory ones. So training time, sleep and recovery, and then planning your training. You need to have those three things if you wanna get results, if you wanna see progress in your running. Now, optional time investments. So we're, there's some nuance here. Okay. So the first thing we wanna talk about is researching training plans. Okay? There are so many options out there. There are [00:13:00] free training apps, there are downloadable PDFs, there are paid programs out there. There are a ton of ways for you to find a training plan. So the first thing that I want to tell you is that you should have a training plan.
Okay? And, and you guys know, I don't like the word should, but training plans are so beneficial no matter what goal you're working towards, because it just provides structure. It just provides some sort of, you know, Framework for your training.
[00:13:29] Kevin: It's provides stability, instability. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. That framework really helps you figure out what it is that you're going for. Right? But then you have to decide, am I going to follow the training plan that came with my watch, or the one that came with my treadmill, right. Or my phone.
[00:13:40] Angie: Right. And there are so many options out there, and you can spend so much time researching them trying to figure out which one is right for you. Like, okay, well this one has me starting at 20 miles a week, which is where I am, but it also has me running five days a week, but I only wanna run four. So then I have to adjust. And they're like trying [00:14:00] to figure out like, you know, because. It's hard, I think, for a lot of runners to find a training plan that is exactly right for them.
[00:14:08] Kevin: Yes. That has exactly the goal they're aiming for. Right. And the starting place where they currently are. Mm-hmm. I mean, I remember this frustration when I first started trying to coach myself. Mm-hmm. For my first marathon. Yeah. I got a book. It had three training plans in the back. You know what they are, they're the easier, they're the moderate and they're the advanced. And I'm like, well, I don't feel like I'm advanced because I've never done this before. Right. But I looked at the beginner plan and I'm like, I don't wanna start with three miles a week a day. Right. Like, that's not gonna work for me. And, and where I currently am, so like straight off the bat, I got a book, I trusted the book, and I looked at the plans in the back and I didn't fit any of them. Mm-hmm. Which is awkward. And then you have to be like, well, should I find a different plan? Do I adjust these plans? There's a lot of time that you could put into researching so many different options. Right. I stuck with that book and tried to create one. Mm-hmm. To me, that was my most efficient use of the time. I could have [00:15:00] gotten so many more books. Right. And tried to find a, see if there was a plan out there that worked better for me.
[00:15:04] Angie: Well, and I think that that's where a lot of people get stuck because they, they see so many options and they don't know how to filter. Yeah. Right. And I think that this happens in so many other areas of our life as well.
Like, it definitely happens in our running, but I mean, think about trying to pick out a recipe for dinner. Like if you have all of the websites on the internet to go from. Yeah. There are millions and millions, maybe billions of recipes out there. Like who knows how many recipes are out there, right? There are so many things.
You need a way to figure out a filter, like to start filtering some of those things. Whereas if you just have one recipe book in your cabinet, that gives you a lot less options. Right. You can just kind of like look through and pick one.
[00:15:46] Kevin: It may get repetitive, but you probably are gonna find plenty of recipes in there that you like. Mm-hmm. If the options are almost unlimited, which is pretty much what online recipes are going to be, yeah. You're going to be real hungry because you're just flipping through recipes and you're never eating dinner. [00:16:00] Well, and
[00:16:00] Angie: I've done that so many times. Oh, you know, we both have. Yeah. Like we've gone through and I'm like, okay, what's for dinner tonight? And I start looking and you, then you start going down those rabbit holes, right, of like trying to find a recipe and you're like, Ooh, that looks good. And you're like, Ooh, but that looks good. And then all of a sudden it's. 30, 60 minutes later, and I'm just looking at recipes and I haven't actually cooked anything.
[00:16:18] Kevin: And then you flip over to TikTok recipe and now you're down to TikTok Rabbit Hole.
[00:16:21] Angie: Right? Exactly. But the same thing happens with our training plans. You know, like we start looking for a training plan or a, a coach or an app or a system, and you're like, okay, well what about this one? Oh, that one looks good.
And it's like, then there's all the paid programs out there too. Oh, what about this one? What about that one? It's like it's, it can be so hard to make a decision. So what we wanna tell you is that the amount of time that you spend researching the other options can be such like time better spent on actually training. Yeah. Or like doing other things in your life that you wanna do. Especially if you're somebody that says, I don't have a lot of time to train. Right. A [00:17:00] lot. I think that time is one of the biggest things that people talk about when it comes to obstacles that are getting in their way of why they don't have the results that they want. And yet people are spending so much time just like reading or watching videos and not actually just choosing a goal and choosing a plan. Like it's a simple decision that is stopping so many of us from getting the results that we want.
[00:17:21] Kevin: Right. Which leads into the next one of not just researching your plan, which you can pick one. Yep. Pick one that seems like it might work for you.
[00:17:30] Angie: We've got lots of them. If you guys want, this is true. If you guys want us to help you head over to real life runners.com. Shameless, clug.
[00:17:37] Kevin: Nailed it. But there's j I mean, possibly even more amount of time Yeah. That you could spend looking into how do I improve as a runner? Right. Beyond the overall plan, what about just how to improve? Mm-hmm. Between the books and the podcast, I get so many articles, like Twitter's pretty confident that I, I am a runner. So they're like, oh, you might like this article. You might like this article. I'm like, I can only read the same Runner's World article [00:18:00] rewritten every six months. Right. So many times. Like, I just don't need to. But they're out there and then you leap over to YouTube. Everybody's got a video on it. The videos aren't, they don't even necessarily agree with each other. Right. They may be complete polar opposites of each other. And the thing is, is that they both probably work. Mm-hmm. And so you need to find which one works for you, but instead, a lot of people, instead of. Going in with one and seeing how it works. Yeah. People'll just keep doing more research.
[00:18:24] Angie: Yeah. Because research is safe. Yeah. Right. Like you don't actually have to take action if you're just researching things about it, oh, I'm just looking up information.
I'm, I'm researching, I'm learning about it, but you're not actually taking the action, and that's what's actually necessary for you to get the results. Learning is passive action. Like when you're reading, when you're watching videos, when you're listening to podcasts, that's all passive action. When you need to take real action, actually doing the things, that's a lot scarier because all of a sudden now you're vulnerable. Now you're putting yourself out there. Now you're putting yourself on the line, and [00:19:00] it might work and it might not work. So you're putting yourself in that position. That you have the potential to fail. You have the potential not to achieve your goal. And that's a scary place for a lot of people. So a lot of people just like to hang out in passive action, which is just like the researching, the learning, not actually taking the actions that they need.
[00:19:18] Kevin: Yeah. But then you could take your optional time. That's just sucking time out of you. Yeah. Cuz you're doing more research and move it into mandatory time investment where you actually could go out and put more time into your running strength training, mobility work or your sleep, go to sleep or your sleep.
[00:19:35] Angie: It's, it's midnight, go to sleep, stop watching YouTube videos.
[00:19:37] Kevin: It's one of the mandatory options. Right? You could dump more time into either of those buckets. Yeah. And gain a lot more benefits than reading the 15th article.
[00:19:45] Angie: Yeah, exactly. And this is why we always talk about the importance of customized training plans.
This is why having a training plan that is right for you and your life and your goals is so important. And it's hard to fi [00:20:00] figure that out on your own. That's why we've created our real life runner system to make this a very easy step-by-step thing for you to do for yourself and have coaches to support you along the way so that when those questions do come up and you're trying to figure out what you are supposed to do or aren't supposed to do, or what's gonna be better for you in this situation, you don't have to go through all of those rabbit holes.
You don't have to go into YouTube and try to figure out or find a video that might answer your question. But you have to watch, you know, 13 minutes of that video before that. It actually gets to your question, right?
[00:20:33] Kevin: But it seems like it's scary. Like I remember. Googling this and trying to come up with the answers personally. Yeah. And that was over 20 years ago. Mm-hmm.
And there were so many options then. And I mean, there's definite exponential growth in the amount of options now, trying to figure out what is the optimal training plan. Right. Seems daunting if, if your main option is Google or YouTube, it just seems daunting.
[00:20:56] Angie: All right. Moving on. Other optional time investments, [00:21:00] okay? If you don't figure this out, all right? If you don't figure out a way to train for you that's right for you and your body and your goals, you might have to spend some time off because you're injured and that is optional.
Okay? Even though 90% of runners get injured, And that statistic is so sad to me. Like esp, especially as a physical therapist I used to make a joke that it's like, you know, it helped keep me in business. Yep. But now I want my business to be helping runners prevent injury. Yeah. That's the business that I chose to go in because I don't wanna see people hurt all the time.
I'd rather teach you how to avoid injuries so that you could be out living the active lifestyle and pursuing the goals that are actually important to you versus taking time off for injury.
[00:21:45] Kevin: Yeah. I mean, at a minimum, just reducing the, the possible risk as low as it possibly can. Right. Like running is still an impact sport. Yes. You're getting out, you're running like there is a chance of an injury. We've been doing this for a long time. We can't guarantee that it's an [00:22:00] injury-free process, but we can certainly reduce the risk a lot. Yeah. With a plan that makes sense for, for you. Like the reason why it's 90% is because it, it's an impact sport. Right. But I think a lot of, and so many people do it wrong.
[00:22:12] Angie: So many people, that's the problem. And, and that kind of goes back to the first thing we talked, we mentioned in the episode of like, Well, running is easy, right? Like running should be be easy, running should be free, right? And it, yeah, to an extent.
But then so many people ramp up their mileage too quickly. They're doing too much for their body. They're not strength training. They're, you know, trying to, to train at a level that's above where they are and they end up injured. And that kind of leads to optional time investment. Number, what are we out for?
Four. Which is time spent going to doctors and PT appointments if you do end up injured, right? So you can spend your time. Training in a way that's best for you and trying to kind of figure that out and plan it out ahead of time. Or you can train kind of willy-nilly and like start throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks and not, and then when it doesn't stick and when you get injured, now instead of spending your time being [00:23:00] out running and doing other things, you're gonna have to be going to doctor's appointments or going to physical therapy appointments in order to fix the injury that your training or your lack of training plan has caused you. And then that's just kind of getting you back to baseline. Yeah. Then you have to figure out, now that I'm back at baseline, how do I move forward again? It's right. So it's like that old adage of like one step forward, two steps back. Like we don't want you guys to keep taking one forward, two back. We wanna keep, you know, let, letting you go 2, 3, 4 steps forward.
Maybe you'll have little minor setbacks here and there. Like Kevin said, like running is an impact sport. There are gonna be times that, you know, life will just get in your way. Like one of our clients, she just completed her first half marathon last weekend,
And but she unexpectedly developed pneumonia Yep. A couple of months ago. Like, that's not something that anybody expected. No, no one plans for pneumonia, right? Like, there, there are things that happen along the way that some, sometimes little setbacks occur. How do you adjust for them? How do you keep moving forward?
And so, [00:24:00] You know, again, another importance of of having that customized training plan that's right for you.
[00:24:05] Kevin: Yeah. But if you can avoid that, that optional time off for injury, those optional doctor's appointments, you can, you can keep taking better steps forward. Mm-hmm. It might not be linear growth.
Yeah. But at least it's gonna be more continuous forward steps and fewer steps going backwards. Yeah.
[00:24:19] Angie: And so to go back to our cooking metaphors, I was thinking about the Instapot versus the stove. Okay. Right. Okay. So the Instapot might be more convenient, but they often make for some mushy meals Yes, they do.
Right. Like you just kind of throw it all in and hope it comes out okay. It's still all gonna come out cooked, but you're, but you're not really like adjusting anything along the way.
[00:24:40] Kevin: Right. Just trying the heat up and mush.
[00:24:43] Angie: Exactly. But like, if you get the timing wrong, if you get the pressure wrong, it's, it's. Hard to fix it or impossible to fix it at the end if it's already done.
[00:24:51] Kevin: Yeah. Rice in the instant Pot is always an interesting one cuz if you overshoot it, you can't fix it. It's just, it's not rice anymore.
[00:24:57] Angie: It's just a big ball of sticky goo. Yes, yes. [00:25:00] It's right. So it's like you, it is convenient, right. To just throw it all in there, set it, and forget it. Right. And a lot of people do that with their training. Yes. They're just like, okay, let's just throw it all in there and we'll just see what happens. But then they end up broken at the end or they end up a big pile of mush. Right. So I think that's broken. Right. Whereas if you're cooking a meal on the stove, it does take more time and attention, but you can monitor your meal each step of the way and Correct.
As needed. Yes. Right. And you o that often leads you to get a more flavorful meal meal with more texture.
[00:25:34] Kevin: Yes. Heaven forbid how much more satisfying one, heaven forbid you try and cook noodles on an instant pot. Oh God. Like you, you, you want to check those periodically.
[00:25:41] Angie: Yeah. So I mean, so that's kind of what you're looking at here with the training, right? Like, yes. Is it more convenient just to like, not figure it out ahead of time, just throw it, throw it all in, see what happens, or to take some time to like plan it out. Invest your time in figuring it out, making a [00:26:00] plan, putting that training in that will give you a better and more satisfying result at the end.
All right, so the next thing that we're talking about is investing your money in your running and investing your money in your health and fitness. And again, we think that there are important things that you need to invest in, things that you need to spend money on, and then some optional items that you may want to spend money on if you want to, or, or not.
So some of the things that we often see is that people don't wanna spend money on their running. They think, like we said before, running is free. All I need is some shoes and I can head out the door and go for a run. And again, that leads to a lot of frustration and disappointment
[00:26:41] Kevin: I think the bigger issue here is people don't invest in running as their, their quote unquote hobby, but then they tie deeply emotionally connected goals to it. Like, Ooh, I have to break two hours in a half marathon. But I don't really wanna spend any money in this thing. But then they don't reach their [00:27:00] goal. Yeah. And they're super disappointed in it. That's interesting. So I like, yeah, sure. There's a time commitment that you have to put into it also, but there is some level of financial commitment that you need to have. Yeah. Like down to like the very basic level of if you have a goal of breaking two hours and a half and you never sign up for a race, you can't be kicking yourself for not doing it because you didn't even put yourself in the option because it was too expensive to do the race. Like there's, there's a lot of things that there's, there's a money value to it.
[00:27:26] Angie: Yeah. I mean, the other thing that I often see that people do is that they spend money on things that don't actually move them forward. Yeah. Right. They're, they're trying to find the latest fad or the latest hack or trick to improve their running and they end up just wasting their money instead of spending their time.
On the things that are actually going to move them forward. They're trying to spend money on things that they think are gonna move them forward that, that don't actually move the needle very much.
[00:27:56] Kevin: Right. Could, there are some things that maybe you're like, well, if I put this amount of [00:28:00] money in, can I shortcut it? And the answer is maybe yes. And we'll, we'll talk about that as we get it again.
[00:28:04] Angie: The answer is yes. There are definitely things that if you put money into them, you can save yourself time. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I'll give you, okay. And the training plan is one of them that we've already talked about. Okay. And then there's other things that if you. Spend more time than you're, you're gonna be able to save money, right? Yes. But it's gonna be one or the other. And that's something that's different for everybody for sure, because definitely people value their time or their money and, and people put different values on both of those things.
Some people value their time more and are, are, are willing to pay for things. And some people value their money more and are willing to spend lots of time doing something as long as they can save money. Yeah, yeah. Very good point. Right? And, and it changes. And so you have to kind of figure out what's right for you.
So here are the things that you want to invest money in possibly. Okay? Like
[00:28:54] Kevin: I think all of the, all the possible running expenses we got here.
[00:28:57] Angie: These are, these are the possible running expenses. And then we're gonna g [00:29:00] kind of go into what we think is mandatory or are optional. All right? So shoes, Gear and clothing, nutrition and food coaching and support recovery tools, race entry fees, and medical bills. Yep. Those are kind of the, a lot of the big categories that you might, where areas where you might spend money.
[00:29:20] Kevin: Well, there are lots of areas you gotta find the big ones that are actually going to move the needle. And I think you need proper shoes. I don't think you need the most expensive shoes, but I think you need shoes that are appropriate for what you're doing.
Mm-hmm. Like if you are a runner, you need running shoes. If you're gonna be on a trail, like a technical trail, you probably actually need to invest in a trail shoe. Yep. Like depending on what you're doing, you need shoes that fit the activity. Yeah.
[00:29:45] Angie: I mean, I'm gonna interrupt you here. I know I saw it because shoes are mandatory. Period. Like do not just go out and run in whatever shoe is on sale. You need to have a pair of running shoes, real running shoes [00:30:00] that are right for you and your feet and your body. Okay? I made this mistake early on before I called myself a runner. I would just run in whatever shoes were on sale. Kevin is actually, when I met him, he was working at a running shoe store out in California Lake during the summers in college, and that was the first time that I ever even knew that running shoes were.
Really even a thing or the running shoes were different than a cross train. Yeah. That it was different. There was different categories. Yep. Like in my mind, they were all sneakers. Yes. Right. Like I had, there was basketball shoes, of course there were, they were court shoes. Different court shoes. Right. Like I played volleyball, basketball, and softball growing up.
But, so I did have three different pairs of shoes. I had sneakers for volleyball. I didn't really have volleyball shoes. I had high tops for basketball and I had cleats for softball, uhhuh. But I didn't even think that there were running shoes cuz running was just involved in all of them. Yes. So couldn't you just run in anything?
[00:30:52] Kevin: You run in whatever, run in whatever. Whereas I had running shoes. Right. And then I had like my running racing shoes. Right. And then I had spikes So I had, I [00:31:00] had three pairs of shoes and my only sport was running.
[00:31:02] Angie: Right. So, Get yourself a good pair of running shoes, okay? If you have not yet been to a specialty running store, find one in your area, just go to Google and search up running store near me and go get fitted for real running shoes that are good for you. When you go to these specialty running stores, there will be someone there very often that will watch you walk, watch you run, and then recommend at least a category of shoes that you wanna try then you can try on different brands to see what feels best on your foot. Running shoes make a huge difference in how running feels and also your risk of injury.
[00:31:43] Kevin: Yeah, and don't get intimidated by the specialty running shoe store. Don't worry about how many races that the person selling you shoes has done how fast they might be if they're working in a running shoe store. They're doing it because they actually like the running community and are more than willing to welcome you [00:32:00] as best as possible into the running community. Working in a running shoe store is not the most high paying, lucrative job that you could get. So if someone's working there, I promise you, they want to help you join the running community in a safe and and great process.
[00:32:15] Angie: Okay, other things. All, all around nutrition. Mm-hmm. Not like, do I have the exact right gel when I'm off on my long run? But your overall nutrition is a great place to actually spend money in the category of food and nutrition. You need to invest in your overall, what am I putting into my body on a day-to-day basis?
Yes. Because what you eat on a daily basis matters with how you perform. It matters with how your body feels. And like Kevin said, we're not just talking about what you eat right before, during, and after that. The, when we say nutrition, we mean your overall nutrition. Are you getting enough protein? Are you getting enough carbohydrates?
Are you getting quality protein, quality carbohydrates, quality fats into your diet? Are you eating a lot of processed [00:33:00] foods, fast foods, those kinds of things. Those are not going to support your running as well as higher quality nutrition.
[00:33:07] Kevin: Right. So I think before you dive into any of the, like what do we eat exactly during a run and trying out various things, which could become an important thing depending on how far you're going out and running, I think that it's much more important to start with your overall nutrition. I think that it's important to get yourself into a generally appropriate running shoe before you start getting the running shoes that have all of the bells and whistles on it. Yes. And this is the same thing that I said for years. Selling shoes, like my original boss selling running shoes had a shoe on the wall. This dates me for how long I've been selling shoes. There were the shoes, the standard shoes that were $90, and then there were the expensive shoes for 1 25. Mm-hmm. Like those were the prices. Yeah. And he tried to sell every, basically everybody that walked in the door, the $90 shoe. And sometimes he'd be like, why would you get me this? Do you not think I'm a good enough runner to get the 1 35? [00:34:00] He goes, no, no, no. You're a great runner. You just don't need that. That's more shoe than you need. It has things that you don't need, that you're not gonna benefit from. Mm-hmm. If you want it, I will sell it to you. I have it in stock. It's in your size. You can try it on and see what you think, but I don't think that it's a worthwhile shoe for you. Right. I think when you get into it, make sure you're in a good shoe. Make sure that you're eating well day to day. Mm-hmm. Start with the big picture, make sure that you've got your bases covered, and then move forward from that.
[00:34:24] Angie: Yeah. The, the other category that we kind of skipped over here were gear and clothing. Now, gear and clothing you can spend a lot of money on. Sure. You can on specialty running clothing and it is not necessary.
Okay. I think that. Important areas for you to spend money in? Clothing are, number one, if you're a woman, you need to have a good sports bra.
So make sure that you spend money on a good sports bra.
I don't think that, you know, you should just go in whatever, $10 sports bra off the rack. It's probably not gonna be the best choice for you. Maybe you can get away with it. [00:35:00] Maybe you find something on clearance. Fantastic. But be willing to invest in a good sports bra. Number two. Shorts I think are important so that, again, chaffing because you wanna be comfortable when you're running. I think that that's the most important thing when it comes to clothing. You wanna be in moisture, wiki and fabrics so that you can be as comfortable as possible because if you. Are in clothing that is rubbing and causing skin irritation. It's not gonna make your run comfortable. It's not gonna make it feel good, and chances are you're not gonna wanna go out and do it all the time if like your skin is hurting.
[00:35:31] Kevin: Yeah. So I'll, I'll go with that. I'll, I'll jump on board with You need appropriate running clothing, but you don't necessarily need the most expensive brand name. No, definitely. You can find some pretty quality clothes mm-hmm. For reasonable amounts of money.
[00:35:46] Angie: Well, there's so many good things on Amazon nowadays. Yeah, right. Like they're off brand things that are actually very good quality. The other thing I wanted to mention are good running socks. Okay. Good. Running socks make a really big difference as well, [00:36:00] especially if you have any problems with blisters or feet issues, socks make a big difference.
[00:36:05] Kevin: Yeah. I might actually put that one higher. Yeah. I mean, I don't wear a sports bra myself, but socks, socks is, might be almost as high as shoes on that one for me.
[00:36:12] Angie: Yeah. But again, you don't need to have. The socks in every color. You don't need to have the sports bras in every color. Right. You need to have a handful of go-tos that you know, feel good on your body when you're out running.
[00:36:25] Kevin: And that's the difference between what's required and what's not. You don't need all the color options. You don't need the matching set. Right. You, you need shorts that work for you. Right. You need a sports bra that works for you. You need socks that work for you, but you don't need every color scheme possible.
[00:36:41] Angie: Exactly. All right. Next category is coaching and support. Okay. So this is one of those areas that I think that a lot of runners think is optional and I obviously we are running coaches, so we value our services, we know the importance of [00:37:00] coaching and support, and so I will just talk about other areas of my life that I've gotten coaching and support in.
Sure. Okay. Because I think that this is like a really important thing that is coaching and support. Optional, mandatory. Where does it fall on that spectrum? Because it's not black or white. It's not like this one's optional and this one's mandatory.
[00:37:21] Kevin: I think some level of support is mandatory. Yeah. I think depending on what your goals are, and maybe like this, the, the lifestyle you've gotten, what you're trying to fit into your lifestyle depends on how much support you need and the type of support you need.
[00:37:36] Angie: Right. And there are different types of support, right? Like, so there are coaches, there are other runners, like there's the runner community, there is your spouse, your friends, like there are a lot of different places where you can get support for your running. And that level of support varies based on who you are, who you're surrounded by, what your goal is, and a lot of other factors in your life.
[00:37:59] Kevin: [00:38:00] Sure. So where do you think, like you were gonna say, the different levels of support that you have personally?
[00:38:06] Angie: Oh yeah. So, I mean, here's the thing. When, when I think about support in general, right? I think that there are, like I said, there's family, there's friends. I have a lot of support in you, obviously.
Mm-hmm. You're my husband. So I have your support both with just our life and also with my running. Yep. Because both you and I, Value and prioritize our running and our health. And so if I say that there's something that I need to do with my running, you've got my back. Yep. Right. And that's really important.
And some people I know don't have that in their spouse. And so I think it's important for them to have it in someone else. Maybe it's a friend, maybe it's a a running group. And there are in-person running groups and online running groups that are all for free. So I'm not saying that you have to pay for support or you have to have support that lives in the house with you.
But I do think it's very important to have some level of support for your running journey because [00:39:00] you want people that are in your corner. Yeah. Like that's really important, especially if you want to be consistent, if you want to stay motivated, if you want to chase some of these bigger goals, it's hard to do that alone.
And I think that having other people there with you, just like on your team is really, really important. And then the second level that I look at is coaching. Or some sort of guide, some sort of mentor that's helping you move forward. Mm-hmm. Like I saw something the other day, I should look it up. My friend posted something on Instagram that was like, there are three types of friends that you need in your life.
You need a friend that Let's see is ahead of you that will reach back for you and pull you forward. Sure. You need a friend that will walk beside you on your journey, and then you need a friend that you can reach back for and, and, and help, you know, to help the friendship chain along the way. Yeah, it's kind of the chain, right?
Like you need someone that you can help. You need someone that's there on the journey with you, and then you need someone that you can look forward to that will kind of help [00:40:00] guide the way for you. And I've had so many people in my life that have done that for me. I, I mean, teachers, coaches in high school, running coaches.
Now I have like business coaches and personal development mentors that I, that I'm still learning from. I still have friends in my life. I have mentors that are mothers, like in, in my mothering journey, right? Mm-hmm. Like that. Have kids that are grown up now and, and I look to them for, for guidance and for advice.
And I think that that's really important for us to have in our running journey as well of, you know, people that have, have done it, have, have gone through those things that have helped other people through those things because they can help us avoid some of those pitfalls along the way. Avoid some of those things that we don't need to go through.
But I think that when we do have people. That we can learn from and that we can kind of follow in their path that they've started to carve out for us. It can make the journey a lot easier, a lot more enjoyable, and a lot more rewarding.
[00:40:57] Kevin: So that is sometimes a [00:41:00] place where you can actually trade off some of the time that might be involved mm-hmm. For money. Yeah. Like you could pay for a coach, right. Who might be able to say, Hey, this is a path that might be a faster way of getting there instead of so much trial and error. Yeah. Which is very time consuming. Yep. And you will get there and maybe you'll get lucky and your first attempt will get you there, but as you keep reaching for more and more goals, the odds of you picking the shortest path every time is not necessarily gonna be accurate.
The coach might be able to guide you in. Not like an immediate path, but a path that might not lead to quite so many dead ends. And sometimes if you're doing your own training through trial and error, yeah, it might lead to a lot more dead ends along the way.
[00:41:40] Angie: Right. But you have to find coaching in a support system that you actually connect to. And I think that's really important. Very good. Right? Because a lot of times people will like, join a program, but if they're not all in, or if they don't trust the coach, then mm-hmm. It's not really doing them any good. Like I see this a lot when people join, like, [00:42:00] in-person training groups. Yep. Because it's just the training group that goes with the, the local running store. Mm-hmm. And so they, they join that group. But then they realized that maybe the coach doesn't have as much experience as they were hoping, or it is the coach head in their head. Yeah. Or the coach is not providing the level of guidance that they were hoping for. Like, it's just like, oh, well this is really, like this person is called a coach.
Mm-hmm. But it's really just a group run. And that person is just organizing the group run. They're not actually providing any coaching and guidance.
[00:42:29] Kevin: They have a key that unlocks the track every, every Thursday evening. Exactly. That's really, that's, that's their main thing.
[00:42:33] Angie: Exactly. So not all coaching is created equal. Not all support systems are created equal. And so you need to figure out which one is right for you. And that's something that you either have to, again, you invest your time in or you invest your money in, or
[00:42:47] Kevin: both. Yeah. But I think that that some level of support. Yeah. And you have to determine what works for you.
Mm-hmm. But some level is, I would say, a required. Mm-hmm. Part of your, your running experience Yeah. Is choose [00:43:00] nutrition and some level of support.
[00:43:01] Angie: Right. But do you think that you need to pay for support?
[00:43:04] Kevin: Depends on what exists around you. Yeah. So like, I have you in my life as a huge support to my running journey.
[00:43:12] Angie: So you don't have to pay to go see a physical therapist.
[00:43:14] Kevin: I don't have to pay for a physical therapist. I don't have to pay for like a strength specialist. Mm-hmm. Like I, that's true. I, I might, but I married one instead. So there you go.
[00:43:24] Angie: You, you invested, I invested your life.
[00:43:27] Kevin: I invested all of my time. All of it, all of your time. All of the time is fully invested. So I went with, I went with option A, the time investment.
[00:43:36] Angie: You invested 80 years of your life.
[00:43:38] Kevin: Instead, there was an investment in a diamond ring. So there was some money involved, there was some money involved, but that, those were my investments.
[00:43:45] Angie: That, that diamond ring I think has been paid off now.
[00:43:47] Kevin: I think that has paid off
[00:43:49] Angie: so yes. So there's lots of different ways, and again, you, you gotta kind of figure out what, what that balance looks like for you. Yeah. Okay. All right. Let's get into recovery.
[00:43:58] Kevin: The recovery [00:44:00] tools. Okay. So as the physical therapist, are there recovery tools that you think that we need to invest money in?
[00:44:07] Angie: There are recovery tools that can be beneficial. Okay. There are recovery tools that are a complete waste of money. Okay. And then there, a lot of it just kind of, again, falls into how much are you putting into that? Right? Like, you put a good example on here, like, do you need to spend a couple hundred dollars on the fancy pneumatic recovery boots if you don't sleep right? Yes. Like, are you, are you addressing, are you addressing the low hanging fruit first, like going back to. The time versus money thing. That's a, that's a place where you can't shortcut it. Like the fancy recovery boots are not going to make up for a lack of sleep, especially if it's a chronic lack of sleep. Will they improve the way that your legs feel? Yes. Those recovery boots are pretty darn good, you know, especially after really long races. Sure. They [00:45:00] can decrease recovery time in between races. Like I have a friend that did three marathons in three days. There was like some ultrafest that she did okay around a big lake, up in a northern state somewhere, and she had to run three marathons in three days.
And so she used those at night to rec, let her legs recover for the next day. That's a fantastic use of good use of those boots. Right? Because she had already, she already has this goal. She had already put in the training. It's not like she was trying to like shortcut her way to this. She was just trying to make sure that her legs felt as good as possible for the race on the next day.
That's a great idea. Right. So, do you need the fancy recovery boots? Definitely not. Okay. Are they helpful In some circumstances, absolutely. Right. But there are definitely some things that people spend their money on that are not, not a good use of their money, and it's, it's hard for me to make a, a list of that because there are so many things out there now.
If you guys have specific questions, again, send me a DM on [00:46:00] Instagram and I will give you my opinion if I have an opinion about it, because there's a lot of stuff out there that I'm not even familiar with. So I don't have an opinion and I don't. Just have an opinion, just to have one. Like I only have opinions on things that I actually know about.
[00:46:14] Kevin: All right, so we got, we got the magic recovery boots. What else you got? Magic Recovery. Massage guns.
[00:46:19] Angie: Massage guns. Massage guns are definitely not necessary, but I like them. I think they, they help me when I don't feel like using a lacrosse ball or a foam roller or other things like, I think that they're a helpful tool, but they're definitely not necessary.
You can get a lot of benefits with a $2 lacrosse ball and a $10 foam roller versus a hundred dollars massage gun.
[00:46:41] Kevin: Okay. What about an actual masseuse?
[00:46:43] Angie: I like massages. So I think it's a worthwhile thing,
[00:46:48] Kevin: but is it a required thing? Investment of your money?
[00:46:52] Angie: No, absolutely not. Like is massage helpful for some people? It is. Like, I like the way massage feels. Do I think that it really improves my [00:47:00] performance? Not really. I,
[00:47:01] Kevin: I'm not sure the last time it had a, a massage.
[00:47:03] Angie: I don't think massage improves performance. I ju I don't like, and as a physical therapist, like people might say like, oh, but that's part of what you do. Number one, physical therapists are not massage therapists.
[00:47:13] Kevin: Oh. But they always want a massage from you until you start.
[00:47:15] Angie: I know, but the massage isn't what, what actually helps people? It's the exercise that we do in physical therapy that actually helps people get better. Like people think it's the hands-on stuff. It's not the hands-on stuff guys. It's the exercise. That's what's actually helping you get better. So. And even foam rollers. Like foam rollers aren't proven to, to do anything either.
[00:47:35] Kevin: That was my next one is much lower cost than like getting a gun or the boots or anything like that. But does the foam roller actually definitely do something?
[00:47:44] Angie: No. Okay. Okay. Again, do you wanna spend your time foam rolling when you could spend your time doing calf raises instead? I would, I would opt for the calf raises Me too. You know, gimme the calf phrases all day over.
[00:47:54] Kevin: Oh, the pain foam rolling.
[00:47:56] Angie: Well, here's the thing, some people like foam rolling. Yep. Some people like the way that it makes [00:48:00] them feel and they think that it helps them. So for those people, keep doing it. If you really want to, like, if you like the way it feels fine. Is it a placebo effect? Maybe. But you, you think it's helping you? Great. You know, like I, I don't tell not to do it. I think that there are better uses of your time, especially if your time is limited. But if it feels good for you and you think it's, it's helping you, then I don't, I don't see a reason to stop it because it's not harming you in any way.
[00:48:25] Kevin: You have time for it, and it's not a huge investment of money. Right. To get a foam roller. So that falls into enough of a gray area that you're probably fine with that one. Yep. All right. What else? Are we spending money on? Race entry fees? Yes. Required or optional?
[00:48:40] Angie: Optional. I think, I think races are optional as a runner.
I think, like I said earlier in the episode, I'm not a huge race racing kind of person. I like races. I think races are fun. I think it's a great way to engage with the community, but I don't think that they're required for you to be a runner. I do think that they're a nice way to challenge yourself, but you can [00:49:00] challenge yourself in lots of different ways.
Like you can set up a virtual race. Like remember 2020 when there were no races? Mm-hmm. And we were all just running around our neighborhoods. Absolutely. And like, yeah. So there's lots of ways that you can challenge yourself that's outside of a race. So I do think that a race is optional and especially like some of these races that are really expensive.
Like is it really important for you to, to, to pay $500 to run through Disney World? Or is that money better? It is, it does depend on the person a hundred percent. And I'm not knocking it at all. Right. Like, if that makes you really happy. For some people, that makes them super happy. Fantastic. That is a great use of your money.
For other people, they'd rather spend $500 on something else.
[00:49:40] Kevin: Yeah. Yeah. So that, that's where I was gonna go with race entry fees is, I think I like racing. Yeah. But I don't like spending an enormous amount of money on entry fees. So I, I race less than I would if I was like, eh, just throw money at the race entry fees.
This would be fantastic. Yeah. So I like to pick and choose my races and I would probably not aim [00:50:00] for the races that, in my opinion, are unnecessarily expensive.
[00:50:03] Angie: Okay. So if money wasn't a thing. Yeah. Like if you had an unlimited race budget. Unlimited race budget, that did not cut into our family budget at all.
Okay. Like there was just this unlimited well of, of race money. Mm-hmm. Do you think you'd race a lot more? Yeah. Yeah. No, definitely. Yeah. So it, it is, it is a money thing for you Yeah. As far as like how many races you do enter or not.
[00:50:25] Kevin: Yeah. How many And like, you know, people, the size of it. The size of the race. Yeah. Like all of the, the world majors are drastically more expensive than the marathon that's like around the corner. Mm-hmm. Like there are races that take place on the weekend of Boston Marathon that, that literally pitched themselves as the non Boston Marathon. And the race entry fee is probably like 10% of the cost of getting into Boston, let alone qualifying for Boston. Like what the, the time and their, sorry. The money investment into some of these world majors just because they can charge that much. Mm-hmm. The same [00:51:00] as, as Disney and some of these other destination races. Yeah. Because they can charge that much. Mm-hmm. And I'm right with you. If you really do think that you're going to get the enjoyment out of that experience Yeah.
Then go for it. Like, no problem. I don't have an issue with people that want to wanna spend that money on, on the race entry fee. And there are races that, that I would classify as that big to me. Like there is a, a multi-year goal race that I have, that the entry fee is way more than any entry fee that I've ever paid for, ever.
But that's like, that's the super bowl of my running goals out there. And so I I know you, what does Western States cost? It's over $500. Oh, okay. So I, I think it's 5 75. Mm-hmm. And so it's one of these things where you're like, There are golden ticket races. Yeah. That like if you finish in the top two, in these certain races, you automatically get an entry fee, but you have to agree to it right then and pay your entry fee.
Oh, really? So, congratulations, you won this race. That'll be $575. Thank you. Oh man. [00:52:00] That's crazy. Yeah. But you probably have a sponsor that's gonna pick up some of the costs for you, so that'll help too. Yeah.
[00:52:04] Angie: Yeah. But you know, I think that it's interesting though when people choose to pay the high entry fees for a race, but then not want to pay for a training plan for that race.
Yeah. That's where I, that's where I kind of pause and I'm like, so what you're saying is that, you know, the two hours, three hours, four hours, five hours, however long it's gonna take you to run that race that you're signing up for. Yep. You're willing to pay $500, $200, whatever it is, whatever amount that is for that race, but you're not willing to pay a.
The same amount of money mm-hmm. For the three months of training that are gonna get you to that race safely. Right. That's interesting to me.
[00:52:45] Kevin: That's right. That's where the interest comes in. Yeah. Is h how much people will pay to put their money, put themselves into a race. Mm-hmm. But not to put themselves into what I think is the best setup for the race.
Yeah. The best chance for success and enjoyment of the race. [00:53:00] Because going to the amazing destination race and dragging yourself through 13 or 26 miles of it is going to be much less enjoyable than setting yourself up for success and enjoyment of that.
[00:53:11] Angie: Right. Yeah. I'd, I'd much rather pay for the training personally. Like yeah. If I, if I had a goal, I'd much rather pay for the training than I would the actual race. It kind of annoys me to, to be honest with you, like race fees annoy me. Like, you know how I really hate shipping fees, race fees are kind of the same way. Like they annoy me. Yes. Especially when there's a service fee that's tacked on at the end.
Yes. It's only like $7. Like, I'm like, come on. Really? Yes. They sign up, please. Come on. Like, I can't sign up for your race without this website and you're gonna tack on a fee like that is annoying to me. Agreed.
[00:53:44] Kevin: But it's, it's one of those annoyances, yeah. It's like, it's a required annoyance.
[00:53:47] Angie: Right. So I would personally much rather pay for the months of coaching and support that would prepare me for that race versus the actual race itself.
[00:53:56] Kevin: All right. Excellent. Excellent discussion on that one. [00:54:00] Things that you might need to invest your money in medical costs. Okay. I, I think that this kind of goes back to the time spent at the doctor's office Yeah. Of trying to avoid the, the money spent at the doctor's office. Yeah. If you can appropriately spend money into, you know, proper training and proper shoes, proper mm-hmm recovery and things of this nature, yeah. You might be able to chop the, the, the money spent on medical costs.
[00:54:27] Angie: Yeah. And I, again, it's. Because goes back to that whole conversation of proactive versus reactive, also nice. Right. There are people that will go to a physical therapist proactively, which I think is fantastic, right?
They'll go have a session, they'll say, you know, I'd like an evaluation or get a running evaluation. Let me know where my weaknesses are so that I know what exercises that I can use to target those areas so that I don't end up with a running injury. I think that's a great way to spend your money. Mm-hmm.
Versus okay, here's this ache and pain that I've been ignoring for the past couple of weeks. Now I'm gonna have to [00:55:00] go see a physical therapist. Now I have to go three times a week for the next four weeks and, you know, try to deal with this. You're gonna end up spending a lot more money in the long run.
Mm-hmm. Even if insurance does pay for it. Yeah. Those copays keep getting higher and higher and, and a lot of these, they just keep adding up and a lot of the PT places out there aren't even taking a lot of the insurances anymore. People are gonna be end up paying a lot more in cash, especially if they're trying to go to any sort of specialist or sports physical therapist because.
The PTs aren't getting reimbursed from the insurances well enough. So a lot of them are moving towards like a cash-based system. So to see a good physical therapist, you're gonna have to start paying for a lot. You know, you end up with higher medical bills in the long term.
[00:55:40] Kevin: So if you go proactive, you actually set yourself up on strength mobility.
Mm-hmm. You're taking in appropriate quantities and qualities of nutrition. Yep. You have a training plan that makes the most sense for you. Maybe you got that from a support staff that included a coach that you're actually paying for. You might be able to chop the medical expenses completely.
[00:55:59] Angie: Yeah. [00:56:00] Right. Well, and not to mention the medical bills down the road. Okay. Oh man. So this is where I think the whole different timeline, this is where I really like to focus, is let's look long term because. If you take the time and spend, spend the time, the energy and the money now improving your health and being a healthy person, think about how much time and money you are going, going to save in medical bills when you're in your seventies, eighties, and beyond.
Like that is huge to me, and that is a cost that not many of us think about. I think about it because I was in the medical field, right? So I saw all of the people that were weak and had chronic illnesses and chronic aches and pains that had to come see me three times a week, and then they had to go to their rheumatologist and they had to go to their endocrinologist and their cardiologist, and they're orthopedist like.
There are people that spend their entire weeks going to doctor's appointments and that is not a life I wanna live. So I would much rather spend the time and [00:57:00] the money now when I'm in my forties and my, and then when I get into my fifties and my sixties, I'm gonna pay for the support I need to keep my body moving well, getting strong, being healthy so that I don't have to spend my time and money paying doctors and going to doctor's appointments when I'm older.
Right.
[00:57:16] Kevin: So this is like combining time and money investments. Yeah. Currently to avoid time and money investments later. Right. That you don't wanna actually put any of that time and money into on those later investments. This don't seem, avoid all of that.
[00:57:30] Angie: Yeah. Right. And like, can I avoid all of it? Who knows? Right. Because there are things that sometimes we can't control, right? We don't have full a hundred percent control over, but I think a lot of those are less than we think they are. I think that we have a lot more, more control than we think. I think we have a lot more control over our health and our long-term outcomes than we think we do.
[00:57:49] Kevin: Excellent. And I think part of that is, Trying to avoid some of these. I can just use money and shortcut my way to quick fixes the [00:58:00] whole idea that instead of having like a, a nice training plan, why don't I just get the magic shoes? Yeah. And then I can try and just, I can leap ahead in my training instead of making sure that I'm recovering enough and sleeping and fueling. Why don't I just get this recovery supplement and these recovery boots and then I'll have my like barometric chamber that I sleep in at night because I only sleep two hours. But I do it in this like pressurized chamber, right? Like making sure that you're actually taking care of, literally it's the low hanging fruit.
Mm-hmm. That, that you're actually going to have the long-term benefits.
[00:58:34] Angie: Right. It's what we teach as the five pillars of training inside of our program. Like our five pillars are mindset. And then running, like learning how to train with effort levels and, and vary your running at different pace so that it's, it's best for you. Strength and mobility, recovery and nutrition. Those are the five pillars that we teach because when you master the basics, You don't need all the fancy things. The fancy things can possibly [00:59:00] add to your results. They might give you a little bit, but again, we're looking at like the one to 5% range. Like let's get all the things that are gonna give us a 20, 30, 40% improvement first, and then we can start to think about the, some of those littler things.
[00:59:15] Kevin: Right? And then it's a matter of. I wanna put this thing in here because I, I want to put this thing in. I wanna try the new shoes and see how they go. It actually brings me more joy to my running when my outfit does match my shoes. Okay, go. Yeah, go for it. Get, get the outfit that you want, right? I wanna try this, this fuel supplement and see how that goes for me.
And I feel really good on my run when I do it, and maybe I could try a different supplement and it doesn't cost me quite as much, but I like this one and it works for me. Go for it, but make sure that you've got like the fundamentals in place before you start trying to, to reach for other things. Connect the, the expense of those things to how high you value your running. Mm-hmm. Like are you spending to get seven different pairs of [01:00:00] shoes in different colors, but you don't think that running is all that important? Are you getting all of the running shoes? You've got this like big high-end running goal that you're going for, but you're skipping out on actually having a support staff in place.
Mm-hmm. That's setting up like a running program that makes the most sense for you. Right.
[01:00:16] Angie: Like your, your money's gonna be better spent on a coach and a support system versus yet another pair of running shoes. Yep. If you are rotating, right? Yes. You need one pair of running shoes. Two, maybe two, two can be helpful.
Right? But if you're just trying to get the next color, or if you're just trying to get the next color sports bra, because it's like the limited release. Yeah. You know, like,
[01:00:37] Kevin: but the next holiday sports holiday color came
[01:00:39] Angie: out. I know. Choose w wisely and, and intentionally where you want to spend and in invest your time and money because it's an investment in all of it, right?
So figure out what's important to you. What's gonna actually help you get the results. Is it that other color sports bra or is it investing? In your support system? Is it [01:01:00] investing more in your grocery bill? Right? Like spending money, getting higher quality nutrition, making sure that you're getting some of, of the, the protein that you need or, or more fruits and vegetables.
Mm-hmm. Like people always say, oh, you know, it's, it's expensive when you buy the fresh and the, the produce and all the lean meats are organic. You know, okay, well what, where are you investing? Your money? How much do you value those things?
[01:01:24] Kevin: Yeah. So here's, here's my, my metaphor for this one, A shiny new paint job on your car might look really nice, but the car's not gonna get you anywhere.
If you haven't put gas in the tank, if you're not fueling your body, it doesn't matter what you're running outfit looks like. Like you're just, you're going to wear your fancy running outfit Yeah. To your medical appointments because you're injured yet again. Mm-hmm. Okay? You don't need to fix the landscaping outside.
You don't need to put in the new shrubbery when the roof is caving in. If you don't have a training plan set up, it doesn't matter what it looks like on the outside. Right. You buy the fanciest shoe, [01:02:00] but if you don't have a fundamental training plan, you're not gonna hit the new PR just because you bought the newest fancy shoes.
[01:02:06] Angie: Right? So choose, so you need a training plan, okay? Period. You can choose if you want to invest your time figuring that out on your own, or if you wanna invest money and try to find someone that can help you with that. Okay. All of these things, right? Shoes, you can't really invest time in shoes. You have to invest your money in shoes, right?
So there are things that you have to invest money in. There are things that you have to invest time in, and then there's a, a large spectrum of like some time and some money, and you can kind of figure out where. Like which direction you'd rather go in for those things.
[01:02:39] Kevin: Right. And I think what's important here is that you get to decide. Yeah. So you actually can pay attention to am I, am I trying to shortcut this? Would it be beneficial to me to put more money into this? Or do I want to put more time into this? Right. And make a conscious choice. Mm-hmm. That's so much of what we talk about on this podcast and all the time is make a conscious choice about what [01:03:00] is it that you're investing.
[01:03:01] Angie: Yeah. Because neither are bad decisions. No, not at all. It's just, it's just which one works best for you in your life right now. Perfect.
[01:03:08] Kevin: And if you, again, if you want any help and you're ready to invest in your running, we would love to help you head over to real life runners.com and check out all of our coaching options there. And if you'd rather just continue to invest time. Just keep listening to our podcast. You know, we, we put out this free content for you guys every single week so that you can take the information and invest your time in your running so that you can become the best runner that you want to be. And as always, thank you for joining us. This has been The Real Life Runners podcast, episode number 3 0 7.
[01:03:39] Angie: Now, get out there and run your life.
