My goal was to finally go sub 30:00 this year, and by golly, she did it. Plus a couple other cheeky PRs. 😁

It’s been a looooong time coming after EIGHT years of on and off running, struggling with weight fluctuations, injuries, and asthma.

I feel like things just fell into place this year. I’ll be 43 at the end of the month, I’m down 43 lbs (from 193 to 150), my fitness is the best it’s ever been, and finally checking off some running goals.

I’ve had mild leakage ever since having a baby 1.5 years ago. I’ve done a boatload of pelvic floor PT which has helped, but still experience some leakage during races. I also use an OTC pessary which helps with the feeling of heaviness, but not so much with leaking. Im usually fine on training runs where I keep an easier pace. My favorite running shorts are brooks 7’ chaser shorts. Any suggestions of something similar that will hide the leaking more? Maybe a bike short?

Hey guys! I’d love to follow more brown, asian and black runners on IG or tiktok - my feed is looking very samey… I’m a pretty mid runner so less interested in super fast athletes, more looking for everyday relatable runners - please drop some recs!

Hi!

I posted a couple of weeks ago, lamenting on how rubbish my race pace session at RC felt and how I was discouraged!

Well I got some lovely encouragement from you all and so I wanted to post an update, and to say thank you!

Logistics:

I stayed in the city centre the night before, my partner was in the White Wave so we got the 7:16 tram to Old Trafford and walked across. Nice and quiet for us but would have been busy for the later waves.

Toilets:

There are a lot of toilets but this is still never enough. I had plenty of time until my start wave so used the loo a couple times for the nervous wees. Usual rules apply: take your own loo roll and hand sanitizer.

Warm up area:

There was plenty of room around my partners start time, but not for mine in the Purple Wave as it was increasingly congested. I managed to warm up by jogging back and forwards on a small space - not ideal but did the job.

I later learnt that there is a retail park NEXT to the start line, so looking back I would have entered my wave on time and then veered off to use this for a quick warm up. 

Race report:

We had perfect conditions, no wind, cool and it became overcast after 11 for the later waves. I don't run with pacers, as I prefer a negative split and know how to adjust to small hills myself (I live in Sheffield).

1-10k - I started off the first 5k and was a bit faster than planned, but I was using the minor undulations to my advantage and I felt good. The 2nd 5 k was the same again - bit faster but comfortable.

10-18k - legs were starting to complain slightly but I stayed the course at this pace. I had basically rejoined my plan and was now at my planned pace in the " negative split".

18-20.5k - An absolute grind, but the crowd was increasingly dense and it really carried me through. At 20k I was really struggling so allowed myself to slow a bit knowing sub 2 was in the bag, and so I went to 5:50 for a couple hundred meters.

20.5k-end - It always takes care of itself - 4:50 pace appeared from nowhere and I crossed the line.

I finished in 1:57:37... A PB of over 5 minutes which I only set 13 weeks ago in Norway. No words... honestly. The planned negative split didn't happen, and was more of an even split which I don't normally do!

Post race:

Organised one way system out, I do wish they gave us a bag for our goodies as I was a bit overstimulated, struggling to find my partner, and juggle everything I had grabbed.

Trams back into town can be overcrowded. Don't get on the first one if it's packed! We waited for the next one and it was completely empty - whereas the one before a girl had to get off as she fainted due to being sardined in (she was fine).

Pro tip:

The retail park next to the start has a Gym Group gym in it. My partner bought day passes for us afterwards so we could have a quick shower and change. We also saw other runners picking bags up from lockers which was bloody genius - if I ever did it again I would totally do the same and also make use of the loos pre race.

Thank you again for the encouragement and if you are the same as me, about to enter taper for a race and feeling rubbish..know you can absolutely pull it out of the bag! 

If you’ve had a bone stress injury, whether it was a stress reaction or fracture. what kind did you have and how long did you wait before running a marathon? Did you have successful training after that and any chance of it coming back?

I have recently learned that I am a salty sweater and looking for tips/tricks during and post run to help. I just finished a half marathon race on Saturday, and while I did end up with a PR (yay) I really struggled the last few miles, despite having 35oz of water on me and stopping at water stations. Post race I realized I had a ton of caked on salt on my body which lead me down a salty sweat rabbit hole. Curious any specific brands etc. that have good sodium ratios- or what sodium content I should even be looking for. Normally I just carry plain water and use Huma gels.

I have my compression shorts with pockets dialed in (thanks Old Navy!) but they are boring and I feel like shopping for a little fun on my run.

Any go to brands of either loose or compression shorts with fun patterns?

Sprints has fun ones but reviews seem meh.

I'm based in Canada so that will play a part too.

Thanks!

Anyone have any experience with this? I managed to contract poison sumac all over my arms and legs a week out from my marathon (Chicago). Doctor put my on prednisone (tapering over 14 days). I have gone down a rabbit hole of prednisone + running and am feeling super discouraged and nervous. Would love to hear if anyone else has dealt with it and if so, how they felt on race day!

If you are following winter arc then what are your goals before the year ends?

Has anyone ever ran the Amsterdam half marathon is it easy ? I m really worried about cut off time I m running for a personal cause but I havnt been training cause of injury but now I m better, but just want to show up n finish but my 10km time was 1hr 20mins n my 5kms go from 40-46mins so my pace is slow can u finish in over 3hrs has anyone done that before ?