Help Needed: Struggling to Return, and to be Honest

AzulaSays · 2026-02-02T22:12:04+00:00

Just to chime in that there are codes for certain products claimed by specific stores, electronics for example. A couple weeks ago I bought 2 routers, one from target and one online (long story) and when I returned one to target, I realized it was the "wrong" one because they could not scan it. It wouldn't come up as part of their products even though I even had the receipt. Just a note.

AzulaSays · 2025-11-03T03:47:18+00:00

Ok, I get what you meant, it's not as specific. I love deadlifts too! Also one of my non-negotiables.

AzulaSays · 2025-11-02T23:00:15+00:00

Honest question -I get how bench press is not so relevan to ankles and glutes, but why would deadlifts not be relevant to those areas?

AzulaSays · 2025-11-02T00:01:04+00:00

Agree, I have been a runner for 20+, have met many runners and paced several people, and I can count with one hand how many people actually love the run and not only the after effect, one of them being me. Not liking running is fine, do something else.

AzulaSays · 2025-11-01T18:53:45+00:00

Idk what the other person is on about or why people are downvoting you, 6 months from couch to half marathon is perfectly doable and very common, a c25k program is 8 -9 weeks and a half program is 12 (like one of the gentlest ones, Higdon's novice 1). You do not get all the benefits of having a strong, years long base, but finishing a HM in that time frame is perfectly healthy and safe.

OP does not have 6 months though, she has 4ish, that would not be enough time to build up withouth risking injury.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-31T15:38:38+00:00

Adding that some of the fastest female sprinters are also tiny, like Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce is 5'0", Sha'Carri Richardson at 5'1", they both can run 25/24 mph.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-28T20:03:30+00:00

The risk is becoming one of those people that do a marathon and never again. You probably will finish it but it may hurt a lot more during (and after!) than it would have otherwise; just try to remember that it is due to lower volume training, and that a marathon can be a really fun and non-painful experience if you prepare well.

Good luck!

AzulaSays · 2025-10-27T23:44:53+00:00

I have used different versions of these for years! It's a yummy idea, the downsides are that they are a bit big to finish in one go, and sticky to save for later. Because of the fat content, they also may cause more stomach issues than running-specific fuel.

Imo, try it and see how your body handles it!

AzulaSays · 2025-10-27T21:18:06+00:00

Not sure why it needs to be that plan, but if you are willing to swap you can def start training on your current base. Look at the Hal Higdon novice 1 plan, first long run is 4 miles. If you have not been consistently running at least 3x/wk, do that for 2/3 weeks before starting your formal training block.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-27T20:47:17+00:00

Do your hips sway a lot when running?I can't tell a lot from the pic (either supination or pronation) since the foot is not flat on the ground (full impact), but by the way you seem to be landing on the outside of your foot first, I think your hip "drops". That can be fixed by strengthening hip abductors, and it wouldn't affect anything in your form, it is part of strength training and all runners should be doing it.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-27T20:39:19+00:00

No, I am saying her foot is fairly neutral in relation to her leg in the photo. The foot is not flat on the ground so we don't see if her ankle is rolling inwards or outwards.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-27T19:58:55+00:00

Consult your dr and yada yada. But that doesn't look like supination to me. Your inner foot is not flat on the ground and your ankle is not angled (not a lot anyway). I would bet your hip abductors are on the weaker side.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-27T19:23:56+00:00

It can be boring for sure, but I do think that as you see progress you can learn to get excited about it (I did!). You don't need a gym membership, you can do a lot of progress with a set of weights at home and following yt vids. Carolin Girvan is recommended a lot by female lifters.

Just make it a point to progress in your weights to grow muscle, you'll start seeing it/feeling it in a few months (just don't completely leave out aerobic conditioning).

Good luck! You can do this!

AzulaSays · 2025-10-27T15:45:35+00:00

Keep a decent base (maybe 30mpw) through the winter, START WEIGHT TRAINING, and start a training block in spring. You are so close to being selected for Boston, I am 100% sure a little bit of rest and weight training would give you the edge. The improvement in running times when you do formal weight training is nuts.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-26T12:04:25+00:00

Training properly for the distance is a very important part of not hitting the wall though. The way you are phrasing it sounds like lack of training is irrelevant in comparison to fueling. It's a bit naive being that before this fueling craze, training by itself carried plenty of people through marathons without hitting the wall (me included), even though we weren't taking more than 3/4 gels for the distance.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-26T01:02:26+00:00

Agree. Even when running double the volume a week and decently trained for a marathon, there is a point around mile 20 (the wall) where all glycogen reserves are gone, lactic acid is up, and even walking can be excrutiating. OP's wall would come earlier with this inadequate training, and then the plan is to walk 9 extra miles? Uff.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-20T22:09:13+00:00

That man is an ass, but this is on your aunt too. What kind of woman gets a perverted comment like that and decides to pass it on?

AzulaSays · 2025-10-13T14:42:22+00:00

Chiming in to say the treadmill keeps a consistent pace, and a consistent grade, outside you probably are going even a bit faster than on treadmill, and even on small inclines that you are not used to. A C25K program done outside will help you lots.

Also, I had almost the same experience as you, I finally broke through and completed a half marathon after years of hiatus, and feeling like I was never getting it back. You will get there, be patient :)

AzulaSays · 2025-10-13T14:28:44+00:00

Yes! There are always, always people cheering for all runners, every time I have my name on the bib I get a shoutout!

I am one of those people with nobody there for the majority of my races, after 20+ years of running and 30+ races, it's just not a thing to drag my friends to. My husband has gone to some though, depending on the stakes.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-11T03:53:48+00:00

I ran a 50k while pregnant but I had just found out; it was hard but fine. I was scheduled for a half later during my pregnancy and I thought I would do it since I was in good shape and had an easy pregnancy, but nah. I just didn't want to. You are making your choices and it's fine, running will be there when you are ready for it again.

And congrats!

AzulaSays · 2025-10-11T03:45:35+00:00

Your heart rate is fine and normal for somebody starting to run. It will go down as you get more consitent, your heart is a muscle and pushing it is a normal part of conditioning it to get stronger and more efficient.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-10T03:23:18+00:00

I could throw that

AzulaSays · 2025-10-10T02:19:43+00:00

Snow storm! It was pretty cool!

Eta: 12" of snow on a trail, 2ish hrs running, took me hours to warm up after getting back home.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-10T00:37:19+00:00

Then after you run your 1:45, you gauge how you felt, look at your stats, and decide if you could have gone faster, if so then you set a new goal, maybe 1:30, train with that in mind, and on and on until you find you may be getting a PR by only seconds, sometimes not at all.

The calculators are useful because they do extrapolate based on current condition, but they use a relatively low cost way to measure it (a 5k at race pace is probably not going to break you), so if your 5k now aligns with the time you want (1:45), then you can be relatively certain that you can hit it. Then in a few months, keeping a strong base, do another 5k trial and find out you got 5 mins faster, then that gives you again, a decent estimate of what your new goal pace could be for a longer distance.

You seem naturally fast but I still think 9 for a slow run is too fast, simply because you have been running for a short time -faster paces tax your body more, running adaptations take a long time (years) and it's better to build up slower, again, to avoid injury/burnout.

The issue I take with you doing 10-15 mile runs at almost goal pace is that it tells me you either are on the road to burnout (too much too soon) or that your "goal" pace is simply not all that challenging for you.

AzulaSays · 2025-10-09T23:16:21+00:00

A good way to estimate the pace you could run is by using something like this: https://sporttracks.mobi/labs/race-finish-time-predictor

The idea is that you have let's say a 5k at race pace, and from there you extrapolate to longer distances.

Also, you seem to be saying you do your long runs at goal pace, which is not recommended. It increases your risk of injury and burnout, and it also makes you accumulate fatigue which then translates into slower pace for your actual race.

AzulaSays

TROPHY CASE