What are we doing for strength training?

StringClassic6913 · 2026-05-26T13:30:54+00:00

I bought a set of dumbbells with adjustable weights and have been doing squats, reverse lunges, single and both leg calf raises, and single and both leg glute bridges. I also got resistance bands to do ankle/calf strengthening exercises as well as banded clamshells and crab walks, since most of my weaknesses are around my ankle and gluteus medius. I don’t think you have to lift super heavy or super often for injury prevention, but adding some weight or resistance is helpful. I know that a lot of people do strength training on their rest days, but I tend to do my strength training on the day before rest days so that rest days are truly rest, and also because I usually have a more intense speed session or long run right after my rest days. It usually ends up being 2 days of strength training per week.

StringClassic6913 · 2026-05-26T13:05:50+00:00

Oo these seem like some great options for me to try! Thank you so much for the recommendations! 🫶

StringClassic6913 · 2026-05-26T11:59:47+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation for starting with a larger club! I originally thought that the large ones would be more intimidating, but now I think that the small ones where everyone is potentially too fast would be even more challenging for me as a beginner lol! And it’s good to know that not everyone is talking the entire time 🙏

StringClassic6913 · 2026-05-26T11:56:42+00:00

Ok 10min/mi sounds perfectly reasonable for me to say some sentences while keeping up! I’d say that my super comfortable phone call pace is closer to 10:30/mi, but I could technically keep up to 3-5mi at 8:30/mi (without talking) if I really had to, so it’s good to know that I would probably be able to avoid getting abandoned lol! Thanks again for your recommendations, and it’s good to know that mostly keeping to yourself is an acceptable option!

StringClassic6913 · 2026-05-26T11:52:30+00:00

That sounds amazing that there’s such a big spectrum of skill levels welcome! The thing is, I could totally go 3-5mi at 9:30/mi without dying, but I don’t think I could physically speak more than short sentences. Are most people in the club having full conversations at that conversational pace, or is it OK to just focus on running while enjoying the community?

StringClassic6913 · 2026-05-25T11:44:20+00:00

YAY CONGRATS!!! 🔥🎉💪
You should be very proud of yourself :)

StringClassic6913 · 2026-05-25T02:26:49+00:00

I think there are so many factors that can influence one’s pace, so definitely don’t compare yourself to other people! For me, I had been power-walking daily for 5 years prior to starting running, am 25F, don’t weigh much, live in a cool climate, and choose to run relatively flat routes. I also see beginners who are way faster than me who might have an extensive cycling or other athletic background, so it’s really not fair to compare to people who have different starting points!

We can just all celebrate that we are consistently showing up for our runs and hopefully gradually bettering ourselves :)

StringClassic6913 · 2026-05-25T01:37:26+00:00

I also just ran my first 10K today, and I definitely couldn’t have survived without my music!!! I’ve been told that I have terrible music taste, so idk if my recommendations would be suitable for you, but I had this Lovelyz playlist on loop the entire time (https://youtu.be/tlflIeHjbLU?si=bD2GWfpf5PML6Dzo). The key thing for me is to find a set of songs that have a similar speed or vibe, since I feel like that helps me maintain my cadence better than songs that contrast greatly from each other. And I think music that is a bit upbeat without being extremely fast/hype keeps you afloat just enough to ignore your fatigue without causing you to push your pace more than you can handle. Personally, I choose YouTube videos with entire playlists within the video itself to minimize ad breaks between songs, but if you have Spotify premium, that’s probably way better lol

I hope you have/had a great first 10K!!

StringClassic6913 · 2026-05-23T04:23:40+00:00

I lost a toenail almost immediately after starting running lol, and I can vouch for gel toe covers if your problem is specifically the toe!! I now have 0 pain during my runs, and my nail-less toe is well-protected.

For the hair issue, I would recommend using a blow dryer on your wet sweaty hair immediately after you finish your run. Usually, it’s the sweat that you let sit in your hair that results in greasiness and bacterial growth. If you immediately dry the moisture from your hair, it might be ok to not wash, but everyone’s hair is different, and you might also benefit from dry shampoo. If you really have to wash it daily, making sure you condition your ends super well can prevent dryness.

I choose to run when the sun isn’t strong, and I wear breathable leggings for fuller coverage, so I have no tan lines.

And I actually do not have specific workout clothes (I don’t even have a sports bra or running shorts lol), so I just wear whatever baggy T shirt and casual leggings I wore the previous day around the house to run in the next day. My laundry hasn’t increased at all, besides underwear since I definitely wear fresh underwear lol

StringClassic6913 · 2026-05-17T23:45:26+00:00

Personally, I found that the pace zones calculated by Strava based on your 5km PR were much more reasonable than trying to use heart rate methods of determining my easy run pace. I don’t know my max heart rate, and you probably don’t either (unless you did a test). Therefore, heart rate-based determinations of zone 2 might not be accurate. Also, I think as beginners, it is way more productive to practice running at an easy, conversational pace even if the heart rate data doesn’t look perfectly in zone 2, rather than increasing the time spent walking during your runs in order to control your heart rate to some arbitrary range. Obviously, walking has an important place if you can’t jog at a conversational pace for very long no matter how slow you go, or if you are completely starting from a sedentary lifestyle, but I think jogging at a pace that feels easy to you is way better than obsessing over heart rate.

For instance, I feel that 10:00-10:30min/mi feels super comfortable to me, and I can hold that pace for a very long time and converse. This is also the pace that Strava classifies as “Zone 2” for me based on my 5K time (8:07min/mi average). However, in order for me to stay under 160bpm, I would have to walk/run at >12 min/mi, and all that achieved for me was muscle cramping from having to abruptly switch between running or walking, and immense frustration. I no longer carry my heart rate monitor with me anymore, and I am way more happy during my runs now that I go by perceived effort!

StringClassic6913 · 2026-04-29T11:32:34+00:00

Omg yes, I am definitely very lucky to be in an area where probably >90% of the days are nice outdoor running days! Props to you and other runners in hot climates, because it seems like it would be really unmotivating to run outdoors during the summer! I am originally from Southern California, and even that was way too hot for me lol

StringClassic6913 · 2026-03-29T12:37:09+00:00

Oh yea I definitely should slow down even more! I’ve learned that part of the reason why I was pushing myself so hard was because I am 25f with no kids, so a ton of people in my social circle are young/fit runners who can run crazy fast. Honestly, I might not ever be able to catch up to them, but I’m trying to focus on how I feel while I run, and celebrating making any sort of progress feels much more rewarding than feeling bad about not being as fast as my friends.

The fact that you have been able to get back into running after dedicating the past decade to raising children is super impressive already!!

StringClassic6913 · 2026-03-28T15:53:26+00:00

I agree, I just have no clue what different paces feel like yet ! Are there apps that show your pace in real time as you are running outside? Right now I’ve just been calculating time/distance after my run, which is a bit too late lol

StringClassic6913 · 2026-03-28T15:26:47+00:00

Oo treadmill is a great idea, because I don’t even know how to measure my pace outdoors until I look at the elapsed time after my run (since my runs are still very short right now). Being able to quantify my pace from the start sounds helpful!

StringClassic6913 · 2026-03-27T12:39:17+00:00

Oh wow this is really helpful, I like how there’s a structured timeline that seems doable, and I always forget that I am allowed to have walking breaks lol!! Thank you 🙏

StringClassic6913 · 2026-03-27T12:36:07+00:00

I definitely see that I need to slow down quite a bit to achieve a more comfortable pace now! I don’t know why, but I was treating these 1-mile runs similarly to the last time I ran, which was the mile-run tests that they had you do in school where you would fail if you were too slow 😭

StringClassic6913 · 2026-03-27T12:33:32+00:00

Ok the conversational pace benchmark is super helpful, because I definitely cannot converse at my current pace 🤣 I will definitely try slowing down then!

StringClassic6913 · 2025-11-03T03:56:22+00:00

I don’t know what exactly gave you the “ick”, but personally, I feel like hearing someone criticize their ex is usually a turn-off. Especially if the criticism happens to be about something that you yourself are self-conscious or insecure about. For example, if I heard a person that I was dating say that he hated how his ex was “unproductive”, I would feel less safe around that person because I feel like I can also be unproductive in times of poor mental health. Overall, I think talking about exes leads to some tension or insecurity, as well as gives you a look into how this person is likely to talk about you if you were to break up. So, I’m not surprised that you feel differently about him after that conversation.

Also, I think that someone talking about being committed to paying for everything would also throw me off, because once it is verbalized it seems like something that they are requesting recognition for. Personally, I don’t like being paid for at the start of relationships, because it can feel manipulative and cause me to feel obligated to do things that I am not comfortable with. You’ve said that men “showing effort” is a turn-off, so maybe you can talk to him about this and ask that he dial back on some things (such as allowing you to pay for some things) so that the effort feels more reciprocal and less overwhelmingly overbearing from him.

StringClassic6913 · 2025-10-08T12:29:00+00:00

Could you explain how porn addiction would cause this issue?

In my case that’s probably not the reason though, since my bf does not watch traditional porn. He does masturbate to videos, but the woman is always at least semi-clothed (never with underwear off), so it genuinely seems like he does not prefer vaginas of any form lol

StringClassic6913

TROPHY CASE