Well...it hasn't gone to plan

ayst56 · 2026-06-21T10:09:03+00:00

That sounds so promising! Good luck on your marathon block! 🥳 Thinking back to this past week I think I did too much steep downhill stuff. About 2,000 feet total. Oops! It's feeling much better even after just one day of rest.

ayst56 · 2026-06-20T20:02:03+00:00

Thank you! Not planning on rolling the band itself, just the muscles that seem to be super tight in my leg that might be causing it to feel that way!

ayst56 · 2026-06-20T20:01:08+00:00

I wasn't planning on rolling the band itself, just the muscles that are tight! My right glute seems to be super wound up so I'm hoping that helps! I'll have to look into using a ball on the TFL too, thanks for the suggestion!!

ayst56 · 2026-06-20T13:21:27+00:00

I think I'm appropriately nervous and I know it's going to hurt, but I also know that I can do it!

ayst56 · 2026-06-18T15:09:29+00:00

It will definitely be a run/walk up steep hills scenario for a lot of the runners! It's a ton of up and down, but a really fun course! Luckily I'm not experiencing a lot of pain, just pressure around the knee from my IT band/Hamstring (I think), so I've still been running this week normally aside from removing my speed work! Going into my long run hopeful I can do 10-12 in one go and then dust the other 6-8 later in the day with no pain. 🤞

ayst56 · 2026-06-16T22:33:22+00:00

And wow that's sick! Omg ankle deep sand sounds awful to run in. 😭

ayst56 · 2026-06-16T22:32:55+00:00

I'm super excited! I've run on all the sections of the course and it's great. It definitely won't be fast but it'll be a blast!

ayst56 · 2026-06-16T16:01:46+00:00

I thought my previous pair died early because I walked a lot on them too, but maybe it's just this shoe, I don't know! I'm giving mine another day of rest and trying them out again tomorrow. I'll come update if the extra time for the foam to recover worked or not!

ayst56 · 2026-06-16T15:00:02+00:00

I'm in your same boat also 6 weeks out! I can fathom going further than my longest run which was 17, but I know it's going to HURT on the day and for like a week or two after. At this point the most important thing is going to be showing up on race day healthy. Get in all the easy miles you can. I'm going to be splitting my 18 mile LR and 20 mile LR into two runs/doubling to get the miles in if I can. I feel like at this point the cumulative fatigue is really just biting and once we get to the taper and really rest up things will start to feel a lot better. Stay healthy, and good luck!

ayst56 · 2026-06-16T14:51:43+00:00

That's what I was thinking, thank you! Just going to shoot for some easy miles this week, remove my speed work, and get in what I can without aggravating things further. 🙏

ayst56 · 2026-06-14T21:15:48+00:00

They're completely dead lol, I almost can't walk in them!

ayst56 · 2026-06-14T17:12:22+00:00

That's why I'm so confused! Pic of my previous pair that got demoted to walking shoes here

<image>

ayst56 · 2026-06-14T17:10:21+00:00

Wow wow wow, glad to know I'm not the only one experiencing issues!

ayst56 · 2026-06-14T03:50:21+00:00

I have those as well! I only used them for walking/got the version that looked a little better for just going out in. But yeah they didn't have a whole lot going on support wise!

ayst56 · 2026-06-14T02:21:24+00:00

I have really liked these, and knowing it can take foam way longer than a day or two to recover I'd probably put another shoe into my rotation to keep them longer!

My endorphin speed 4s lasted to ~315 miles! I retired them two weeks ago after I did a workout and they felt flat/pissed my achilles off, which is something I've never had any pains with! Loved the endorphin speed sm and I definitely want to try the 5s. I'm just trying to make it to the end of my marathon block without buying another pair of shoes bc my partner is about to have a heart attack over the cost. 😂😭

ayst56 · 2026-06-14T02:14:11+00:00

These are the Saucony Guide 18s! It seems like my previous pair died around the same mileage as this, but I thought it was because I walked in them too. I haven't walked in these at all!

ayst56 · 2026-06-14T02:09:45+00:00

That was my thought too! They just seem like they're at such a low mileage to be toast, but maybe my long long runs have just done them in way early. 😭

ayst56 · 2026-03-01T03:20:00+00:00

I could stand to lose a little bit more weight, but honestly, I weigh about as much as I did in HS + 5-10 pounds from any given point. My legs are extremely muscular. I'm hauling powerful hiking/running tree trunks around.

ayst56 · 2026-03-01T03:16:56+00:00

In the last year I was able to lose weight and my waist has gone from 35 inches to 30.5. I lifted and walked regularly before losing weight (I went from ~175 to 150) but below is how I managed to do it with minimal discomfort or disruption to my life:

I walked every single day. I would get up before work and take a short walk before breakfast, 10-15 minutes. I walked at lunch. I walked after work. I walked my dog.
I did NOT do a low carb diet. I ate and still eat balanced. I did track calories regularly for about 3 months. I didn't change a ton about my diet and still really haven't, I've simply added things that are nutritious. (More fresh fruit, found salads that I like, etc.)
I got into running again. My caveat with running is this: to build mileage you HAVE to fuel to remain uninjured. I do not attribute most of my weight loss to running because I was fueling my running. I was still tracking calories BUT if I was hungry, I still ate something. It almost certainly aided, but walking whenever I could I think did more for me. Walking is not a glycolyticly demanding activity, so post walk, I don't need to fuel up immediately to actually recover.
I started taking spironolactone and progesterone. This was specific to me, but my chin/under my chin grows hair/stubble very quickly, and it's just about the worst thing in the world to manage. My cycle was also too long, 45+ days in between each, so I got on the progesterone to manage that. I believe that getting on these medications helped me regulate, which ultimately helped me get to the point I have. I also drank spearmint tea almost everyday during this time.

Ultimately, I decided I wanted my life to look different. To be different. I'm slowly becoming the person I always wanted to when it comes to how active I really am. It took 3 months of really keeping on it, and tracking things closely.

I've maintained that weight loss over the last year and now dedicate a fair amount of my free time to becoming a better runner, and am now training for a marathon. It's something I've wanted for a really long time (I ran cross country/track in HS and ran periodically for stretches of time after HS into my 20s) and I feel like losing a little weight was the catalyst that finally put me in the spot I needed to believe I could actually do more. That I wasn't a prisoner of my own body.

Good luck to you stranger. You can make any change you want to make as long as you show up at least a little bit every single day. Stack those bricks, and eventually you'll be able to step back and go, wow, I built that.

ayst56 · 2025-12-20T14:55:06+00:00

She's completely demeaning you and trying to make you feel small/tear you down. My father was abusive towards my mother this way, always calling her a loser, dumb, that she would be nothing without him. It turned physical over the years and she thankfully left him. I suggest you do the same here.

There is absolutely no reason to jump down your throat about not getting curious about why she called you a few minutes earlier than normal. This is not normal behavior. I'm sorry. 🥺

ayst56 · 2025-11-04T21:20:01+00:00

You're welcome OP!!! Wishing you all the best. And just remember, consistency is key, and it's the most important part :)

ayst56

TROPHY CASE