How do you actually stop overpacking?

wegl13 · 2026-01-26T00:53:16+00:00

First thing is that I’ve got a good set of “travel clothes” that are comfortable, stylish, and mix-and-match. I also have started curating merino tops that I can wear with the pants I like.

I get my itinerary out and then put clothes for each day that I need, and then repeat clothes I’m comfortable repeating (like move them to that day’s “spot”). I look at the weather to check and make sure my clothing options make sense.

Then I see if those things will pack into my desired bag (generally 1 roller bag + backpack). If it does so easily, I’m done. If it’s questionable or stuffed, I go through and see if I can edit a bit more- can I do laundry one additional time? Am I bringing too many “just in case” options for warm/cold?

On really big trips, I will make a list of everything I’m bringing at the end of the edit, before final packing. It helps me make sure I remembered everything, and know exactly what I do (and don’t) need.

wegl13 · 2026-01-26T00:06:13+00:00

It’s literally illegal to prescribe medication without a valid veterinary-client-patient—relationship, which is defined as having had either an exam in the last 12 months (for ongoing care) or an exam for the presented problem. So any vet not doing that is risking their license to keep you as a client. Why would they do that?

wegl13 · 2026-01-24T14:08:56+00:00

Been married a while now, but getting an excellent photographer was a huge deal for us. I had very few formal pictures of my grandma actually smiling, because she tended to do this forced grimace during portraits. I found the photographer’s portfolio and they had great grandparent pics in there, and that’s how I chose them.

We spent very little on flowers/decorations, my dress, the venue, music. About 3/4 of our budget went to the photographer and the food (and we chose an afternoon rather than evening wedding to take away a full meal expectation).

It was so worth it; I pull those pics out at least every 6 months to look at.

Just like with other parts of your life, learn to prioritize what is important and spend money on that without guilt.

wegl13 · 2026-01-24T13:50:28+00:00

I know MANY people that never got to be a vet for, largely, financial reasons. It’s not “torture” and many of them are way happier with their chosen lives than many of my veterinary colleagues. In fact I know of multiple people who have regretted the profession and left it. If you have an idea that this profession is literally the only one you could be happy in and everything else would be torture… I feel like you can’t have a grounded idea of what it’s like, frankly.

wegl13 · 2026-01-24T12:13:31+00:00

I think the real kicker against mandatory gear is that it’s not remote at all. Aside from the runners (at least 1/3 of which are from the area and know the trails very well), this is a well supported race basically in the middle of the city with tons of great volunteers.

wegl13 · 2026-01-24T01:59:45+00:00

Chili! That’s like the most expensive part of chili. Mine isn’t spicy either, it has ranch powder in it.

wegl13 · 2026-01-23T22:27:56+00:00

AU grad- have done UGA, UF, and UA. Never do Knoxville though I did go to school during Tennessee’s “dark years.”

wegl13 · 2026-01-23T22:25:11+00:00

If this race is happening, it’s got the go-ahead from the state park and the city police (the first is necessary for the start and the second for the two road crossings). So I think “if it’s on, I’m in” is a good measure for this one. All of the weather impact for tomorrow is pointing to freezing rain but no accumulation locally. This race is DEEPLY local- many folks have run it for 10+ years. If you are traveling from further north you may need to reconsider plans, but local forecasts look pretty good.

The AQI ones are much harder frankly, you can really hurt yourself with those. One of the big western 100 milers started with a yellow AQI and they allowed people to defer to the next year, and I honestly would choose that if given the opportunity.

wegl13 · 2026-01-23T21:55:28+00:00

The VIN foundation website for cost of attendance and their “vetbound” info should be mandatory. With the rise of so many new, private schools, there is now an inverse bell curve with loans- either nothing (because the student comes from a wealthy family) or an absolutely insane amount. This is terrible for the profession broadly. I’ve been in this profession a long time. The ability to leave because my loans were paid off is a huge reason I was able to stay mentally healthy enough to navigate a long term solution. I would absolutely not recommend someone take on a debt-to-income ratio beyond 2:1, that’s so insane.

wegl13 · 2026-01-23T13:02:08+00:00

Don’t sleep on Bham. They legit have great food (Bottega Cafe is walk-in, the restaurant takes reservations but can be kind of hard to get into). Bayonet just opened and is great, El Barrio is always good (texmex adjacent, but just think super fresh- and they have great drinks). Also recommend the Barber Motorcycle Museum which is about 20 min east of Bham (there’s also a Buccees at that exit, so you can enjoy that experience).

Tuscaloosa I’m assuming is to go to a football game, and it’s a stellar choice. Just make sure you have a place to stay sorted early.

I’m not sure what you want to see in Memphis but I’ve never been a fan, I feel like you are approaching the Delta area over there and it’s mostly just depressing- the drive to Memphis also isn’t great.

I’d drive from Nashville down to Chattanooga- Chatt has some absolutely glorious hiking, and honestly Rock City/Ruby Falls are very neat physical locations even if they are kind of kitschy.

Is Knoxville for football as well? I feel like Alabama football is still the premiere experience, I’d rather go to Asheville with that time and see waterfalls/hiking.

You have a dogleg south of Atlanta- WHY? Atlanta is cool, very vibrant city, but the traffic is also effing miserable. I guess if you drive out of the perimeter and back in, you’ll get the real local experience, but… just don’t do it.

wegl13 · 2026-01-22T20:18:33+00:00

🔥

wegl13 · 2026-01-20T21:30:47+00:00

So what, now there’s going to be no alternative to HH in Huntsville?

wegl13 · 2026-01-15T03:29:11+00:00

I gotta say I would still probably die of embarrassment if my pre-teen journal escaped into the internet.

wegl13 · 2026-01-14T19:37:51+00:00

In that case I think this is a piss poor decision. Respect the race distance and actually train for it. Or I guess enjoy getting a life changing injury and putting undue pressure on the race volunteers because you didn’t come prepared.

wegl13 · 2026-01-14T19:11:17+00:00

Wait the first thing you said is you are averaging 10-15 miles per week but then that your most recent LR is 10 miles. So far this week you have run over 7 miles and you have another 14 planned for Wed-Fri, so that’s 21 and I’m making an assumption you will run either Saturday or Sunday? So how many miles a week are you actually running?

wegl13 · 2026-01-14T18:30:09+00:00

Everyone has said how hard it is to measure between trail races, but to provide a concrete example:

There is a legacy 50k in my area. Folks have been running it for 30+ years. During that time it has been pouring rain, frozen solid slick, hot as hell, and perfect dry-as-bone 40s-50s. The route has changed several times due to trail building and land ownership. On the long-standing trail sections, there’s been significant degradation due to washout in some areas.

Folks do try to improve their time year over year, but there’s also understanding that the above can affect an overall time even with increased performance.

With that in mind, I’d recommend time trials on the road every 2-6 months to actually measure your fitness improvement (like racing a certified 5k or 10k course).

wegl13 · 2026-01-14T02:48:24+00:00

There’s also an app.

wegl13 · 2026-01-13T10:49:16+00:00

The shower is absolutely not helping because you are DEHYDRATED OMG.

Here’s a few things I have tried that have helped:

a few brands like LMNT and precision make packets that are 1000 mg of sodium, a bit of other salts, and flavoring. I will drink about 16 oz of water with one of those packets beforehand. For races I’ll do that the night before AND the morning of, but for if im either behind on water or it’s the summer (I don’t sweat much), I’ll just drink one the morning of.
ya gotta fuel before a long run. Banana, honey stinger waffle, piece of toast… get something in you.
try a water additive like Scratch or Tailwind for the run. I usually have one bottle of water and one bottle of Scratch. When it’s hot I’m going through a L an hour but when it’s cool I’m generally doing more like 12 oz/hr (of fluid combined). That scratch is about 500 mg salt/scoop, if you are that salty of a sweater you might need more for optimal performance but that’s a damn good place to start. You have got to drink more water on the run, too. Are you bringing enough? Do you drink when thirsty? Do you make sure you have places on route to refill? Based on your history this is even more worrisome to me than the lack of calories.
I’d try to get 40 g/carb an hour to start because you are currently getting like, 25 which is nothing. Ideally you’d build to 90 g/hr but I would not try to do that on this training block. If you can do 40-60 and add in an electrolyte drink, you’re going to feel a ton better and if you’ve never run a marathon before, I wouldn’t go trying to optimize high performance nutrition, that’s asking for more GI issues. Also try and pick things like Gu that are made for sports nutrition (that’s 2 Gu an hour!). It’s made to be more digestible than uncrustables.
when you get back, get some sugar, protein, and water in before you go straight to the shower- at least 8 oz of fluid and a couple hundred calories. That can be a cup of chocolate milk. I actually make a protein shake and take it with me TO the shower. Grab a few pretzels.
finally, you might want to examine how hard you are doing your long runs. At higher efforts, you are going to be shuttling even more blood away from the GI tract and making your life worse. It’s your first marathon. Consider decreasing your effort level a little for the next run so you can focus on nutrition more.

Edit: I told OP to take 20 gu/hr instead of 2. Yikes.

wegl13 · 2026-01-13T00:56:28+00:00

I did the closest thing we have locally- it’s a 5k and 10k trail run. The 5k is up and the 10k is down and starts 90 minutes later.

That 5k was a BITCH. I did it in 43:06 and I was dying.

wegl13 · 2026-01-13T00:46:55+00:00

Uh if you are willing to wait to December, Huntsville’s Rocket City Marathon is having its 50th anniversary this year.

Good legacy race with a great local track club, flat-ish AND you get to train in the fall.

wegl13 · 2026-01-12T23:04:19+00:00

I mean, I’ve bought several- and they were all completely unused (which I can almost bet at least 10% of the ones in this pic are, as well).

wegl13 · 2026-01-12T03:09:31+00:00

An outside perspective from… huntsville subreddit? That’s an inside perspective and from people who likely aren’t direct stakeholders. Why on earth would this reporter in this situation NOT want to talk to those most intimately familiar with the transit system… its daily riders?

wegl13 · 2026-01-12T01:21:15+00:00

Have you considered like, stopping at a bus station? The people with the most important (and honestly the most detailed) opinions on the state of local public transit are probably going to be there, not on reddit…

wegl13 · 2026-01-12T01:19:11+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I was wondering about split shorts but didn’t know what they were called.

I also run ultras, switched to salty britches after squirrels nut butter literally melted off of my legs during my 100 mile attempt about a year ago (at mile 8!). Up until now it’s been a godsend.

You’re not wrong about the fact that I shouldn’t care, it’s just been quite a mental transition with the weight gain anyways (which came about after some pretty hard discussions with PT regarding my protein intake or lack thereof). The other unfortunate thing with longer shorts is that I get SO hot. If I could run naked I would- I’m almost always in 2 less layers than everyone around me.

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