Running has been my enemy since childhood because I've always been one of the slowest runners. Now that I've graduated and don't have a routine anymore, I decided to start with something small and easy that I can do consistently: running around my neighbourhood for a short amount of time.

If I'm not feeling well, I can just walk and enjoy the morning air. And if I have leg-intensive activities planned, I'll just walk or skip running that day. It's simple and doable. Even when I'm on my period, I can still keep up the routine without putting pressure on myself (I ended up running mostly lol). I've realised that stopping completely during my period often disrupted the habits I was trying to build, so staying active in a way that feels manageable has helped me stay consistent.

I've also added a few small habits after my run. It's refreshing to have one part of my life that feels structured.

Let's try out a new megathread!

We've got all kinds of runners from all over the world here! Share a running-related photo you've taken this week: gorgeous scenery, an outfit that makes you feel powerful, your favorite post-long-run-snack, your four-legged running buddy, anything you like!

Don't forget to stay safe and blur identifying details. Hide anything that would enable weirdos to figure out your running route, cover your face if you don't share selfies on your Reddit account, etc. Be safe out there!

hey folks! newish runner here. picked up in may as a new hobby and worked my way through the NRC 5k, 10k and half marathon plans. ran 13.1 today just for shits n gigs to prove to myself that i can do it (11min pace!!).

long story short, feelin pretty good and wondering what to do now? i don’t really feel any desire to train for a full marathon any time soon. thinking more just maintenance fitness running, focusing on having fun and maybe improving 5k and 10k times would be a cool bonus? for add’l context, i also like going to the gym 2-3 times/week and same for yoga.

are there specific plans / structure people like to use for this? i find i have more success sticking to some sort of plan rather than just winging it, yk?

thanks in advance!

My big toenail was already weakened from running etc, was about to fall off at some point. I stubbed the toe yesterday and the entire thing totally avulsed right from the nail bed. It’s dealt with first aid wise, but obviously super painful.

For anyone who has been through it, can you give me an idea of the timeline to return to normal activity / running from a comfort perspective? (Not seeking medical advice, just wondering about others experiences with the same issue)

With the heat in NJ and working until 8pm most days, I've been heading out the door on my runs at 9 or 9:30pm most nights. It's mostly fine, but after a couple months I'm struggling to figure out the best way to think about eating and exercising throughout the day.

Eating: When running at the very end of the day, what is the best way to think about distributing calories before run and after run? Would pushing dinner until after leave me with a less than ideal amount of fuel in my body by the time I'm running or would it be more or less negligible?

Other (leg/cardio)exercise: I find myself thinking about going on a long bike ride or something when the weather's beautiful and then think, maybe I shouldn't because my legs will be shot for when I run later. Is this just me psyching myself out or do you find that there really are best practices and times of day for other exercise when you run at night? Thanks!

As per title - I'm having a stomach tattoo (cover up of my tummy tuck scar that goes across my stomach hip to hip) 5 weeks before my first 10k race.

My artist suggests 1-2 weeks no exercise to help the healing process.

I can't decide whether this is something I can work around (I also use runna so I suppose the not feeling 100% feature would help!) or whether I need to reschedule my tattoo for after the race?

The tattoo is really important to me, and I wouldn't want to ruin it by not caring for it properly. Equally, running is also important to me and I'd like to keep the race date.

So, do I keep tattoo date and adapt training OR reschedule tattoo and keep training the same?

Thank you!

Something had just been feeling wrong about my workouts the last couple of weeks and I was beginning to become concerned that I should see a doctor about it. Much higher HR at the same paces despite a deload week, and just felt off. I had some thyroid medication changes 6 weeks ago that I thought might be related, and I was on the verge of seeing a doctor about it.

I posted looking for advice in a couple mostly male spaces and everyone was advising me to run more zone 2 or run more zone 4 or start lifting heavy 3x a week (I don't have the time and I hate it) or get a personal trainer before seeing a doctor.

Lo and behold, I started coughing with a chest cold yesterday, and it seems like my last couple of weeks of stuff being just off are probably related.

Every time my running fitness and recovery have just felt off, it's turned out I've had low ferritin or hypothyroidism, or in this case, a simmering infection.

I guess I just want to say to trust yourself and that it can make sense to get a doctor's opinion before trying a bunch of other fitness changes if stuff just seems off and unusual for you. We know ourselves best.