I always struggle with headphones because I usually work out with a slick-back bun. Over-ear headphones either get caught in my hair or completely flatten my bun (RIP 😂). Wired ones are even worse, the cords get tangled, and after running for a while my ears feel sweaty, blocked, and honestly kind of sore.

For the girls who also hit the gym with a high bun or messy bun, what earbuds are you using? Looking for something that won’t mess up my hair, feels comfortable during longer workouts, and still looks cute. Would love some recommendations!

Hii, I genuinely just want to know if anyone else has experienced something like this because I am SO confused. Will get it PT checked (i know thats what has to be done and is the most important/responsible) im just a college student who thought could fix it.

A couple of months ago I started getting what I believe is IT band pain on the outside of my knee. The weird part is that before this I had literally never had knee issues. I had been running consistently for around a 2 years, had done 10 mile runs before, and was building up my running without any problems.

Then I got sick and had my wisdom teeth removed, which basically meant I didn’t run or strength train for around a month. I’ve taken breaks before because of other things and whenever I came back I was usually fine, but this time I think I increased my mileage a little too quickly. I went from around 5k to 7k to 10k and suddenly started getting this pain.

The pain was SO consistent at first. It would show up around 3k and then progressively get worse if I kept running. Faster stuff like intervals and fartlek made it worse too. So obviously I was like great im done forever.

I’m training for a marathon and suddenly I can’t even run 3k without my knee acting up.
I started doing strength training and rehab stuff, mostly clamshells, monster walks, wall sits, glute/hip strengthening etc. I also backed off when it hurt. Researched a lot on rehab and running strength exercises/mobility.

Then things started getting really
confusing???
I had a painless 5k.
Then a painless 10k. So on, just following my training plan accordingly.

Ran my first half marathon completely painless for most of it. At the very end both of my knees felt a little funky, but it wasn’t that sharp/annoying ITB feeling I had been getting.
Then I did a fartlek workout with 6 x 2 minutes at around 5k effort and it was COMPLETELY pain free.

Then I ran 10 miles pain free.
Then I ran 20k pain free. Kept training increasing mileage normal all good freling super well.

At that point I was like OMG maybe we’re actually healed??? yayyyy

Then last week I was absolutely exhausted and ended up taking around 6 days off running. I was still strength training, but I skipped my runs because I genuinely felt like my body needed rest.

Today I came back and did an easy-ish 5k. I felt AMAZING cardio wise and even picked up the pace at one point, but then I started feeling a little bit of the same ITB pain again???? Not horrible, nowhere near as bad as before, but enough for me to be like GIRL WHAT ?!

And that’s what I don’t understand.

How can my body be like:
3k = absolutely not
but then:
21k = sure babe
fartlek = no problem
10 miles = easy
20k = amazing
then after 6 days off:
5k = oop you’re done again

Like I genuinely do not understand what is going on

Has anyone else had an injury where it felt like your tolerance was completely inconsistent like this? One day you can run WAY farther than expected with zero pain and another day something much shorter brings the pain back?
I’m wondering if it’s just because recovery isn’t linear, accumulated fatigue, fueling, sleep, training load, pace, mechanics, or if maybe I’m not even dealing with ITBS and just assuming that’s what it is. I did ask my brother-in-law who is a MD and he did suggest the ITB is probably what I was having issues with and supported my rehab exercises.

I’m training for a marathon so obviously I’m trying not to panic every time I feel something, but this has been mentally exhausting because I genuinely don’t know what to expect from my knee anymore.

Would love to hear from anyone who has had something similar, especially if you had the whole “I can randomly run 20k pain free but somehow 5k hurts another day” experience. How did you eventually get consistent again??

For some unknown reason I have decided to make The Rut 11k my bucket list race, even though I live in flatland Nebraska. It's been over two years since I had our kid and worked out and/or ran consistently so this is very much a 2-3 year plan. But my biggest question is how the heck do I train for elevation when I live at like 1,700ft?

Right now my plan is to 1) rebuild my strength 2) build up to an 11k distance 3) do terrain/elevation training. I fully expect this to take 2-3 years since I am starting from basically nothing.

I swear I have looked high and low and cannot find any that fit the specs I want. Maybe they don't exist, but I figured I would ask before I give up and settle.

What I'm looking for:

-2 in 1 with the inner fitted short being long, like 7-9inches

-LOTS of pockets, both on the inner leg compressed part and also at least 1 pocket that has a zipper (for carrying phone, keys, cards, cash, gels, etc). Pockets being in compressed sections matter so that things don't move

- High-waisted, as I find that with my body shape it wants to fall, especially if there's stuff in the pockets

-Made of good material for working out, the classic sweat-wicking, non-chafing, whatever they usually claim, and all that good stuff

I have come close on several occasions to finding these shorts; usually the hang-up is that they are not long enough for my taste. Typically, things are around a 5-inch inseam, and I want longer, as things tend to ride up my thighs, and I'm someone who prefers things a bit more modest.

Decathlon's women's Kiprun 900 ultra 2-in-1 doesn't look as long or high-waisted as I would like. Janji's 9-inch trail shorts are SO close to being perfect but don't have an outer layer; again, I prefer modesty and don't like things being tight on my butt for others to see. I think the Wise Women's 532 might be perfect, but they are over $300, not including shipping or taxes. Most of the Lululemon, Gymshark, Adidas, Nike, etc all were too short and had, like, maybe 1 pocket. I think I browsed Hoka and Brooks websites as well and also don't remember finding anything there that fit the bill.

Are there other brands that I'm not aware of? Are there cycling shorts that fit this better? (I did try a brief google of cycling shorts like this for length and didn't find much, but I didn't look too hard). Also, hopefully that dont cost $300 lol. I'm fine to pay around $100 if they are perfect, but $300 for 1 pair is crazy even if they tick every box. At that price, they'd better be indestructible and last me until I'm 100 years old and can become family heirlooms lol.

Also, I know I could buy a pair of good tight ones that aren't 2-in-1 and then just get some loose outer shorts... but if I'm paying a lot of money for a good pair, I just want it to be what I need all in one go and not have to buy more than 1 thing to get what I want.

Thanks for the help, ladies! I know this might be an impossible ask, but I figured it was worth a shot!

(edit: I am 5'7/173cm, preferred inseam of 9in/23cm, with preferred rise of 12in/30cm)

(edit 2: y'all are so helpful; I so appreciate it! I live in Canada and have been doing price comparisons, and the shipping and currency conversion are a bigger problem than I initially realized! Keep the recs coming, but pray for me, ladies; it's apparently rough out here lol)

New mom looking to start running with stroller. I asked two people with Thule Urban Glide first hand how they like the Thule and both mentioned the pain of having to constantly fill up the tires. Anyone have the same issues/ concerns with the Thule? Should I find an alternative option or is this just a part of owning a running stroller?

Hey friends, my current weekly exercise split is 3 strength (push/pull/legs) + 2 run (1 interval, 1 long) + 1 yoga + 1 rest.

For the next six months, when I can run outdoors and maybe train for a couple of 10K races (am in tropical area with hot/humid summer and mild winter), I want to switch to a split which is 2 strength (upper body + legs) + 3 run (1 interval, 1 recovery, 1 long) + 1 yoga + 1 rest.

Any suggestions on how best to integrate push/pull exercises into one session of 45-50 mins to maintain upper body strength? What to keep and what can I give up? I currently do bench, incline, push, and tricep presses, pec fly and knee push ups for push day and suspension, seated cable, and bent over rows plus lat pulldown, and either farmers walk or other core exercises for pull day.

I was out on my run today, over half of it is a secluded paved pedestrian trail that runs through a park I live a couple blocks from.
I live in a famously violent city in a rougher neighborhood with the highest population of the cities houseless community. I am always running by camps in the woods and down and out folks and have been weekly for years with no problem. Still, most people from the burbs gasp when they learn I go running by myself in this area (a disc golfer got shot dead in the back here many years ago by a tweaked out person so that looms large in peoples minds as well).

ANYWAY, today a pretty rough and sketchy looking dude passes me going the opposite direction on a trash bike. As he is passing he reaches down for some narrow cylinder shaped thing on his bikes cross tube which really catches my attention. I watch over my shoulder as he turns around and starts following me. At this point I turn around at full attention with my mace in my right hand and my knife in my left. He starts cussing me out and calling me a stupid bitch because he just dropped something is all. He reaches down to pick it up cussing me out and I say “my bad, I am a stupid bitch” and high tail it out of there and find the closest exit that gets me to a public road.

I do not feel bad for perceiving a threat and acting accordingly but this guy was clearly offended and pissed off and I spent the rest of the run before getting off the trail and to the road hoping he didn’t decide to make me regret. Now I’m wondering if I should start driving out to some other place to run in case I’m on this guys shit list now.

Am I overreacting? I just don’t want to start skipping runs because I don’t feel safe in my neighborhood and driving to a spot and finding parking 3 times a week is a pain and procrastination opportunity you know?

I don’t know if I’m crazy, but I’m training for a half marathon right now (my first one), and I feel like my runs are taking much more effort than they were when I started.

I almost feel…..slower, but that doesn’t make much sense. Maybe I’m just feeling the training blah.

It’s been over 100 degrees where I live for what feels like absolute weeks. And not just hot, humid too with dew points making the air feel like hot soup. And there’s no real end in sight.

I haven’t run since the beginning of July. I feel so antsy and anxious, even walking is miserable. Early mornings are sticky and I’m not a morning person. I don’t feel safe running at night (too many scary run-ins with sketchy characters in the past).

Anyway, I know I’ll be back to running once the heat finally leaves for the season. I’m just annoyed as heck that I’ve lost a ton of progress and motivation. K rant over thanks for reading!

Hey everyone,
I’ve been tracking my training with a smartwatch for a while now, and while I love having accurate stats for my actual runs, I’m starting to feel a bit overloaded by the constant stream of daily metric; heart rate, sleep scores, stress levels, recovery notifications, step counts, etc.
I’m considering switching to using my watch strictly as a training tool: putting it on for runs and workouts, and taking it off for the rest of the day to get a break from the data.

For those of you who have tried this or made the permanent switch:
- How did it impact your training, recovery, or overall relationship with running?
- Did you miss any specific continuous features (like long-term HR trends or sleep tracking), or was the mental reset worth it?
- Did it change how you approach listening to your body vs. relying on data?

I’d love to hear how it worked out for you, whether it was a positive shift or if you ended up going back to 24/7 wear. Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts!

I'll be running my first half next month! If you have run the Columbus half, how was it and do you have any advice? Anyone else running it this year? Thanks!!

I took up running about 2 years ago using the C25K to run a 5k with my friends and fell in love with it.

After the 5k I decided to sign up for a fall half marathon in 2025. About two months before the race I went on a hiking trip and got a really bad case of tendinitis in my foot and had to go to PT and not race.

So I deferred my registration to this fall. Started training back in April, have been cross training with functional and strength training and ramped up slowly. I got to a week before my peak week and finished the longest run I’ve ever done (10 miles) and was so proud.

But again, a month before my race I started having symptoms consistent with stress fracture (in my shin). The doctor can’t get me in until after the race.

I’m feeling so sad and discouraged. I feel like I’ve done everything right, and was really looking forward to racing. The race is in 4 weeks and right now I have no pain. Part of me wants to just rest another week and then try to do a few small runs in the weeks leading up and race anyways but I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I miss running and don’t know how to cope or what to do. Some people are telling me to give it up, some are telling me to run anyways. Just needed to rant, but I’d welcome any advice.

I'm finding myself struggling with running on roads (versus treadmill, sidewalks, trails, boardwalks, etc) - the main issue is the slant of the road. It rains a lot where I live so the roads are slightly slanted with a peak in the middle. Because of this, my right hip is slightly hiked up and my right ankle is slightly collapsing inward. I don't notice any issues when I run on flat surfaces.

This issue became much more pronounced during a recent 10k that was exclusively on the side of a road. By mile 4 my right toe was numb due to my ankle slightly collapsing inward from the slant of the road.

I am currently in PT and working on foot and ankle strength. I'm not looking for medical advice, just curious if anyone else struggles with running on slanted surfaces and how you deal with it.