SillyC2 Member

We've kept detailed budgets that include our groceries for many years. It's funny to watch how our expenses change during the year. The grocery bill goes up by about 70% in February relative to August. We can also see blips when I've been breastfeeding. That's hilarious!

Yeah, fresh produce is cheap when you live in Texas. It is not so cheap when you live in the frozen north. And it isn't good either. For about seven months out of the year, a tomato costs $4 and tastes like cardboard. I can go close to vegan in the summer up here, but come winter I want to stick a gun in my mouth. Come…

It should totally be doable, but if you haven't been running regularly recently.... do you WANT to? Take a look at some half-marathon training plans. You have to do a long run about every weekend. Are you really and truly ready to make that commitment? I'm an ultrarunner myself, so I do it. But my husband has maxxed out at…

Regarding the heat, though.... one of the nice things about doing stairs is that you don't have to go at it fast or with a high heart rate to get the benefit. It's a strength workout. And on the way down, your heart rate will drop..... which means the heat will be nowhere near as painful as for a normal run. I usually…

I keep hearing as "proof' that a plant-based diet is not good for athletes is this assertion that, if it were so good, why aren't there more professional and elite vegan athletes? IMO, it's not nutrition, it's money. Unless you're in California, 4,000 calories a day on a vegan diet can get super pricey. With very few…

Oooh - I second this for being GREAT for running. Another one that I like for running is Risk. Not running related, it's a story-telling podcast that focuses on times people get out of their comfort zone. Most of the stories are hilarious. Some are shocking. WARNING NSFW! Many of the stories feature..... adult topics. Like…

Since we're in the Long Distance Running forum..... Here's that real tangible benefit that I keep hearing about, and it's pooping. Plant based diets seem to help a lot with being regular. If you're eating a lot of fiber, it's a lot easier to have that morning poop before your race or long run, which leads to fewer GI…

Yes, actually! This works pretty well for my EATING but works not so great for my training because I'm lazier in the evenings. Sometimes.

I can't speak for the OP, but measuring isn't really my problem (and I have a scale anyhow). I'm not in a position where I'm wondering why I'm not "losing weight". My weight gain has come on very slowly, at like 4 lbs a year since taking up distance running. That's super slow and honestly took me 3-4 years before I was…

Why am I here? Why am I here? Because I put on about 15 lbs since I took up distance running. I was really hoping when I started logging calories that I was making some HUGE mistakes. Nope. Problem is that I'm consistently hungry for about 100 more calories a day than I burn. Over time..... Over a few years.... that's…

Yes, this is exactly it. Changing thought processes. I stop a lot! (I'm not slow either. Faster than average.) For me, stopping and regrouping mentally, then running hard, is much better training than "perservering" through a bad run, slowly, and miserably. That's not to say that I stop and smell the roses on EVERY run. In…

A few things.... If this kind of thing floats your boat, read this excellent four part series from the Science of Sport blog on heatstroke: http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/10/heat-stroke-dissected/ The cliff notes version of that is that it's very difficult to injure yourself by running in the heat. You can feel…

Is this helpful? http://theruncommuter.com/running-backpack-roundup/

Ultras are a different beast altogether. Especially now with facebook and twitter. It's not unheard of for the race director to know every single participant's NAME by the end of the race, and they know who is banditting too. With ultras, I've actually heard MORE complaints about lack of support in the front of the pack…

Thanks for this! I may end up sharing this with some other people. First of all, I absolutely agree with her that aid stations and the course should not ever close up before the cutoff. A lot of friends of mine get started running and try to hop right to the marathon without ever improving their speed from when they…

I would take anything like "great job" or "good going" positively. But I wouldn't try to make jokes or be real creative. From time to time, I've misinterpreted a joke as an invitation to engage in some friendly trash-talking. I LOVE talking trash, but it's not too common among runners. So I'll jump at the opportunity. Ah,…

Okay, time for an update! TLDR - only 15% of the entrants finished the 100 miler. My athlete was not one of them. Race day was wicked hot - in the 90s and pretty humid. Since I used the word "wicked", you might guess we're in New England, and it's not a dry heat and we're also only a month out of snow so nobody is well…

I'm so sorry to hear this, Jill. Get well soon!

Are your social runs with women? If so, I feel for you here. It's so hard to get women to run faster! But, it might be worth sharing that you want to run faster with a couple of them. I did a few years ago, and one of the women wanted to split off with me for some runs and go a faster pace.

For what it's worth, my first 50 miler felt awful. My next two were MUCH harder technically and were absolutely dreamy.

I guess my bigger question is..... why do you want to be faster? I'm looking at your times, and they are similar to mine. I wanted to be THIS fast because it puts me into the middle of the pack at ultras, and not typically having to worry about cutoffs. With ultras, though..... there's a bit more going on. I did a race…

Nicely done! A post-race party at PetCo? Really?

Yep! He's got a good race plan and has everything well organized and well thought out. List, lists, lists and a schedule for nutrition and hydration. So I'm absolutely going prepared to pace - you are very right that he may surprise me. I'm tapering myself this week so that I can go in ready to grind out 35 miles. I'm…

He's not completely hacking this thing. His longest run this year was a 50k. I know he's run a bunch of 20 to 24 milers in April and May because I was there. He was supposed to go on and do another 20 the day after but I know he most often only ran 6 or not at all. What I don't know is how much he's been running during the…

Oooh - things are looking up for me. June 7-8, pacing at the TARC 100 June 14 - Vegan Power 50k July 26, Durtyfeets 7k Summer sometime? A Pemi Loop September 28th - Vermont 50 mile November 8th - Stonecat 50 mile (maybe) November 16th - Durtyfeets 1/2 marathon

That's great! Repeat it a few times until you can complete all of the runs, and do the running a bit slower. A tip about C25K programs? I know a couple of other people have mentioned this, but if a week gets too hard, go back to the previous week, repeat that, and then move forward. So, if you are struggling a lot at week…

When is your test?

Moleskin! That's definitely the product. IMO, it works well for hiking but I find that running or cross country skiing.... it tends to not really be up for the task like the duct tape.

Oh, okay. It's just a scab that keeps coming off and coming off and coming off. I sympathize - back in '09 I had heel cuts that never seemed to heal. I got mad at the shoes and I took up barefoot running and then didn't wear running shoes for about five months. I don't really recommend that, but it worked for me. Do you…

How long has this been a problem? If you have a cut that won't heal, see a doctor. I don't mean to freak you out, but nowadays, a cut that won't heal could be MRSA.