The good, the bad and the ugly of 1/2 marathon or marathon training.

When a new song comes on the radio and your first thought is “Oh my gosh, this would be the PERFECT song to do speed work to.”

When I see a carb and do a mini-speed workout to sprint to it.

Love all things on this list, have an awesome night!!!

This list is so true!
Jello: yes, but I never make it.
My feet are actually pretty good. I use dark polish to cover up the occasional black toenail:)
I’m feeling coming back from achilles tendinopathy and feeling good from the rest!

The good: training makes my mental math skills sharp since I’m always calculating goal pace, time, or mile splits. I’ve become better at mental math than my engineering husband!
The bad: my wedding dress was too big on me because I started half marathon training 6 weeks before the big day! I had to slouch because it felt like it was going to fall off if I stood up straight!
The ugly: snot rockets on long runs, especially if it’s allergy season.

TOENAILS! I am so glad I am not the only one that has issues! How do you bring that up in convo with your friends that aren’t runners……awkward!!

When I run long runs I just wish I had buddies to run with. The few friends I have here that run are all on different schedules than me and have kids.

I never had great feet but they are in their own category now. Not good! Agree with everything, except sadly no tan in the summer since I run so early!

I don’t eat jello, just think it’s gross (sorry!). But, I have really ugly runners feet, and I recently started doing yoga. Everyone in yoga knows when you’re a runner because you have the ugliest feet there!

I agree with your whole list :). You do find out who your real friends are when you train for an endurance event bc they will understand that you go to bed early and not think you’re lame. They’ll also do nice things for you like have a water bottle out when you run near their home, ride a bike beside you, answer questions, etc.

Good: just how good a nap feels on Sundays
Ugly: every now and again I’ll hit a hangry moment.

The bad: people are always accusing me of limping (in a very accusatory fashion), because I am often hobbling a little thanks to sore quads (downhills), little aches and pains (distance in general), and a tricky ankle/achilles that almost never bothers me running but acts up later when I am walking.

My feet aren’t completely runners feet but they aren’t pretty feet either!

So true about the toes and basically everything. But all the good really outweighs the bad. My plantar fascia is bugging me a ton right now. I’m doing a lot of golf ball rolling right now.

My toenails have not seen the light of day in over a decade. Dark polish is mandatory. So that’s kind of an ugly made good. ;-)
I also miss my warm bed in the morning, but the benefit outweighs the need for a few extra minutes in bed!
The good: I am mentally sane when I run regularly!

Ok I love that you said SHOULD wash your hair more often… I sometimes feel like I am the only person that doesn’t wash my hair everyday! How often would you say you do wash yours because today is Wednesday and I haven’t washed it since… well i’m not so sure I want to admit that on the internet!!haha!!

I have ugly runner/gymnast feet….no amount of lotion or nail polish can fix them!

I have NO IDEA what kind of running form I have that would give me this but I always chafe on the fleshy bit of my right upper arm. Not my left one, just my right one. Lame. And I have a chafing scar from my water belt during my ultra. I kinda like it though.

Not to brag, but I think I have cute runners feet! They do look a little worse for the wear after some long runs though. Thank goodness for pedicures!

Wow, J. You hit the nail on the head with the good, bad and ugly. I think you could add to the list “major bragging rights” and the ability to be part of the “running community” — right? Happy training! :)

Total runners feet!

The good – that after run high, especially after a long run or a PR during training.
The bad – running in the summer, it gets pretty hot in Idaho not matter what time you go, all that sweating leads to chaffing which leads to just painful!
The ugly – toenails – I 100% agree. I have the ugliest feet. I danced from age 4-20 so that started it, then I started running so they never stood a chance!

Jello is one of those desserts I forget about, it’s so good! I usually only eat it though when I’m sick.

the ugly is definitely the chafing- I’ve got scars on my back and chest from bras and hydration bags. Another bad/ugly can also be getting up obscenely early to get a long run in before a weekend jam packed with plans like weddings!

Running aches and pains: my chin and jaw- I fell really hard on my run this morning and have a nasty cut on my chin and my jaw is so sore that I can only eat soft foods. Hopefully I wake up a bit better tomorrow. Unfortunately I have to wear a dressing on my chin for the next week and I have so many work meetings to attend! Can’t remember the last time I fell while running. At least no one saw me fall! And it gave me an excuse not to do my hill repeats this morning. Got to find the positives!!

My hip area has been giving me some pain after my 16 miler this past weekend…I did my last run today before the 18 miler so I am hoping a solid day of rest tomorrow will help! Any tips for pain in that area? Nothing awful- just noticeable.

The good: feeling strong and confident
The bad: exhaustion is a normal part of my routine now
The ugly: injuries, chafing, and falling once in a while :-/

I have feet that only a runner can appreciate ;)

I am dealing with PF and I’m not super happy about it. My podiatrist is working with me so that I can continue to run through it. I’m currently icing, seeing a chiro, wearing inserts, and a boot at night. Next up is therapy and possibly shock wave therapy. I’m also seriously considering acupuncture.

My family makes that same cranberry jello and is always a big hit! We add some chopped celery, too to give it a bit more crunch and a little bit of fiber.

I think I have cute feet? But I try and get a pedicure every so often so I can keep them from looking terrible!

I am training easy right now. I have a half marathon in June and a full in November, so I am easing my way up. I can already hit 10 miles no sweat so I am just waiting for some warmer weather to start doing speed workouts.

I do not have cute feet. Only babies have cute feet.

I don’t know how I feel about jello……………I like jello jigglers sometimes……….

And I would say the good-feeling pretty amazing when you tell someone you are running today and they say “how far” and you say “just 12 miles” and they go “JUST?!” makes me feel good!

The bad-rain………..when you start the weather is fine, you get half way in and realize you still have over an hour of running and suddenly it is pouring!! I love the rain, but only if I am prepared to run in it.

The ugly-the layers of sweat, salt, and snot that cake on your face!

The good:
Eating all the food.
Catching up on podcasts or audiobooks.
Salted caramel Gu.

The bad:
Trying to get to bed early enough to get a decent amount of sleep before waking at 4 am for a run.
Fretting over aches and pains (ended up with a stress fracture during my first half-marathon training cycle).
Having to run in the dark b/c it’s the only time I can fit it in… I like the quiet but sometimes get the heebie-jeebies.

The ugly:
Toenails, for sure.

My mom has been making that same (basically) jello recipe since the dawn of creation and everyone loves it! She has to make it for all family functions, but she makes like a triple batch b/c my cousins all fight over the leftovers. Best addition- she waits until it is half-way set, then sprinkles mini-marshmallows over the top. YUMMMMM!

Also need a new gym bag. Also find it expensive to buy good food. Why do we get punished for buying healthy food when junk food is so much cheaper?? It will pay off in the end i hope :)

I’m more of a cyclist and want to start running, but every time I hear a runner talk about chaffing and their feet, I start to think I will stick with cycling! lol

I definitely have runner’s feet.

Also – chaffing. So, when I reached ~10 miles in my training last year, I started chaffing on my rib cage right under the bottom band of my sports bra. It was only on long runs. It was driving me insane (and it was quite painful). I bought a few rolls of coban and I would wrap just under the bottom band of my sports bra and it did the trick at allowing the area to heal while I continued training.

Now, I’m really picky about my sports bras (I know exactly which types of materials will chaff me and which won’t) and I haven’t had a recurrence of the situation. Hopefully that helps :)