I run with Champion compression shorts. I think you can get them at Target now. I don't even bother with running shorts on top of them. They work great to prevent thigh chafing and butt bounce--nice little gifts I have as a souvenir of obesity.

Anne

I don't tend to suffer too badly from chaffing (I ran my marathon in running shorts without a problem), but I do have some lycra style shorts which I just tend to wear on their own when I wear them, without anything else over the top. When I'm running with music (which is less and less often now) I use headphones with the clips that go round the back of the ears. Well done on your HM by the way!

Congrats Anne on placing first in your division

I ran 6.8miles Saturday, which was my longest run ever! I pushed myself a little more than I had planned due to it being my birthday and I was in great spirits.

I'm thinking about joining a running group as well, Helen. I think the accountability will definitely help for the winter months. I would also like to get tips from more experienced runners who can see my running form.

Anne - Great job on the tri! They'd be another goal for me if I knew how to swim and owned a bike ; )

Batmom - Of course I remember you! So proud of you that you're so close to your goal weight! Sonoma is just portion control mainly?

Emily - Awesome on your half! Unfortunately no advice when it comes to ear phones or running shorts, I just have a cheap little radio that I bought from Target, and then bought some headphones that slip over your ears.

So I met with my training group for the first time on Sat AM - We just jogged 3 miles, jogging 5 mins and walking 1 min - I'm REALLY excited though cause the group that I got hooked up with seems SO NEAT! I can't wait to start pushing myself further and further distances...

SO question for ya'll - Do you think that spin class is too intense a cross training class when you're trying to train for a half? The book that Galloway wrote says it zaps too much from the legs...

Thanks for all of your support and advice!

I'll post some pics soon they should be up by Nov. 8 - maybe you can see my chapped up leg in them - lol!

I used some 'localized pain therapy' to help out my nagging knee and sore calves by having my thighs so tender - ha ha!

I think i will go ahead and get some bikter style shorts and try running in them this week. If they work well I'll be able to use them in long runs if it's warm enough.

BTW - great job on your tri Anne

Congrats on your race Helen - what a lovely runner's club vest you have!

hey Lucky-have you considered a running skirt? New Balance makes them with compression shorts underneath or places like runningskirt.com make them with little briefs underneath. There's nothing to bunch up between your legs and they're really cute...not cheap but cute.

Great time btw!! Can't wait to do my first half but I don't expect nearly your results, lol.

I did about 5.5 miles of fartlek and hills with running club tonight, just what I need after a hilly 10 mile race yesterday! At the moment I'm pondering which group to run with. I'm pretty much between the slow and medium groups, if I go with the slow group I tend to be at the front (except I don't know where I'm going so have to hold back and run a bit slower than I'd like) but if I go with the medium group I sometimes struggle to keep up. At the moment I tend to go out with the slow group, run the second leg with the medium group and then finish off with the slow group again (we tend to stop every mile or two for everyone to catch up), I'd love to be able to keep up with the middle group but I'm not sure it's happening just yet. Although today I was following them up a hill and just tagged along the back, not realising they were taking a detour to make it a slightly longer route to the next meetup spot - everyone else behind me went the shorter way but I just about managed to keep up with them until we regrouped.

hey Sarah-Sonoma is def portion control but moreso it is like the mediterranean plans, lots of whole foods, nothing processed, fish, lean meats, veggies, basically common sense good foods but there is the portion part of how much fo your plate should be filled w/each food group.

batmomm - no i haven't thought about a running skirt but i don't think that will help me all that much - my thighs are large so they rub together when i run anyway (inner thigh fat just won't go away) and you are right - they are definitely not cheap!

Thanks for the idea though! I think they look cute on small girls but just not on me

Emily, I'm with you on that one. In fact I can't even wear the short compression shorts--I need at least 7 inch shorts and 9 is better. You look like a small girl in your picture BTW!

Helen, WTG with the medium group!!

Anne

Thanks Anne

I'm not huge but all the pics from the website showed these little cheerleader type girls (with really muscular legs) wearing the skirts and no fat on their legs anywhere!

funny - i saw a girl wearing one at the Half on Saturday and i wondered why she was wearing a tennis skirt to a race - lol - shows how much i know about fashion

Ran a quick 3-miler this morning - trying to get out my soreness...this is my '****' week - lots of miles this week before tapering. We'll see how it goes.

Four miles this morning, 2+2. It was a good run, on the tough side, but doable. Skipped a meeting this morning at work to get it in, but I think it was well worth it.

Anne

Did Body Pump this AM - Anyone ever tried it? Gold's Gym offers it and it is the best total body workout EVER! Just love it!

Running this afternoon - We were supposed to get our training schedules from Galloway yesterday and I'm not sure where it's at... so I guess I'll just do as much as feels good.

Happy Running chicks!

UPDATE: Did 4.5 miles tonight, felt good but was really tough the first half

I did 7 fairly hilly miles with running club this evening. It felt like another good run and I definitely seem to be getting faster again now I've finished marathon training. I'm not as fast as I was in April, but I'm getting there. Each time I do seem to be getting a bit closer to the middle group. There's one girl there who I really want to be able to keep up with. Looking on the club website, her 10k PB is similar to mine, but she managed to maintain and even improve her speed while training for a marathon while I lost a lot of mine so I'm now a bit slower. Hopefully with a bit more training I can start to close the gap a bit.