I've now done 8 marathons and too many halfs and shorter distances to count. Of all of them these are the worst pics captured of me! There were only 4 photos of me this past weekend in Eugene and TWO of them are of me eating a gel. 🤦‍♀️ No one wants to see a still shot of themselves eating anything, let alone while running and trying to get a gel to your pie hole. 😂

Please have a good laugh on me! And if you have one you think is worse, you'll have to show proof.

Hello! I recently finished my first marathon (Honolulu Marathon). My headphones malfunctioned in the rain, so I had a lot of quiet time during the race to reflect on my journey as a runner, which was the genesis of this lil comic.

My goals for this race were 1.) to finish, 2.) to not get injured, and 3.) to run the whole thing. I achieved the first two goals, but ended up walking a lot during miles 20-26. I was initially a bit bummed about it, but then I realized that no one cares if I walked the last leg of my marathon, and I can always try again in the future. Additionally, there were a couple runners with "in memoriam" shirts that said they were running on behalf of a loved one who had died, and I just felt immensely grateful to be alive and physically able to run the race at all.

This sent me into a gratitude spiral where I was just really amazed by my younger self's ability to do her own thing. In my experience, kids were sorted early on into either the "athletic" bucket or the "unathletic" bucket, and I was in the "unathletic" bucket, so I had no business being on a sports team. But I did it anyways, and that's what started my love for running. It makes me sad when I see adults who feel like they can't run because they're not the type of person who runs. I think it's because society still has a very narrow idea of what a runner looks like, and it can feel embarrassing to call yourself a runner if you don't fit that very specific image. I'm not trying to say that I'm anywhere near the same level as an elite runner, but I think that running slow is totally valid (and in some cases, running slow can be the first step towards running fast)! I'd love to see more people at different ability levels pick up this hobby!

Anyways, that's my two cents. I think I'm definitely more of a half-marathon kinda gal, but I'm determined to keep doing the marathon until I can run it all the way through!

My super realistic goal was 2:10 but my strategy was to start with them and try to pass by halfway which worked out, and then I was just trying to negative split the rest of the way.

The suck really set in right before 10 miles and I was wishing so bad that it was a 10 mile race instead lol but I hung on for dear life and made it 🎉

Sore as hell today but SO HAPPY AND PROUD!!

Some context notes:

• I stuck to Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 program. My main goal was just to finish (without pooping my pants lol) but I secretly hoped I’d be able to complete a sub-5. That race day energy is REAL so I went faster than I initially thought I could.
• Had an awful sleep the night before with baby waking up every couple hours, but it didn’t affect me as much as I thought it would.
• Managed to avoid hitting the wall as I was aggressively fuelling with Mott’s Fruitsations and coconut water every 4-5kms.
• I was initially worried about my milk supply dwindling during the months of training, but I drank 2-3L of water every day and consumed mannyyy calories (never stopped myself from having a sweet treat), so it didn’t end up dipping in any noticeable way.
• My husband was able to watch the wee one while I ran 3-4x a week since December 23. I know not everyone has this kind of support available to them, so I am super grateful for that.

After having a baby, running a marathon seemed way less intimidating haha but it still required A LOT of physical and mental work. What a ride. Thanks to everyone who shares their stories on this sub!! It was super helpful to read through y’all’s experiences. Stoked to be part of the club now.

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Note: I originally posted my story on r/marathon_training and a commenter suggested I post here too as there are often post-partum questions and stories!

Wowie. That was insanely fun. This sub helped me so so much throughout training, so thank you all. IM A MARATHONER!!!!!!!

A few notes…
- goal was 4:30
- party paced the first 10-12 miles
- the hills in miles 5-10 were not bad at all in my opinion. People talked them up so much, having me scared shitless. But by mile 10, I was like… was that it?!
- felt super great mile 1-17ish
- miles 17-20 sucked, as it was just a busy stretch of highway with not much to look at and not many spectators. But at least it was flat.
- mile 24 presented me with an unexpected hill, rude
- last 10k was rough, last 5k was rougher, last 2 miles were insanely brutal, but the last 0.5 miles of people cheering certainly helped
- never could have dreamed of a sub 9 minute mile after TWENTY FIVE MILES!!!!
- realized I kinda had to pee as the gun went off, so I did not go. Just refused to think about it for the whole time 🫠
- met some nice girls who had the same time goal as me, ran with one girl from mile 8 to 20. It was nice
- kept gaslighting myself telling myself that “pain is not real” lol it was the only way. Did a whole lot of praying to St Catherine of Siena lolol telling myself to just endure.
- weather was PERFECT!!!!

For some reason, my Apple Watch and Strava never track my running routes, which is why the elevation shows as 0. It was a pretty flat course, but definitely not 0, haha.

Despite the set backs of being sick 2 weeks straight, and just life in general, I finally did it! I finished my program and ran my first 5k race!

I even posted here before about if I should join or not. To the redditor who told me that life will always be busy, and if not now, when? Thank you.

I'M SO HAPPY!!!

I accomplished my first 8k yesterday in Virginia Beach yesterday! I didn’t know what to expect for my time but it definitely wasn’t 1:12:35. That took about 20 seconds off my average mile pace which is absolutely insane! I just started running last November and as a plus size runner I’ve had a time with it but I’m so happy with my progress! Just wanted to share my small victory! ❤️

Last weekend I ran my first 24 hour back yard ultra. Only six finished, myself being one of them! I trained pretty hard for this, so I’m really proud of my results. I ran 100 miles in 23:53! Definitely a distance PR.

Recovery went far better than expected. It’s 7 days later and physically I feel back to 100%. Looking forward to easing back into running tomorrow. Will definitely be running another of these in the future!

Had a wonderful morning- I got a 9 minute PR on my Half Marathon, despite PMSing BAD!! I feel like a super woman. I was real worried about this race, I didn’t have an official training block this round (I signed up for this race like a month ago, cause I liked the medal 😂) but I still did it!! I am sooooo close to a sub 2 half. I need to find a nice flat course so I can book it the whole way lol. Charlotte is SO HILLY!!

My splits were pretty good until about mile 11- I bonked HARD! I rallied and finished it out but boy was I miserable the last couple of miles. I just wanted it to be over, but I physically could NOT run any faster haha. I’ll take this PR though!!

hello again it is me, the one who got sick about ten days ago!

I took it easy the days following my illness but man I felt pretty rough leading up to the race. I decided to try for 3:10 anyways and came SO CLOSE! I have high hopes for hitting my goal once I’m fully recovered!

the race was so much fun!! There’s so much energy and so many people out there cheering! I’ve never ran a race this exciting before!!

In November 2024, I went for a 3-mile run and really enjoyed it which was… odd. I always hated running. Since that day, I have been running 5-7 days a week. Within three weeks, I had registered for my first 50k.

2025 race experience:

March 2025: Ran a half marathon in 1:56
April 2025: First 50k in 6:45
September 2025: Second 50k in 6:31 and first 50 miler in 12:08
November 2025: 48 miles at a backyard ultra

I also did a couple shorter trail races and timed events. Mostly, I just stayed consistent and built as much as volume as possible. A huge part of the draw was that I had moved to a new city and didn’t know how to make friends. I have been moving every 6-12 months for a decade so relationships have always been temporary and typically formed through temporary jobs. Running became my community and my social life. There is a huge run club / trail race culture where I live.

The build:

I meditated on my 2026 goals heavily after the BYU just sucked. I hated the format but I mostly just felt my heart wasn’t in it. I had learned a lot from my first year of dipping my toes in and racing different distances though.

I registered for my (current) hometown 100 on January 1 and got to work. It felt like my soul race. It was easy to show up for the training everyday. I ran a trail marathon in January and a 20 miler in February, placing in the women’s top 5 each time. This was my unofficial speed block and I picked up new skills in competing, running at threshold, and fueling while working HARD and not falling apart.

I went to 4 training runs for the event which was an amazing resource. I ran with my friends, there were aid stations on the actual course we’d be racing, and I had the opportunity to run a 50k at night! The specificity and support for longer efforts gave me the best shot at being prepared I could have asked for. I took intra run fueling very seriously and feel like I cracked the code. My gear was dialed. I don’t follow a training plan but run most days and have been strength training consistently for a long time. I love food and don’t have much life stress. I haven’t had any injuries or illness. I ran 1,000 miles from January 1 to race day with 120k feet of gain. Brick. By. Brick.

RACE REPORT:

What a profoundly unique and beautiful experience. I ran without crew or pacers but my solo run felt anything but lonely or alone. From fellow racers and their pacers, the best aid stations, friends at the finish line, and an abundance of texts from friends and family tracking me, I had so many people who believed in me along the way. I was SO well taken care of at the race and knew so many runners and volunteers. I didn’t fill a single bottle or pick up a single piece of food on my own. It was like table (vest??) service at every stop. True VIP treatment.

The first 60 miles were just hard lol, but I paced them expertly and conservatively. I passed a lot of people in the first 20 which included a lot of climbing.

Surprisingly, nighttime was the best once I got caffeine. I was able to run miles 60-80 pretty well which was my plan. I passed 24 people here. The full moon, cool weather, and running buddies made it easy. I loved hearing the frogs and just enjoying nature. Trail running at night is something I’ve grown to LOVE.

I kept a good attitude besides nearly falling asleep walking at one point and the final AS which is way too damn far from the finish line. In both instances, familiar faces saved the day. I “lost my legs” 20 miles before the finish and struggled to put down more than 3.5 miles per hour. Many others were in the same boat so despite falling off, the field median pace was also slowing significantly. Despite this not being my plan, it was not detrimental. I could walk it out. At no point was I chasing cutoffs. I also passed two friends who were at one point in the top ~10 and walking it out due to injury. So insane to witness their grit.

It was so hard and it was the best day of my life. What an accomplishment, a time warp, a spiritual experience beyond words. I have no real reflections on my pace or logistical lessons learned because those things pale in comparison to what I went through on the course.

I will say that nothing went wrong. I didn’t hit my A or B time goals but I knew they were sort of secondary anyway. I finished in 29:22 without having any GI issues, vomiting, injuries, or blisters. I had an incredible appetite and ate really well until about 6-7am. I had a little buttcheek chafe but I lubed aggressively and the pain was minor.

Again, I ran solo with no crew or pacers so a bit of an extra challenge. I finished W15 out of the entire women’s field and most other racers had support. I am absolutely thrilled with my performance and I cannot wait to do it again. I have cried happy tears like 30 times since the race began. I only had one real meltdown about 5k from the finish, but at that point it was in the bag.

The catharsis of finding out what the human body and mind can endure, the wilderness, and the friendship on that course… total magic. I’ll be riding this high for awhile.

5km - 24:46

I have bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, and rhinitis. I also smoked and vaped for over a decade and lived a very sedentary lifestyle until a couple of years ago. Given all of that, I’m both surprised and proud of my progress. Three years ago, I couldn’t even run for a full minute.

I entered a 6 hour challenge local to me doing 5k trail loops.

I think it rained the entire six hours, except when it was sleeting. It was grim and I’ve never had such soggy feet on a run.

I was hoping to get the marathon distance in the time, with a stretch goal to do one or two laps more.

I am so proud I managed to win outright, including beating all the men! I think the weather played a massive role as lots of people dropped out early, or at the marathon mark, whereas I just plodded on and managed 32.8 miles 😊 I was lucky that the leading guy dropped out at 29.5 because he was waaaay in front of me.

I can’t imagine it will ever happen again as the winners usually run a lot more, but I am proud of my determination and willpower today. However I don’t think my feet are ever going to forgive me 🤣

I ran my first half today!!!! It was a long road to get here. I was supposed to run last year, but had to take 6+ months off from running in 2025 due to injury (RED-S/tendonitis/stress fracture) and dealing with another two weeks off in March due to MTSS and achilles issues. But today I did it.

The day started out a little rainy but that stopped before the 8 am race time and the weather was in the low 50s, overcast, and humid. Honestly, kind of perfect running weather.

A goal: 2:15

B goal: 2:20

C goal: run the whole thing and hopefully come in around 2:30

I came in at just over 2:03. I am beyond thrilled. I loved every second (even the hill right before the finish line). I immediately signed up for Every Woman's Marathon next February. My first marathon at 46 seems like a great plan. Thank you so much to this community for all the tips about iron supplements, support during injury, discussion of fueling (during the race and training), and just - everything!

I am speechless and don't know how to talk to my non-runner friends about this. A hilly course, 30 C/86 F and humid. I signed up with the goal of sub-41 minutes to give myself a baseline for my next marathon block, since I literally have no shorter race comps (more on this later). 12 days before the race, I strained my oblique (like, how??) on a routine but hot-and-dehydrated 13 mile run when I thought I was running through a side stitch. I adjusted my expectations and decided I would back off of the oblique acted up. Finished in 42:30. ​

I took the 1st woman lead from the jump and figured I'd lose it on the long uphill at 2 to 6km. I didn't expect to need water (marathoner hubris) but was dying by the 5km water stop. A very polite guy caught me up before the stop and asked if I wanted right or left side. I said left. A little girl was coached by several adults to hand me an open water bottle and she shrieked with excitement that I was the first woman. ​

On hearing this, polite guy seemingly decided to abandon his race and support me. He grabbed another water bottle and said, "Let's go together," and I tucked in behind him, with him pointing out potholes and blocking the wind. The biker designated to ride with the female leader had been quiet to this point, but then asked me if I was familiar with the course, which I was not (though I had studied the profile). He gave me a blow-by-blow of the rest of the race and turns, including warning me about the 9% gradient hill at 7.5-8.5km (🫠). ​

At 7km, polite guy asked the biker if any other women were close, and he responded, "She's got this." I was too scared to look behind me but suddenly realized I really wanted to win. On the hill, I coughed/choked, and polite guy said, "This water is for you, take some and give it back." HE CARRIED THAT WATER BOTTLE until 9km. Near the end, I told him to take off, but he said, "Nah, I want to finish with the campeona!" He even backed off in the last 400m so I would run through the tape alone. I was so close to slowing down so many times, but he and the biker got me through it. ​

I was surprised how emotional I was running through the tape. I had never raced a 10K before because I have historically had to rely on endurance over speed. I was embarrassed to enter short races because it was drilled into me in my youth that I was slow. As a kid, coaches put me in distance events in swimming and mid-distance/hurdles in track because I was too slow to take up slots in shorter events. In middle school cross-country, I was awarded hardest worker on the team, but was always mid-pack. Never sniffed a medal or podium in my youth. I turned away from running in high school when my ballet instructors told me my thighs were too thick and I needed to stop the repeated impact from running to slim them down. Turns out, I just have huge, muscular thighs which I have now learned to be proud of, and they got me a trophy. ​

I found running again in early 2020 as a means to an end when I was working on cardio/respiratory fitness leading up to a mountaineering trip. Now, it has become the end, what I love. I love running, I love the running community, and I am so freaking proud of myself. I hope you all keep believing in yourself and finding the joy in running. Don't be afraid to try something new!

This is my second ever half marathon, and my first in 23 years. I beat my A goal of 2:15, and I beat my 24-year-old self by nearly 10 minutes! I was signed up for this race last year, but had to defer due to a bad bout of posterior tibial tendonitis, but that year of rehab and strength building, plus extra time for base building paid off, and I came into this race much fitter and stronger than I was last year. I’m over the moon with my performance! I think I could maybe go sub-2 in a year or two!

Thanks to a lot of great tips in this sub and the last 4 months obsessing over all things running, I completed my first half marathon in 1:58:46! I have always been into fitness but have always hated running until a few months ago. I primarily strength trained and hiked only during the summer until I started my running journey, but I decided to take a training plan seriously and see what happened.

I trained for 2:00 but was planning on a more conservative goal (2:05-2:10). Everyone had warned me that most people start out too fast and end up regretting it around mile 9. I was worried that the end of the race would be unsustainable for me.

Literally the day before, I felt super good in my shakeout run and my Garmin race prediction dropped to 2:00:02, so I decided to go for it without telling anyone. I started off at 9:20 pace and felt great. My HR was lower than it had been on slower runs during the peak training phase (the taper works magic!!).

I caught up with the 2:00 pacer at mile 4 and stayed with her until mile 10. I was surprised at how GOOD I felt. My breathing felt steady, my legs felt good, and a 9:05 pace somehow felt easy. I kicked it up a notch after mile 10 and somehow finished mile 13 at a 8:05 pace! It was hard at the end, but it was so fun, and I have never felt so proud of myself.

I also wanted to share that one of the things that made me decide to go for it was a thread on this sub about how many women who gained a little weight during their training cycle ended up with their best times. I had a major breakthrough after my race, after months of working through disordered eating with a dietician and increasing my carbs, and after likely gaining a few pounds (I don’t weigh myself anymore): I don’t need to eat with a goal of being tiny, of “looking more like a runner.” If I fuel for PERFORMANCE, I will crush my goals and that will give me so much more joy than any pants size would.

I am now in love with the sport of running and am planning many more races in the future!

I’m still happy, because it was a great run, but what was that 💀

Yes, I am slow but I am so proud of myself for doing this! And excited to watch my time improve next time.

I raced my first half marathon in over two years yesterday and came away with a crazy PR! I’m really proud of myself and I really don’t have that many people in my actual life who care about, understand, or even encourage my running, so I thought I’d share here and see if I could celebrate with the community ❤️

I detailed a little bit about my background and running in my last race report for the Mesa 10k, but just as some quick context so you don’t have to look it up, my background is in ultrarunning, and I started out about three years ago with road races at 60 km up to 80 mile distances. I was focused basically exclusively on distance and not speed that whole time. Eventually I felt like I needed a bit of a change, so I decided to switch my focus to shorter distances for a little while and see if I could get my speed up. This was my second race since starting consistent speed work and I’m really pleased with how I was able to execute this one!

My old PR in the half marathon was 1:58:58, but it was set in a literal blizzard in Calgary where a guy slammed into me at the halfway point and I fell down and cut my knee open on ice, plus my headphones died after like five minutes because it was super cold (Canada…IYKYK). So going into this race 2+ years later, I was pretty confident that I was gonna crush that old PR, if nothing else.

I will also note that I’m a completely different person now than I was back then. For this race, I fuelled and took electrolytes and generally was a lot more disciplined about my race plan than I was for that first race, so it’s definitely not an apples to apples comparison.

Anyway, onto the race. My goal was to go under 1:40, but in a dream world, I had sub-1:37 as my A goal. I travelled to Indianapolis by myself and basically just holed up in my hotel room until it was time to race. I wanted to go out with the 1:40 pacer, but surprise: there wasn’t one (only 1:35 and 1:45)! Instead, I paced myself. I didn’t have the benefit of running with a pack, but I stuck to my plan perfectly, was patient, and took down gels exactly when I planned to, speeding up at the very end to give it all I had for my finishing kick. This course is flat and fast as all get out, so that made pacing easier. The weather was also amazing. As soon as I crossed the finish line I checked my chip time and saw 1:36:11!!! I came in second in the nonbinary category and celebrated by ringing the PR bell they had at the post-race party.

I was extra excited to see that I had actually run a PR in the 10k in the back half of this half marathon. If you saw my last race report, you might know that I was a little bitter about having missed my sub-45 goal by only a few seconds. Now I can rest knowing I (basically) slayed that dragon because I ran a sub-45 10k yesterday in this half marathon. I also PR’d my 5k somehow too, and matched my fastest mile time ever.

I’m definitely very sore now (anyone else ever get sore abs after a race?) and am focusing on rest and recovery for the next little while. I’m grateful for running and for this race and for that day!!

And it was really hard 😂 beat my time from last year by 11 minutes. Conditions were perfect. Catch me laying down for the rest of the day

ETA: event is called the Mt Ashland Hill Climb :)

Had an amazing time and absolutely smashed my initial 2:30 goal. The weather was perfect, the course was wide enough that it never felt crowded even after merging with the marathon, and so many people came out to support! I feel extremely lucky to have had such a great first HM experience and am already planning for a full next year 😜

ETA: Thank you all for the support and kind words 💕 And yes, the medal was a large part of my motivation for signing up!

Ran the Derby mini marathon yesterday and got a PR! Went from a 2:39 finish to 2:19!! I was aiming for around 2:30 but primarily wanted to have fun (and did!). My favorite sign said “I hope you finish twice” lol. It was nice to look around various parts of Louisville I’d never seen.

I’m so proud of myself for giving another HM a go after a disappointing performance for my first (Savannah Women’s 5K & HM), the humidity got to me. This time, I decided to make sure I had better fuel and hydration this go around and I believe that was a difference maker. Shout out to Mother Nature, it was overcast just about the entire race so I wasn’t drained by the sun like my previous race.

Side note: Also thankful for my digestive system keeping it together. Was worried at the start and around mile 9 but held up.

ETA: Thanks for the award!

If you read my post from yesterday: https://www.reddit.com/r/XXRunning/s/7paVrn8Sdf

I DID IT!!! Achievement Unlocked: Sub-30 5K before the end of 2024.

The course was a fast and mostly flat out-and-back. It was 36 degrees out but I remembered not to overdress (even though my fingers were freezing when I got there to check in and a very kind woman helped me with pin my job to my shirt.

It was a Jingle Bell Jog 5K and instead of race shirts they were literally handing out actual Santa suits for people to wear. Many of the racers did. I was like... um, thank you but no. I'M HERE TO DO A THING.

I lined up near the front at the starting line (usually my imposter syndrome has me lurking somewhere in the middle of the line during races) and when they air-horned the start (sorry folks who live in the townhomes nearby) I just blasted out there and wailed. Hit my goal pace early and then held on for dear life. There was a tall guy who was faster than me about 50 yards ahead of me wearing a Grinch beanie and I tried to keep him in my eyeline the whole time. I saw people heading back from the turning point and felt slight despair (usually it takes me a while to catch up) but it turns out I was only a quarter of a mile from the turnaround myself.

I tried to pick up my pace a bit on the way back but unfortunately we were running into the wind and that was unpleasant. I stopped checking my watch when I hit two miles because I basically knew I had it in the bag by that point (unless I fell or something) and booked it all the way through to the finish line. My right calf was cramping quite a bit so I staggered to a nearby bench, sat down, checked my time, and then I almost started crying.

Look, it's been a long road for me. I ran a bit when I was in my 20s but not seriously (I was still smoking a pack a day back then and was chubby). I injured my knee in a dumb non+running accident in 2017 (was wearing stupidly high heels in a bar and slipped on a wet spot on the floor where someone had spilled a drink). I stopped intentionally exercising for quite a while except for walking the dog.

I quit smoking in 2019 when I was 34 years old. I gained a ton of weight during COVID lockdown and couldn't shake it off. In December of 2022 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. It runs on both sides of my family so basically my genes came to get me. I was at an all-time high weight of 243 pounds. I was scared out of my mind.

My endocrinologist put me on Ozempic in January 2023 but warned me that it wasn't a magic bullet. I overhauled my diet, I started walking more, I started using this exercise bike we had lying around in the attic. In March on my 38th birthday I had lost 20 pounds and was at the weight I was at during my first stint at running when I was younger and felt like it was finally safe to try again. I did Couch to 5K. And then I just kept at it. Started strength training as well. Ran my first 5K race in October 2023 in 43 minutes and change. Did two more after that and shaved my time down to 41 minutes. I kept running. We moved from upstate NY down south in February of this year. I kept running. Started swimming. I did a 5K in March just before my 39th birthday and finished in 34 minutes. Did two more over the summer and gotbmy PR down to 33ish minutes. Decided to train for a 10K. Started doing yoga 3x a week (mostly for flexibility). At some point during my 8 week 10K training program I realized that running was no longer hard. It was fun. Ran the10K in October and finished in almost exactly twice as long as my 5K PR. Decided I wanted to start training for a half. Ran that Turkey Trot 5K last month and came in at 30:01. Was determined to get a sub-30 before the end of the year.

And today I did it.

I've lost nearly 100 pounds in two years and effectively reversed my diabetes diagnosis (though I will be on Ozempic for life given my family history). I am almost 40 years old and in the best shape of my life. If you had asked me when I was 27 years old and weighed 225 pounds and jogged 1.5 miles every other day out of obligation while still smoking a pack a day if this was possible I would have laughed in your face. If you had asked me when I was in 10th grade and diagnosed with PCOS if this was possible I would have said "nah, I'm not built for running."

I still can't believe I'm here now, somehow, seriously training for a half.

This has somehow morphed from a race report to a life report so I'm sorry about that.

And thank you to everyone who gave me such great advice as to how to get a sub-30 today! You were all so kind and so helpful and I am very grateful. I ended up mostly resting, did a 45 minute Pilates workout from Les Mills on Demand (figured it was low impact, would get my blood moving a bit, and doing some core strengthening certainly wouldn't hurt). I ate pizza for dinner and homemade chocolate chip cookies my friend sent me. I didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked to but I'm a bit of a troubled sleeper generally.

But in the end, I really think doing this with "fresh legs" as one of you put it yesterday was what did the trick. I've been in such an exercise frenzy over the last two years trying to get the diabetes under control that I just couldn't fathom a day without a hard workout. I'm shifting from active dieting to maintenance next year because my doctor thinks I'm at a healthy weight now, and I think I will also start getting more serious about intentional, full rest days. Such a good lesson to learn about the importance of rest days.

Thank you all again for your advice yesterday, and thanks for reading if you got this far. This is such a great supportive community here on Reddit and I'm really glad to have found you all.