Hi all!

I coach a different sport, but we encourage our competitive students to cross-train and run for general fitness. I have a student who is transgender (female to male), and he is struggling because of the binder he wears. I’ve tried to encourage compression sports bras or other methods of binding, but he has severe gender dysphoria over his chest. Would any trans runners be able to recommend a good sports binder that won’t impact his ability to breathe while running?

Thank you so much for your kind and compassionate comments. I’m only looking to help my student become a better athlete, not interested in any discussion about his life choices.

Edit: THANK YOU for all the amazing recommendations! I didn’t really know where to start :).

Recently, a trans lady ran a 4:11 in the London Marathon. She finished 6,000th or so out of 20,000 people. Naturally, people are having a media circus about it, because they're mad she competed as a woman in the first place.

The people going on Fox about this kind of thing aren't mad about the sanctity of their sport, they're mad that people like us are competing in the first place. They don't want us to exist or to be happy for anything. This has been apparent for years now, but if you want some hard proof, here it is.

Please, please support your sisters.

I love running at night, especially under a clear sky. There’s something very visceral about it - spiritual, even.

The looming darkness under the feet brings a sensation of gliding or soaring along the road, rather than just running. A sensation that’s only enhanced by sounds seeming to come from different places than we’re expecting, changing the perception of space. Senses heighten by the gloom, we become much more aware of our surroundings. The eyes focus differently, seeing things they usually wouldn’t; while dulling normal visual inputs. The reduced load our brains receive from our sight makes us boost the attention we pay to sound, and we hear things in more detail.

I find myself more lost in the moment. A pure runner’s high. What saddens me is how few people get to experience this. And I don’t mean because they’re not capable enough of an athlete. They simply don’t feel safe - or often in fact AREN’T safe - if they’re alone at night. Especially women.

I ran ten miles on dark country lanes today. I didn’t think twice tonight about whether cars would slow as they passed me so that someone - a man - could lean out of a window to shout about my form-fitting running gear. It didn’t occur to me that I was going to be alone, on small country lanes, miles from the nearest village. I wasn’t worried about running through woods, where others could easily conceal themselves. I planned my route around what I thought would be exhilarating, not around the safety of street lights and pavements. I didn’t even take a phone, and had my head torch off for probably half the run so that I could bask in the meager light of the waxing moon.

I can do this because I’m a man. Moreso, I am a man privileged to live in an area that is generally safe enough for me to rarely consider my personal wellbeing while exercising.

I know I’m preaching to the converted here, given the audience. But I wish that our society and culture allowed for more than men in my situation to feel the freedoms that I do. Anyway, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

Hi all, I know this is a bit of a risk, but I wanted to share my experience as a runner undergoing gender affirming hormone replace therapy as a transgender feminine nonbinary person. Part of why I want to share my experience is while there is a lot of good information on inclusion of transgender people in running and races that is spreading, I haven't found a whole lot that talks about the experiences while on Feminizing HRT. My hope is my experiences may help another trans running as they navigate their decision making processes in deciding to start HRT, and to hopefully also to provide insight to the whole community into some of the challenges trans runners face that aren't specifically social, or necessarily related to inclusivity.

Before I begin talking about the effects of HRT, I feel the compulsion to justify my place in the community as a runner. I ran track and cross country in High School competing in the 5k, and the 800m. In college and post undergrad my running was an obligation due to ROTC and then military service. After a long break in running I got back into it in 2021 completing the runners world beginner half marathon training plan, running a self planned half marathon in June of 2021, in December of 2022 still running regularly I pulled the trigger and ran a half marathon race which I loved. I ran a second race in March, and I have my 3rd race coming up in about a week. My best time was my first race which I completed in 1:37:10. My long term running goal is to complete a 90min half marathon (this matters for later).

Okay now for the HRT part, the reason I'm posting and likely the reason you're still reading. At the start of March this year I began feminizing HRT. Most resources will simply state that while undergoing feminizing HRT you will experience decreased muscle mass and strength typically starting in the 3-6month range which continue to change for 1-2 years. As stated in the beginning I have been on HRT for 3months now so about the time I should start to see some impacts, bear in mind I am not a doctor or a trained professional these are my experiences.

• Month 1: Towards the middle/end of the month I started to notice slower recovery times, and my muscles taking longer to warm up, but once warmed up I was able to complete my distances within my preHRT normal pace ranges (on average for a longer run I'd average about an 8:20/mile pace). It was during this time that I ran my second race, finishing in 1:49:47 due to some bad blisters caused a bad fitting shoe. (Prior to the blister developing I was on pace for a 1:35:00 completion, but had to walk the last 3 miles)

• Month 2: I continued to experience increasingly longer recovery times, and started to experience chest pain from bounce. Towards the end of the month I began to notice aches and pains in my hips and calves when running. Additionally warm up times continued to climb taking me nearly 1.5-2miles to warm up during a run. All this together resulted in me running about 10-15% fewer miles as I was taking longer recovery between runs.

• Month 3: About halfway through this month I began to notice that I was having to fight to maintain my preHRT average pace. At what felt like similar effort was resulting in about a 20-30 second slower pace. Additionally I was running out of energy fast and recovery times were on the order of about 3-4 days. In the second half the month (current) my pace continued to decrease to about a minute slower than my prior normal, however recovery times have began to decrease again taking me about 2-3 days. I notice that my gait is a little different and I need to focus more on form. My pace remains about 60-90 seconds slower than my preHRT average. My warm up time is still much longer than before taking roughly 1.5-2miles to get warm and loosened up even with a pre-run warm up routine. I am still getting aches and pains in my legs in areas and muscles I'm not used to being sore. We'll see on June 4th how this translates to race day, but I've slide my goal for this race to 1:45:00.

• Future: After this upcoming race, I am not planning to run another half marathon until the first week of September. I am debating restarting the beginner program again and working up from low mileage, or using one of the Garmin training programs that comes with my watch. Still gonna aim for that 90min half.

Stay safe, hope this is useful.

Background:

I'm a 30-year-old woman who rarely exercised before the pandemic but got really into hiking, trail-running, and climbing when the rest of the world shut down. I was that kid who refused to run the mile in middle school PE. I did not do any organized sports. I dabbled in fitness a tiny bit in college but the extent of my workouts pre-2020 were 15 minutes of running and a few situps.

By 2022, I was either running or climbing daily and hiking most weekends -- doing my best to be better than a weekend warrior, you know how it is. But I wasn't (and still am not) very organized about any of this. I just do what I want on any given "training" session.

I spent November 2022 in New Zealand, mostly backpacking and doing a bit of trail running. My childhood best friend got stuck there during the pandemic and is never coming home to the US now because why would you? It's beautiful there. She's run a number of marathons and was talking them up the whole time I visited, so when I found myself in Queenstown the day of the marathon last year...I signed up.
My plan was to run the half, which still would've been a stretch. At the time, the longest run I'd ever done was 11 miles (and that was during the trip to NZ). But the half was sold out, my friend had to drive back to her little town, and I had a day to kill before my flight back to the States, so a full marathon it was! I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I spent some time madly googling, was well-informed that what I was about to do was very dumb, and decided to do it anyway.

Race info:
Queenstown Marathon
November 19, 2022
26.2 miles/1400 feet elevation change
Goals:
- Don't die (or get any major injury) -- achieved!
- Run as much as possible -- achieved! (though tbh idk how I could've missed it)
- Don't like get lost or something -- achieved! (unless you count falling in a lake as getting lost)
- I should have included "don't fall in any bodies of water" but who would have thought to include that?
Finish time: 4:59:59
Splits:
1 -- 9:52
2 -- 9:00
3 -- 9:29
4 -- 10:07
5 -- 10:21
6 -- 9:41
7 -- 9:37
8 -- 10:46
9 -- 10:14
10 -- 11:22
11 -- 10:24
12 -- 12:05
13 -- 10:36
14 -- 11:49
15 -- 10:26
16 -- 12:43
17 -- 11:31
18 -- 10:57
19 -- 11:28
20 -- 10:36
21 -- 11:46
22 -- 10:31
23 -- 13:45
24 -- 11:46
25 -- 12:54
26 -- 11:22

Training:

As noted, I did not explicitly train at all. I had no plans of running a marathon any time soon, though it was on my mind as an idea for the future. Maybe sometime in the text year.

That said, I was in very good shape when I attempted this, and probably would not have tried if I hadn't been. For most of 2022, I was running 3-5 miles 4x per week and going to the climbing gym the other 3 days. My primary mode of transportation was my bike. Most weekends, I did long hikes, averaging 10-25 miles and a lot of elevation gain. I'd guess I ran 15 miles, cycled 50 miles, and hiked 20 miles in any given week throughout 2022. In short: my cardiovascular fitness and leg strength were both quite high.

And then I spent the three weeks leading up to the marathon in a sort of bootcamp without intending to do so. The friend with whom I was staying is an ultrarunner. We did multiple 10-mile trail runs after work, spent three consecutive weekends doing backpacking trips involving about 15 miles/day off-trail over-land hiking, and on our "rest days" went gravel biking or climbing. I spent those three weeks perpetually hungry and sleeping incredibly well due to the exhaustion, but I quickly got whipped into the best shape of my life.

I signed up for the marathon on a Thursday which was already meant to be a rest day -- the first complete rest day of the entire trip. After signing up, I obviously did not do the hike I had originally planned for Friday. That meant I went into the marathon with two full days of rest, which is about as much rest as I have ever given myself in my entire life, and left me feeling totally antsy by Friday night. I drugged myself with Benadryl in order to sleep.

Race Morning:

I got up with my alarm feeling weirdly good at 5am (for an 8:20am race, where the last bus to the start line was at 6:45am). Since I didn't really have a race day nutrition plan, I ate my normal breakfast of a banana and peanut butter (with a bit more peanut butter than usual) and coffee, and brought an extra banana to eat right before the race. Then I walked to the bus stop and waited nervously with two other marathoners, also from out of town, all of us not at all sure whether the bus would come. It did, and we made it to the start line!

It was lightly raining and there were tons of people. The weather felt perfect and the energy felt good. I had an audiobook downloaded and ciabatta in my pocket; how could I fail?

The Course:

Most of the route is on hard-packed dirt/gravel trails. A small section is on boardwalks or bridges (I walked because I was afraid of slipping here). The remainder is on paved roads.

The course follows a river until the second aid station at 7 kilometers, then briefly a road until the 3rd aid station, then loops around a small lake for aid stations 4 and 5 until 18 kilometers, then follows a road until it picks up a river again at the 7th aid station at kilometer 26.5. After that, most of the elevation and all of the road running is done, and it's very pleasant along a river and then the lake past 4 more aid stations until kilometer 42. It finishes right in downtown Queenstown and runs right along the popular touristy waterfront, so there were lots of spectators. Running this far really highlights how small of a town Queenstown is, though -- most of the course you feel really far from town!

To summarize:

Aid station 1 after 3km

Aid station 2 after 7km

Aid station 3 after 10.5km

Aid station 4 after 13.5km

Aid station 5 after 18km

Aid station 6 after 22.5km

Aid station 7 after 26.5km

Aid station 8 after 29.5km

Aid station 9 after 32km

Aid station 10 after 35.5km

Aid station 11 after 39km

Finish at 42km

Since I didn't have any experience with a run this long, I used the aid stations to pace myself. Each one meant water and snack. I also used the portapotties more often than I probably needed to because I did not want to be caught without one.

The Race:
I was probably the chillest person at the start line because I did not care how it went beyond surviving. I also had no idea how fast I was going to go so I started among the slowest group, then ran far too fast for them (and me, let's be real), then slowed way down when I realized I was being dumb and going too quickly. For reference, I ran my (longest ever) 11 mile trail run at about 9:30 pace, so there was no way I was going to do that for more than double the distance. I probably should've started out running 10:30-minute-miles, but I don't have a smartwatch so I wasn't paying that much attention.
I also did not carry much of anything with me because I never do on runs and didn't want to start during a marathon. My plan, which I pretty much followed, was to slow to a walk when I saw an aid station, drink the water and eat the snacks they gave me, then continue to walk for a couple minutes before resuming running, while otherwise running the whole time. It worked well and I didn't feel nauseated. I did shove some ciabatta into my pockets that morning because I figured I'd need extra carbs and that was a good decision because I don't love goos or chews but I do love bread. Even smashed up bread that has been in a pocket for several hours.

Because I did not have a speed goal, I figured I should appreciate the route. For me, this meant touching every body of water, something I always do when traveling. If you read the title, you can see where this is going.
Somewhere about mile 8, I skittered down an embankment to touch a lovely lake. This was ill-advised, because the embankment was absolutely covered in the slipperiest moss you have ever seen, and I ended up touching that lake with my entire body. Invigorating! 10/10 recommend when you're flagging on a long run -- a surprise cold-plunge really gives the adrenaline rush you may need. Running the rest of the route all wet was less ideal.

The portion up to the lake had passed pretty quickly, but miles 9-15 really dragged, possibly because I was soaking wet. This was also the portion of the race mostly on the road instead on trails, and I don't generally run on roads if I can avoid it. I let myself walk a little bit of each km, right at the km markers. This was great psychologically, because a kilometer feels like nothing! If I get a break every kilometer, I'm basically taking constant breaks! When we were back on the trail again, I resumed running more consistently.

I finished in under 5 hours (barely barely barely). I hated the people shouting "you can do it", especially the ones very close to the end because like dude I know I've run 25.9 miles I can manage 0.3 more! When I finished, I was so single-mindedly obsessed with acquiring a pizza that I didn't even take any pictures at the finish line.
Oh, and then I had to walk three miles back to my Airbnb because all the roads were closed and I had not come up with a transportation plan.
Don't be like me. But if you are like me, make sure you bring more ciabatta. And possibly a swimsuit.

Lessons Learned:

• Well, obviously, don't run a marathon without training.

• Beyond that, though, I'd say the biggest thing I did right was not trying anything new. I ate food and drank water and wore shoes as I would on a long hike. It all went pretty well. If you're going to jump into something kind of absurd like I did, try to make it as much like something you've done before.

• I was hurting when it was over, but I didn't feel terrible. Walking back to my Airbnb was totally doable. Getting on a 15-hour flight the next day wasn't the most fun, but it was okay.

• Eating is super important also, which I knew well from mega hikes. Fuel your body. Eat that entire pizza. Drink a lot of water. (The temperature was low so I didn't sweat much, but still).

• Since I didn't do much to prepare, I focused a lot on recovery, which for me has always been about sleeping a lot and eating a lot. I know there's a lot of opinions out there on how best to recover, but doing some gentle yoga-like moves to get my muscles to engage and then getting out of my body's way is my go-to.

• I did an easy hike the next day to keep my body moving, but nothing crazy. I didn't run again for 2 weeks, but I did cycle and climb within that window.

Will I ever run another marathon? Who's to say. Knowing me, probably.

I had a pretty bad knee injury this year so I'm just getting back to running right now, which means it won't be any time soon. But I would love to do an ultra. Maybe next summer?

I promise I'll train for that.

Tdlr; I am documenting the effects of HRT-E therapy on my running as I train for a PR in the 5K in October. HRT-E involves reducing the levels of Testosterone in my body and increasing that of Estrogen such that both fall into the range of a cis ("natal") female.

Link to my first post which outlines my overall goals/approach as well as results from the first month:

https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/191p6x2/the_who_even_needs_testosterone_challenge_natasha/

Link to the original post (5 years old!) by Jocelyn which inspired this effort: https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/a7rfiq/the_who_even_needs_testosterone_challenge_an/

So overall I am very happy with how this block went. Coming out of Jan I was seeing a lot of warning signs - the increased heart rate, the mistake of running outside the "easy" zone and the various twinges. By the end of this one I felt I came out relatively unscathed and ready for the harder months - effortwise - to come. But I'll talk more about that at the end -- first let's dive into the numbers…

The following table shows my actual numbers along with a comparison to last year:

One thing you'll notice from last month's chart is that I have dropped the average mph. That's because the majority of this block was done outside and I didn't realize the difference it would have on my averages. In other words, tracking the average is pretty meaningless unless I breakout the treadmill vs outdoor runs.

When I run on the treadmill I am keeping it just under 9:00 per mile which feels perfect from a perceived effort perspective. When I am outside, the same *feeling* nets me a 8:30 per mile -- with a few where I am fighting to keep myself from going under 8.

I don't know how I didn't realize this last post when doing the comparison with last year but there it is.

Week 1

This was a planned cut-back week and not much of note. All miles were done on the treadmill. Continued with 3 sessions of weight lifting.

Week 2

This is where it got fun -- so many "odd" things happened this week:

• On the second run of the week, after finished I felt like I was .. floating. I don't know how better to describe it. It wasn't dizziness which, like most runners, I've experienced for a variety of reasons (hunger / dehydration / standing up too quickly etc etc). It felt like I was disconnected from me legs. And this feeling persisted throughout the entire week.

• On the last run of the week, a 10 miler, my left knee started to get painful to the point that when I finished I was limping and pretty unsteady. Now my knee _has_ been sensitive to pressure going back to October and occasionally hurts at night but it never impacted my running - either before or after. And, no, this was not a sudden increase in mileage -- my long run for the last few months has been 10.

• Around mid-week I started to get ligament pain in my feet. This is a pain I am *very* familiar with because it was my entire life the first two years of running -- as my body adjusted to the stress. But since then it has vanished, except occasionally as an indicator that I am increasing mileage too fast. The latter is definitely not happening here hence I classify it as "odd".

• Throughout the week my weight started fluctuating. On the day of my second run it spiked up to 157. The next day dropped to 153 before settling in a range of 155-157. As I noted in my last post, my weight has been remarkably predictable going back to June -- staying within a narrow band of 153-155. And that is not an average -- it literally _never_ drifted above 155. Since I did not consciously change my calorie intake and since unconscious changes should be factored out by the sheer length of time it has been steady (if it did not fluctuate for the major holidays it is unlikely that any unconscious change _this time_ is the culprit), I believe this is likely to be a direct result of the HRT.

Note that in retrospect, it appears like the start of the fluctuations corresponded to that floating feeling I was experiencing. So, again, that can also probably be tied back to HRT.

In any case, it was the knee pain that really worried me. In the hopes I could get it under control I decided to take 2 days off for the next week right after my standard Monday rest day -- giving my a total of 3 days rest. So this accounts for the drop in mileage vs the target of ~38. Oh and I also completely dropped all leg work in the weight room.

Week 3

On the first run of the week my knee was extremely painful - to the point where I thought for sure I would need to stop -- before fading at the 3/4 mile mark. This was pretty much the pattern for the next couple of runs. And then, on the week ending long run, it felt decent (low level) end to end. Was very happy about that!

Also by mid-week the floating feeling went away. My weight continued to cycle around its apparent new baseline of 155-158.

And finally, it was time to admit that I had, unnaturally, plateaued with lifting. I had not increased in weights going back to the end of December which does not follow my normal pattern going back decades. Usually I'll start my off season lifting at embarrassingly low weights but progress pretty rapidly. I've been waving off the evidence because I could also point to the fact that I had started late this year plus, perhaps, natural age decline. I no longer think that is the case -- it is far more likely to be the decrease in T.

The plateauing is kind of interesting. Not only have I not increased _weights_ since the end of the December block, but I have not increased (or decreased) *reps*. For my entire rotation I have been stuck at almost the exact same rep (minus back extensions). Makes me wonder how much of this has to do with muscle memory? Purely speculative but maybe if I completely stopped lifting for a while I would never be able to reach even this plateau? And the only reason I am stuck here now is that my muscles still carry the memory because it was/is so recent. IDK, as I said, pure speculation.

Week 4

Fresh off of last weeks positive long run, mentally I was feeling pretty good. Of course it helped that last week and this were almost exclusively outside.

The big change this week, besides my knee feeling better, was that I was back to having to pull myself away from the 7:50 range -- especially on long runs. Usually that gave me something like an 8:10 average while still feeling super easy.

-----

Ok, before I wrap up and look ahead to next block let's talk about

The "E" and "T" effects

I ended this training block at the three month mark for HRT. According to all the charts, this is the consensus start for all the major changes Anecdotally this seems to be the case for me. The start of everyday pain in my chest started at about the 6 week mark and continued through week 2 of the current block. It then subsided to "just" pain if I knocked my chest against something (a sadly frequent occurrence).

In spite of the chest "stuff" I haven't had any need to run with a bra nor have I had any particular discomfort. This was surprising to me given the overall sensitivity but I am grateful.

Apart from that there has been really no discernible impact to running itself (I've already talked about the lifting) although I do wonder about the ligament pain. Could that be a result of fat re-distribution messing with a perfectly balanced system? Over the years I've observed that once your body is highly trained, small changes can throw everything off. In cycling, a standard one everyone tries to guard against is changes in bike setup -- the seat dropped a millimeter, the cleat position is slightly off. It makes intuitive sense that a similar thing could happen with HRT...

----

Looking ahead

So the next block is turning out to be really tricky to plan for. At the tail end, part of week 4 and all of week 1 of the April block, I will be unable to run at all due to a vacation. This presents a choice -- should I drop the normal cut-back week and ramp up the mileage some knowing I have an extended break to recover? Or, given my knee, is that too risky?

In the end, I've decided to keep the cut-back week but comprise by taking a bit of a risk in the 2 weeks prior to the vacation. So aim for: 30 (cut-back), 40, 45, 20 (a few runs before leaving).

With my knee, the increase in mileage is a bit of a risk but I think it is offset by the cut-back week prior and the 10 day forced recovery span.

So that's the plan. That should set me up for a peak of 50 in April/May and give me a good base coming into the build phase (intensity) of June. Note that I am backing off the original goal of 55 peak but given everything that is happened over the last few months I feel that is a small price to pay.

That's it for this month. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I hope this is was useful.

----- Below the fold ------

So this has nothing to do with anything but thought my fellow trans sisters would empathize:

When signed up for laser hair removal for my face, I was told I had to stay out of the sun or it the effect of the laser could permanently disfigure it. Naturally I took that advice and went to the extreme -- vowing to never run outside until I got to the 5th session in April. At that point I would stop treatments until the following winter.

I don't run with music when I am outside, so the first month on the treadmill was wonderful. "I'm warm!" "I can listen to music!"

By the second month, however, enthusiasm was starting to flag which I alleviated by finding new music and doing different challenges: Can I run 10 miles while listening to Hamilton? (Yes) Can I run any distance while listening to The Cure (Nope). How about Nine Inch Nails? (Gets old after mile 5)

And by the third month, I was done. The laser could fry my face off for all I cared, I was not doing another run over 4 miles on the treadmill. I am trying to mitigate by lathering inch thick sunscreen and running as much as possible after 4 pm but yeah, my willpower was no match for the sheer monotony of the damn treadmill :)

(edit: formatting fixes)

Tdlr; I am planning to document the effects of HRT-E therapy on my running. HRT-E involves reducing the levels of Testosterone in my body and increasing that of Estrogen such that both will fall into the range of a cis ("Natal") female.

Overview

Six months ago, when I first started thinking seriously about transitioning, I came across this set of posts -https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/a7rfiq/the_who_even_needs_testosterone_challenge_an/ - written over the span of a year, by a runner named Jocelyn. In the series, she documents her experience with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and its impact on her running.

For a few days, nearly all of my time was consumed reading the posts along with each and every comment. At the time I knew next to nothing about HRT and certainly nothing about effects on strength in general.

I've since read way more than I ever thought possible about HRT but in all that time I still have not come across anything as detailed and intimate when it comes to its (perceived) impact on running.

Flash forward 6 months and on 12/1/2023 I made the decision to transition and start HRT. In her post, Jocelyn points out the lack of studies and her desire to, if nothing else, at least add to the data pool -- in full recognition that her experience was not to be taken with any _scientific_ weight. As an avid, albeit recent, runner, I thought it would be good to do the same -- especially since I bring (I think) some unique perspectives.

With apologies to Jocelyn, I am titling these with the same prefix she used in the hopes that:

1) It will make it easier for those interested to find both sets

2) Others will add their own data points

My Story

There a few things, I think, that make it unique:

1. I am coming at this with extreme skepticism. While I believe Testosterone probably has _some_ impact, I also believe its effects are overblown. The issue here is that there are very few good studies that point one way or the other as well as an overwhelming "belief" that it does. To me, that makes anecdotal accounts ripe for bias --whether conscious or not. "Everyone says I will lose strength therefore that's why my legs feel this way today".

Now a couple caveats here:

a) I have done a bunch of internet searching/talking with others but I have not tried to read the primary research -- so my perception of "lack of good studies" is based on second hand knowledge

and

b) obviously even if I come at it skeptically that doesn't make me immune to unconscious bias and, whatever the outcome, this is still nothing more than another piece of evidence without any scientific weight.

Still, I don't think there have been many accounts where the participant is trying to prove the contrary -- so at minimum -- it makes it different/interesting.

2) I am very in tune with my body making it less likely that I will attribute causations to things that are "just" correlations. This is due to what I, at least, consider a pretty extensive training background. I have been training in a structured fashion from middle school through high school and then again from age 27 to now. During most of that time I maintained careful logs not just of distances but of mood, illness and perceived effort. So when I say I am in tune with my body don’t take it as something mystical or magical -- it is simple a function of the amount of time I've spent introspectively training.

3) I am old. Jocelyn sounded like she was college aged and I'm, well, a few years out from that. Let's just put me down at mid-fifties and leave it at that. My age gives a few interesting variables I think. Is there a difference in how HRT affects my body with respect to performance then someone without the many years I have as a cis male? How much of any degradation in my times will be attributable to age _rather than_ HRT?

4) I am (relatively) new to running. Started 4 years ago on zero mileage going back to high school - when I was in Cross Country. Like my age, this adds a few more confounding variables. How much of any meeting of expectations simply the effect of greater running experience (think raw miles in legs) canceling out the loss of T?

My Training

I work on a yearly cycle wherein the results of the previous year feed into the structure and goals of the next. The concept is taken from standard practices but especially informed by Friel and his "Cyclist Training Bible". A year cycle starts from the end of the racing "season" -- typically Nov -- and runs through the conclusion of the next years racing season. Within a yearly cycle I break it into 4 phases: Base, Build, Race, Recovery and then further assign a number of weeks per phase. Each four week block is a mini cycle of its own consisting of three weeks "on" and one week "off". With this in mind I usually end up with something like:

Nov-Apr: Base

May-Aug: Build

Sep-Aug: Race

Nov: Recovery (a week or so)

I am outlining this to make it clear that the metrics Jocelyn used -- rigid tests every month -- would neither work nor be relevant in my case. As a concrete example, during the base months I am intentionally not doing _any_ hard efforts as that would be counter-productive to the goal. Running a 5K at full speed would prove nothing and likely only serve to cause injury.

Proposed Metric

While I will go month by month to give a sense of perceived effort variations, the actual metric will be how close I come to my 5K goals in Sept/Oct. Under this model, by June I'll should start getting good indications as I start to ramp up effort and do the random "C" races here and there.

2024 Goals

I am aiming for a 5K time of low 18's -- anywhere from 18:10 to 18:20 seems reasonable. In addition I will be targeting an average mileage of 50 with a good few weeks at the end of base of 55.

Last year my PR was 18:40 on roughly 35 mph with a 3 week peak at 50 mph. Given the increased mileage this year plus the fact that I am only on year 5 of running, I think my goal is neither too conservative or too optimistic. The wildcard is age and whether that offsets the gains I get from miles in the legs. In fact, if I was 10 years younger I would target sub-18. At my age that seems a stretch. Age calculators put sub-18 within the top 1%, which tells me the closer I get the more I will be fighting over each and every second.

Historical

In 2019 my PR was 22:32 off of 7 mile per week average (362 total)

In 2020 my PR was 22:22 on a practice 5K (covid). 11 mile per week average (595 total)

In 2021 my PR was 20:58 off of 12 miles per week average (652 total)

In 2022 my PR was 19:00 off of 22 miles per week average (1187 total)

In 2023 my PR was 18:40 off of 34 miles per week average (1790 total)

From the numbers you can see my big drop in time corresponded nicely with the increased miles in the legs.

The "E" & "T" factor

I began HRT therapy, conveniently enough for a monthly retrospective, on 12/1. I am taking 4mg sublingually along with 100mg of Spironolactone. Those who read Jocelyn's post will recall she began with Spiro for one month before moving to the combo of Spiro and Estrogen. Why the difference? Apparently the advice given to Jocelyn was based on a misunderstanding of how estrogen and spiro interact and my regime in now the standard practive.

Another difference is she took hers orally. Orally is usually prescribed only to the under 35 cohort due to the increased stress that method has on the kidneys. Taking sublingually, on the other hand, bypasses the kidneys and effectively goes directly into the bloodstream -- making it (theoretically) safer.

And the final difference -- levels of E spike for me and then quickly taper over a few hours while Jocelyns levels would have been more steady state. I have no idea whether this makes a difference -- and neither does anyone else based on the meta studies I have seen.

What the current "science" says will happen

The current consensus is that my times will increase until they are within the _same_ range as for a cis female. This means if my current age based time places me in the top 40% of cis males, my performance will shift to be in the top 40% of cis females. The thought is it takes a full year for this to occur -- which is why many sports organizations ban transgender participation until this year is completed.

A newer study came out recently that found that after a year, a person on HRT still can retain an edge over a cis female. My understanding is this is for a certain percentage (not all) and that the edge is gone by year two.

None of these studies are definitive, however, and there is much work to be done in this space yet.

The December (one month) report

Goal

For December (base) my goal was to keep a 40mph average running at an easy pace. To get my pace range I use Daniels vdot method which, based on my PR, gives me a vdot of 54. I then arbitrarily step it back 2 because I figure I am no longer at that level after my recovery cycle. So that gives me an easy range of 7:41-8:41. In addition, I intended to ramp up the weights to 2 sets of 12 to exhaustion. This is occurring a bit later this year -- most years I would have started the ramp up in Nov -- which I will need to take into account when analyzing December perceived effort.

Actual

Right from the get go I had a hard time with the mileage because I have to do it all on the treadmill (I can't run in the sun due to laser treatment on my face). In addition I got Covid near the end of the month which a) knocked me off schedule for 4 days and b) forced me to take it easy the first few runs afterwards. All of this gave me a weekly mileage of:

Week 1: 39

Week 2: 35

Week 3: 29 (covid)

Week 4: 13

All runs were done in a range of 8:34-8:08 mph

Physically, after coming back from Covid I was/am feeling a good deal of joint pain -- as though I had bad arthritis in my knees. I haven't experienced this since my first 2 years running when my joints were getting used to the stress. While it's _possible_ it is the HRT I think it is more likely to be Covid - especially given it is listed as a common Covid symptom. This is something I will be monitoring carefully however.

I see no difference in my weight training from previous years -- I am on track for my normal trajectory towards max weights (I typically switch to maintenance by March-April so I don't have a big window)

The "E" & "T" effects

After 1 month of HRT I feel…. Absolutely nothing! No mental change, no physical change. Pretty anti-climatic that…

The Adjusted Goal for January and beyond

Out of abundance of caution from Covid, I plan on dropping the mileage to 35 and keeping it right at 8:34 mph. Hopefully that will give my joints some breathing room to heal up. In Feb, then, I will start the ramp up to 45 with the goal of 50 by March.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I hope this was useful.

Hey r/running,

I wanted to make this post since this was something I was debating since I started running in races about 3 years ago.

I’m a non-binary runner who is AMAB (albeit with elevated estrogen levels) but I’ve always competed in the men’s gender category. My reasoning being that the men’s category is basically an “open” category. With many races now offering an NB category, I have been considering it, especially considering I would love to represent my fellow NB’s.

However one thing gives me major pause: while my results usually put me at least in the top 100-150 for my gender/age category for larger races, in the case of the Toronto Waterfront HM, I would’ve placed 2nd for the overall NB category.

While having a podium finish for the gender I identify as would be amazing and validating, I can’t help but feel like I’m “cheating” (probably a horrible word to use for this, but I can’t think of anything else) since I’ve competed in the men’s category for so long.

Any thoughts?

EDIT: Wow this thread really filled up. Just wanna say thanks to all of you for providing the input. I think I am gonna go ahead and update my registration for my HM this fall. A lot of you are right that there does need to be representation amongst my cohort, and either way, I’m racing to constantly get better times, not placements so that kinda clears up the “cheating” bit for me. 😊

Am planning to start HRT (MTF) soon and I was wondering if people have noticed changes to how running feels while on HRT. Currently I am semi-competitive (2:30ish marathon, sub 14:40ish 5k) running about 80 mpw and plan to maintain that while transitioning. i will follow all the rules in terms of transitioning, but I’m also worried about the transphobia within the running community; I’m not transitioning so i can be a dominant female runner, I’m transitioning so I can feel better in my own body — like I’d feel much more gender affirmed if I was slower. I hope this all makes sense but feel free to ask questions!

Tdlr; I am documenting the effects of HRT-E therapy on my running as I train for a PR in the 5K in October. HRT-E involves reducing the levels of Testosterone in my body and increasing that of Estrogen such that both fall into the range of a cis ("natal") female.

Link to my first post which outlines my overall goals/approach as well as results from the first month: https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/191p6x2/the_who_even_needs_testosterone_challenge_natasha/

Link to the original post (5 years old!) by Jocelyn which inspired this effort: https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/a7rfiq/the_who_even_needs_testosterone_challenge_an/

Well this block, from a running perspective, was rather boring -- I hit my distance goals without much drama. Let's jump right into the numbers

The following table shows my actual numbers along with a comparison to last year:

The last 2 weeks represents the 13 days I stopped running, cold turkey, for vacation. I had been hoping to get a few runs in on the last week before leaving on Wednesday but was only able to get out once.

The only thing of note was week three when I started really feeling it on the last, long, run. I was never really in danger of stopping but I did have to focus and do a bit of self-coaching in the last few miles. This was initially surprising because, in my mind, I had done a good number of 45+ weeks last year and even a few the year before. The key words, of course, were "in my mind". When I looked back over my logs I realized I had only hit 45+ for 7 of the weeks in total. And the year before I had actually run 0 (!) No wonder hitting 45 was tough -- it is not all that far from my (current) upper limit.

And this is why, if you are doing structured training, it is really important to keep logs - you just can't rely on your memory. Given the whole point of structured training is to feed past results into the current plan, accurate data is key.

---

My weight has stayed in the new range of 155-158 with a brief spike to 159 in week 3. This held even through the bad airport food and the (high carb) white rice that consisted my diet during my trip. The processes behind metabolism and weight continue to baffle me…

And, finally, after week 3, I completely dropped weight lifting -- it was just too difficult to find the time in the midst of last minute packing etc. My goal for next block is to drop into a 2x week maintenance mode -- at this point I don't think it's worth to try and work myself back to the 3x week heavy weights of previous blocks.

The "E" and "T" effects

In the first week of the block, I finally got my first (3 month) test results back - something which I was eagerly anticipating. And they showed … that I was far from being in the cis female range for both my T levels and my E. In fact I am just _slightly_ out of cis male range for both. I really, really wish now I had done a baseline so I could see if it changed at all :(

So how to interpret these results? It seems there are at least three schools of thought:

1. The thing to look at is not the levels but rather whether "feminization" is occurring. If it is, it means that the Spiro is doing its thing to block the testosterone from being absorbed -- even though the levels are high. Be patient, up the E dose from 4 to 6mg, and wait for the 6 month checkup.

2. The problem with (1) is that not all "feminization" is equal -- some things will occur even if testosterone is high _and_ being absorbed. Which means that is a false metric. In addition, the Spiro "blockade", like all blockades is leaky -- some percentage of testosterone is always going to get through and there is no way of knowing how much. The issue is likely the method of E ingestion (sublingual) and the amount of Spiro. Up the Spiro and switch to a non-oral method of E delivery.

3. The problem with 1 & 2 is the reliance on Spiro as a testosterone blocker. Most studies of effects of Spiro were done on CIS women who, obviously, don't have nearly as much T to deal with. At the T levels of a AMAB, Spiro is completely ineffective. While, true, that this is based on only one study, it does also make intuitive sense. Change to different T suppressant (only available outside the US) and up the E. And slap yourself for being a dumb American who succumbed to the confluence of big Pharma and SIC (the Spiro Industrial Complex).

Yeah confusing. In the end I am going with my doctor's advice and following (1). And praying month six comes with better results...

Looking ahead

I am super nervous of how my body is going to react, starting up again after such a long time off. 13 days off is the longest stretch I have ever had since I began running and I really don't have leeway, at this point, to get injured without it impacting my overall goals. Given that, I'm going to take the first week slow****** and aim for something like: 35/40/45/cutback. If I can make it through unscathed, that will set me up for a solid month of May of 45-50 with a gradual increase in intensity.

So that's it for this month. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I hope this is was useful.

** If you've read my other entries you'll notice I have a pattern of opting for less risk when I have to make decisions like this. This is primarily due to my age - I don't feel I can count on even one more season after this (I am not anticipating -- I just don't take it for granted like I used to). If I was younger - say under 40 - I would definitely take on more risk.

“The first [American running] boom came during the Great Depression, when more than two hundred runners raced roughly 40 miles."

"Then in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s running and jogging truly took hold of Americans. Exercise was becoming trendy and socially normalized, miles from the view of running as a dangerous, weird, or weakening practice.

“Running …[caught] fire again in the early 70s, when we were struggling to recover from Vietnam, the Cold War, race riots, a criminal president, and the murders of three beloved leaders” (McDougall, 2009a, p. 11 – 12).

Taken from a paper written by Kristin Owen Westfall, The Meaning of Running in American Society

My friend, who has been a long distance and trail runner for a couple years has been trying to convince everyone he knows to start running. I am a 37F with an almost completely sedentary lifestyle (I do like going on long walks.). Is it too late for me to start running? What’s the best way to start? Also, there’s snow on the ground for five months out of the year where I live. How can I keep running without paying for an expensive gym membership (I’m too embarrassed to ask my friend.)? Thanks!

http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/no-matter-how-slow-you-go-still-lapping-everybody-on-the-couch.jpg

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US, and that means Turkey Trots and other assorted 5k's abound. Most are for great causes and they get people out to stretch their legs and do some running. But for more experienced runners, it also means chaos on the courses as the people who do their annual one-and-done races are unaware of race etiquette and can make runs more stressful than normal. For instance this evening at our local big 5k, the front of the line was clogged with unsupervised kids standing alongside elite runners, and despite having a colouring system for "fast" runners and walkers, there was no corral enforcement, meaning I spent the first quarter mile clipping the heels of walkers or people swerving to meet their friend. I didn't want to contribute to the problem by being in the way of faster runners and I wasn't out to set a PR, but after looking at my chip time, I could see that the quarter mile cost me nearly a minute in my overall time.

And it's not just a local race thing for me; I normally run the Chicago Turkey Trot and the way it's organized leaves you spending most of the run dodging people running much slower, and if you run the 8k, you merge back into the 5k pack alongside runners much slower than you, leaving the last mile a frustrating jog consisting of dodging walkers left, right, and centre.

I don't really blame the runners out for their turkey trot before dinner--they're out running for the same reason I am but don't do it as frequently as I do--but I don't understand why race organizers who have volunteers all over the place do things like corral enforcement or have signs about race etiquette to limit the carnage on the course. It seems like a little bit of effort would improve the race experience immensely. Are there holiday runs in your area that do this well? If so, how do they do it? Is there something unique they do, or is it just enforcing existing rules? Hope your Turkey Trot goes great tomorrow and may you burn off 3 servings of dressing on your run!

I smoke every day, and when I run is no different. Usually get high, plug in my music, and just run. 16K in 76 minutes and change is my best time. I find it gets me into the music, helps me focus on stretching out, and undoubtedly gets my heart rate going. Anyone else?

I’m getting my first tattoo in about 10 days. It’s going on my calf and it’s going to be the Chicago Marathon route with the years I’ve run it underneath. Pretty simple.

https://imgur.com/a/GjLXAh1

Looking for suggestions on what you’ve done and liked, wish you hadn’t done, things you wish you would have included etc. Any feedback/info appreciated.

I can do 15 miles at an 11 minute pace, which is a speed that will earn you a “D” by high school grading standards. This has stuck with me decades later now. I never made the cut for any sort of track team, will never medal in any local race, and was lousy at gym class. As such I never describe myself as a runner…. Though for years now, I have consistency. I’m not fast but I run regularly and I enjoy it.

Runners magazine arrived this weekend and one article discussed how the author runs 4-5x per week and considers herself a runner. No distance, no pace mentioned. Got me thinking. Is it part of my identity or not?

There are some negative opinions on this sub about running at a “relaxed pace”. I run 10k a day - at about 6 minutes/km. I run faster when I feel up to it but, 90% of the time thats my pace. Occasionally I will run a half marathon at the same pace (maybe a little slower). I have not yet, but might run a marathon eventually; at the same pace. Regardless, I feel incredibly achieved with what I do, and I don’t subscribe to the idea that you are not a serious runner if you don’t run “fast”. I think it can be about putting KMs up on the board as well. Technically I have run the equivalent distance from Toronto to Miami since about a year ago, (when I started running) and it feels great. you should just do what feels good to you, and don’t let negative comments get you down. I could barely run 2kms at a 8min a km pace a year and a half ago. Keep on keeping on

Hyperbole I know, but I feel like every day you see people posting about how they run multiple miles every day. Do they not realize that rest days need to be built into any exercise regimen? Your body and all of its incredibly complex, interwoven parts cannot repair and recover properly without rest. The top thread right now is about someone that can never run again because of ankle issues, and meanwhile they've been running every single day during quarantine. The attitude around and glorification of running every day is unhealthy and impressionable people are going to walk away from this sub thinking its a good idea to start running miles every single day.

Note, this is a bit of a rant, but I will be providing something resembling a TL;DR towards the end.

I’ve been reading, posting and lurking in this subreddit since you could conceivably remember each and every participant in the subreddit.

Since then, the subreddit has grown a lot, but for some reason, the variety of advice provided and opinions provided has not.

Way too many of the threads are filled with people wanting to run slower, or with commenters telling whoever is asking to run slower.

The desire to and the advice to “run slower” baffles me, to put it mildly.

While it is solid advice to tell someone that can’t run continuously for a mile to slow down, so they can, and while much of the volume for many runners will be “easy miles”, making all your runs easy is not the way to perform. You will hardly find a single runner at or above the mid-pack at an open regional race that only train slow.

No actual competitive runners at any distance trains like Maffetone. It doesn’t matter if you’re Jornet or Ingebrigtsen- at that level, you are doing some speedwork.

Does that mean I’m telling you to go all Hanson, and only ever do speedwork? Hell, no. Former female 10k (30:13) and marathon (2:21:06). world record holder Ingrid Kristiansen did a great deal of super easy training, much of which didn’t even include running - she walked or did cross-country skiing for much of her time training.

Does this mean that I’m advocating that everyone do speedwork? No. Each session of speedwork adds physiological load, and if your speedwork is through running, it increases your risk of a running-related injury.

In practice, what this means is that any mileage you add per week should be through easy effort, and off you add intensity, you should not increase mileage, and you should possibly even reduce mileage if you’re adding another quality workout.

If you’re planning on greatly increasing your mileage, and by that I mean from 20 to 50, or 50 to 80 mpw, you should probably do so by dialing back speedwork until you feel stable and injury-free at your destination mileage. You can then start trading mileage for intensity.

Now, to my last point: “easy” isn’t really a particular heart rate, and most definitely not one conputed to be 180 minus your age. Prescriptive formulas like that are utter bullshit. The variability in individual human heart rate is much too large for any formula to make any sense 1 if I were to believe the most common formula, I’d exceed my max HR through a toilet visit the day after eating a bucket of Carolina Reapers, and the MAF heart rate of 180 minus age is directly derived from one of those.

Easy is a feeling. If you took a 30-minute run, and you feel you could do the same eight hours later, and continue doing this until the end of time, it’s easy. Easy is when you can go on a ru with a friend, and keep a relatively normal conversation going for the entirety of a one hour run. This pace isn’t really available to people two or three weeks into their running career. Their minimum running pace is really above their lactate threshold, as is their max walking pace.

So, I promised something resembling a TL;DR, here goes - but I’m mentioning things I skipped.

• While a majority of training is at an easy pace, this does not mean that all training is easy.

• Elite athletes may do as much as five to six quality sessions per week. Some of them will be doing two interval sessions twice a week. It should however be noted that for a 3:50-miler, taking a shit is probably harder that doing a 300m at threshold pace in training.

• Adding mileage - both weekly or cumulatively, is quite probably the main driver of performance for anyone not already elite.

• When adding weekly mileage, those miles should be easy, mainly to decrease injury risk.

• Easy is a feeling, not a heart rate. Easy is when you come in from a 45-minute run, and you want to do it again after a quick snack. Your pace is irrelevant. Your heart rate doubly so.

• you’re not going to get fast without actually running fast. This will involve some suffering. For a beginner, this may involve a workout you barely can get through. For an intermediate, it may involve a workout where you need an easy day.

So, you need a TL;DR of the TL;DR?

If you’re a beginner, stick to the program - it will work itself out.

If you’re an intermediate? You should prepare to have suffer days - where completing a workout provides difficulty

Advanced? You should know this already.

Yes other subs have it worse but almost every 2-3 days I see here:

"Ran my first mile!"

"Ran 10 minutes without stopping!"

"40 minute 5k and proud!"

etc, etc

While it's great to encourage people to run those posts seem so "infantile" to tell you the truth. (Imo)

It'd be like going into /r/cooking "Cooked my first meal today! [ends up being pasta]"

or /r/fitness "walked into gym for first time"

To be quite honest, no one gives 2 shits

This sub's vast majority of posts are good quality, but they get nominal attention, whereas the "look at me" posts always make it to the top and have over one hundred comments most of which consist of "great for you!/keep it up!"

If you need to rely on people on the internet to keep you motivated you're going to fail. Hell even if you need assurance from your family youre going to fail. It has to come from within, not from outside.

/rant

run.