Just thought I'd drop a couple more handy tips for you new runners out there. Experienced runners already know most of these.

Problem: Where do I secure my keys when I go running?
Solution: Tie it to your shoe laces. Simply choose the ONE or TWO keys you need and remove them from key ring. Untie shoe. Run lace through key chain hole on key, tuck the long part of the key between the tongue and laces of your shoe. Tie shoes as normal but double knot it to ensure shoe doesn't come untied, causing loss of key.

Problem: What do I do with my shirt if I want to take it off durring the run but still get it back.
Solution: 1) If you are returning that way, hang the shirt on a street sign, railing, bush, tree limb, etc at about waist height so you can easily pick it up on the way by. If nothing available at waist height, the ground works as long as you think your shirt won't get trampled on, run over etc. People rarely mess with clothing left lying like that. If you see a street person with a 94-Balls4 shirt, you have met the exception and should meet out punishment with extreme prejudice, make all efforts to secure said shirt and immediately contact me for a reward.
2) Hold shirt by sleeves with neck facing up. Flip it over and over so it wraps up into a long cigar shape, leaving two inches of shirt tail out. Tuck sleeves into waist band of shorts at each oblique muscle (or love handle for some of us old guys). Tuck two inch tail into waist band along back of shorts. Leave "cigar" portion outsid shorts. Your shirt should stay there out of the way the whole time.
3) Bend slightly at the waist and put top of your head into the neck of the shirt. Stop when shirt has not yet covered ears and eyes. (kind of like putting your shirt on upside down). Once you have the shirt on your head, flip the tail of the shirt over your head and tie sleeves in a knot at your forehead. You have just created a "do rag" or modified turban. This should remain on your head securely for entire run.

Problem: Where to keep ID Card on a run.
Solution: Insert ID Card between your wrist and the wrist band of your watch. I prefer to place it between the inside of my wrist (same side as palm of hand) and the buckle of the wrist band. This seems more secure and if the card begins to come loose, the inner wrist is more sensative and lets me notice this before the card falls out. You can put card between outside of wrist and watch face but this is a bit less secure.

Problem: Where to carry toilet paper for emergencies.
Solution: S Fold toilet paper along perforation lines to form one big square. Roll and place in key pocket of shorts or pocket of sweats. If no pocket, place it between waist band of shorts and shirt. This keeps it from touching your skin and absorbing your sweat. I keep it on my right side where my abs meet my obliques. If you are not wearing a shirt, the TP tucked into the waist band of your shorts is going to get wet. Properly S Folded, it should still be usable, though more difficult to unfold.

Other Tips not so much related to solving problems:

1) Don't wear head phones while running. It's illegal on most bases and unsafe on roads and trails because you can't hear on coming traffic, be it vehicles, bikes or pedestrians.

2) If a dog begins to chase you, turn and face him but keep running. Often he will stop at the street or edge of his yard (the end of his self defined territory).
If this doesn't work, I keep running but turn and lunge and yell at him. This usually works. If not stop running and slowly back away with out making further eye contact. 99% of the time the dog will let you leave his territory peacefully.
For problem dogs, I like to pick up a couple of rocks before I get to their yard. When they start the chase and get within about 15 feet, I cock my arm to throw the rock and they usually back down. If not, I let fly with the rock. I've also got some dog mace but have yet to try it. I have a buddy that was chased by a pack of dogs every morning but once he got the mace, they stopped.
If you have two runners, you can pretty much just keep running and feinting attacks and all but the most aggressive dogs will give up. They may follow and put on a good show but they don't actually try to bite.
If a dog gets close enough to bit and actually tries to do so, a kick, punch, or any defence of your choice combined with yelling usually stops them from trying again.
If none of this works, you are SOL and are in a dog fight. Do what ever it takes. BS just choked out his neighbors dog when it bit him so you can always try that.

Hope these tidbits come in handy.

This is some good need to know tips. thanks MC, good part on animal defence <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Another good Tip for the ID cards or other items is to use an around the neck holder- besides it keeps your ID handy when base conditons go to bravo and beyond due to exercises and real world threats and you need to show Id everywhere especially overseas!

Why no headphones on base?

And I am guessing the headphones only apply to outside, not inside in a gym, right?

If it's "bravo" unless you're entering an installation or controlled area, you normally won't have to show an ID. If it's beyond bravo, you likely won't be running anyway but will be at your duty section.

It applies primarily outside, and is a safety consideration...you can't hear cars, sirens, etc. while on headphones thus, you could be smashed by a car or emergency vehicle while running...that's the rule in the Air Force.

Good tips, very thorough, to piggy back...
Put your toilet paper in a zip lock plastic baggy for those emergencies. I've lost a few t-shirts before doing so.

If you are doing long runs or planning to it helps to run a 3-5 mile circuit rather than an out and back course. Try and pick a good place like a park with bathrooms and water. I put water and gels/drinks in my trunk and take them for the latter parts of the run. This has been a big help in increasing my mileage and endurance.

Headphone restrictions vary from base to base. Most bases have designated running trails which are separated from traffic and in most cases you can wear headphones but be cautious.

Garret,
I like the idea of plastic to keep the TP dry but I have managed to get by without it. I may give it a try. Instead of losing the whole shirt, I had a couple of sleevless shirts for a while in College and it wasn't because I was trying to show off my arms.

I don't think you need water or gel for the typical runs we do. Are you going to get water or gel during runs in the pipeline? No, so why get in the habit now? If you need water during a run of 8-10 miles, you are not hydrating enough in the first place. After 10 miles, I can see it but then there isn't really a need to run 10 miles or more to get ready for the Pipeline. You can if you really want to but it isn't necessary. I am not a big believer in gel. I don't think you need it for anything less than a marathon. By the time you deplete your stored carbs to the point the gel makes a physilogical distance, you should be done with any running distance in the Pipeline.

It is a good idea to pick routes with restrooms. In addition to restrooms at parks, construction sites have handy port a potties, and fast food restaruants work in a pinch too, as do public buildings. If you use the last two examples, keep your shirt so you are less conspicuous when you enter.

I just don't like wearing headphones because I want to hear other runners, bikers or other hazards. More importantly, I want to hear my environment, not music when I run. I like to let my mind wander and music tends to direct my mood rather than let the run do so. I understand many people feel it keeps them focused and energized. If so, keep it up as long as it is safe and legal.

Another tip: Keep a PT Log book.
It will improve your consistancy and you can use it to compare how effective various work outs are for you, trace sources of injury (high milage, certain exercise) or note when you are over training (same effort brings slower times or fewer reps).
Also, your old PT Log can serve as an inspiration to try harder now or to bring back old favorite exercises you have forgotten. They can also be used to keep your ego in check. Sometimes when I see a new kid's Run times, I like to think I was SOOO much faster than him. That's when I dig out my old log book and see that I wasn't all that fast and if I look at my special notes, I really don't feel so smug. It's hard to think you were great when a female uses you to pace her through a 10K. And for the record I did beat her...just not by much.

If you don't wanna keep log book after log book. Runnersworld.com has a free online logbook that also let's you keep track of your shoe mileage also.

What's y'alls take on shorts? They're obviously not the most impprtant piece of gear, but they can make a difference, right? The new USAF PT shorts seem kind of bulky/heavy to me. I've really started enjoying the skimpy catchmedomes.

one more that i might add if you dont mind... if the ground around the track is not level with the track or is unstable dont run too close the the edge to try and 'get a quicker time' you could step off the edge and injure your ankles... and it sucks

Ever wonder how much changes in slope, type of surface, and elevation affect your pace? I recently had an opportunity to train at a variety of terrains, surfaces and elevations and here are my not so scientific findings:

Hills:
For any run where relative effort, elevation and surface type are similar, pace varies directly with slope.
Ex: Sea level run in Qatar on flat roads yielded 7:45 pace
Near sea level run on hilly Indiana roads yielded 8:45 pace

If the run is all up hill, you will slow a great deal. (Increasing slope yields increase in time to cover distance)

If the run is all down hill, you will speed up a great deal.
(Decreasing slope yields decreasing time to cover distance)

Basically, you never make up for the effort used running up hill when you run down hill because a lot of energy is lost as your "break" to maintain control. If your running route is fairly balanced between up hills and down hills, you will run slower for the same effort as running on flat terrain.

Surface:
For any run where relative effort, terrain and elevation are similar, running pace varies inversely with the firmness of the running surface.
Ex. Running on a paved road at sea level on Hunter AAF yielded 7:50 pace.
Running on a soft sandy beach in Savannah yielded 9:00 pace.
The firmer the surface, the more energy is available to move you forward. When running on soft surfaces, much energy is absorbed by the squishy surface.

Elevation:
For any run where relative effort, terrain and surface type are similar, pace varies directly with elevation.
Ex. A run on a dirt trail on a hilly golf course in Nairobi at an elevation of 5700 feet MSL yielded a pace of 9:45 per mile
A run on a hilly dirt trail in a park in Louisville at an elevation of 700 feet MSL yeilded a pace of 8:50 per mile.

Higher elevation yields greater time to cover same distance.

The higher you go above sea level, the less oxygen is available because there is less ambient air pressure to hold the molecules close together (Dalton's Law of Partial Pressure). I think the following is a good guide:
You lose about 10 secs per mile for every 1000 feet above your accustomed training elevation and gain about 8 secs per mile for every 1,000 feet below your accustomed training elevation. I'm sure the actual change in pace is more of a curve, getting steeper as elevation increases, but this is after all a non scientific group of observations. After about 10,000 feet MSL all bets are off as I have very little experience up there. Above 15,000 feet MSL, serious issues arrise due to low Partial Pressure of Oxygen and I don't advise training at these elevations.

Just some fun observations, hope they help.

I have been training running on the beach almost all my life, As soon as me feet hit concrete or paved road, i feel like I can fly.