Running Giant: My Journey

Yesterday was a very hard day, today was just as painful until I started to stretch out my quads, then running this evening got rid of the remainder of the pain. I am doing much better now. I have six miles to run in the morning still, and am trying to figure out when I will doing it. I am feeling so much better now than I was 2 hours ago. When I was teaching Karate I had students who complained about experiencing pains a day or two after a workout (I also have a wife who had the same issue when she did karate). My answer to them was always the same, "Repeat some of the workout you did to cause the pain you feel." Well I get my come-up-ins, my wife said to me yesterday. "Why don't you try doing some of the work out you did to cause the pain..." Yeah I was feeling pretty pathetic after that, receiving advice that I had given so many times before. So tonight I got to do what I needed and rework the muscles that were bothering me. Overall I didn't think

This is going to be a two part post. First off, I missed my wake up time to run this morning, so I have to modify schedule for the day. Unlike last weekend I am not putting running at the mercy of playing, because running is fun, and I have some serious goals when it comes to running. So my schedule today will be to run at around 2pm or 3pm. I will be parking my car up at the top park in Provo Canyon and running home from there, with a loop around Riverwoods. I picked up my GU Roctane and grape electrolyte tablets yesterday. So I am prepared to utilize the nutrition I will be running with. Also yesterday I picked up a little plastic bottle thinking I would do the trick with Gels that was suggested at the running nutrition panel I went to, squeeze them into the little plastic bottle, and put water with it to make them easier to take. I got home to realize I got a couple of different flavors, so that won't be happening today. I also picked up my favorite sports beans for my shorter

I ran this morning and tried my little system of run until 3/4 a mile then run faster. I survived the first two miles like that but 3 and 4 were not going to happen. I am consistent with about a 13 minute mile for all 4 miles right now, which is nice. But I want to be consistent and faster, more important I want to complete a marathon. Saturday I will be running 11 miles. It seems like a bog task to me. I am a little intimidates by the distance. I will be 2 miles off from running a half marathon, which I run one month from today, I am expecting to PR, :). I am scared to run these long distances. They are intimidating. The more and more I read about marathons the more overwhelmed I get by the distance. I am running this because I want to, and I have to remember that every time I start to get overwhelmed. Right now I am trying to decide if I want to run another race after this one. I think I do but want to experience what it's like first before I decide. Maybe running a

Have you ever noticed when you get really into something you start talking to yourself? It may be an internal conversation or out loud (people look at your funny when it's out loud and in public). I do it when I am into a piece of art I am working on and when I run. It goes to show that I'm getting into running if I am doing things during it that were almost exclusive to working on a painting. Tonight my conversation was the repeating of my affirmation to the best of my recollection. I was telling myself over and over again that My legs are strong, my lungs are strong, and my mind is strong. It worked, I made it through my distance I needed to hit tonight. Tonight I did a measly 5 miles... who am I kidding 5 miles is still quite a bit of distance, and I have learned to respect the distances I am facing each run. I am excited for my 4 mile run Thursday because it's another short run for the week, but I miss out on the miles past 4 where I start to find my rhythm. I

Right now in my training book I am supposed to write a positive affirmation paragraph about me and running my marathon, and training. Right now I am still trying to figure out what to write and will include it at the end of this post. Today is the first day of an overall increase in distance. I will be doing a total of 24 miles this week. Today: 4 miles Tuesday: 5 miles Thursday: 4 miles Saturday: 11 miles I can run that in my own way because I am a marathoner. Today I tried something a little different when I ran. Let me explain my thought process. I want to improve my mile speed. So I figured I could do that through pushing myself harder on my runs. So here's what I did, my 2-3 minute walk warm up and then started my run. I ran at my regular pace of a 13 minute mile until I reached 3/4 a mile, then upped the speed to an 11-ish minute mile until I reached my 1 mile, then stopped and walked for 2 minutes and repeated the process for miles 2 and 3 also. Mile 4 I

Total Scheduled Distance:  21 miles Actual Miles: 14 RPE: 3.375 (according to the Law of Averages) Today I did a total of 10.14 miles. I had a 5k that started at 8, and finished with my new 5k PR of .... 41:19. Then after that I went directly to the gym to finish as much as I could of my 10 miles before my 11:00 a.m. geek out. I wish I would have just kept running instead of getting my geek on. I could have had more fun running. I made it 4 miles at the gym and it was good. I was a dripping mess of liquid awesome by the time I was finished. So it was a total of an hour and 40 minutes to get my seven miles in (mile 7 was really lazy compared to the rest. Miles 4-6 took 2 minutes longer than miles 1-3 (if I would have pushed a little harder when I had the energy I could have done a better time). My last three miles took place 5 hours after the end of mile 7. My wife and I went up Provo Canyon and did a half mile job, half mile walk until we reached 2.75 miles then we ran in t

Today I had the chance to run before school. The last song that played during my workout was A Matter of Time  by the Foo Fighters (it ended with 1 second left on my cool down). My cool down consists of me going at my walking pace until I get tired of it then start my methodic run again for the last two minutes. I ran slower than usual (a 14:00 minute average mile, with my 4th mile being my fastest at just under 13 minutes. Since I have been sick for the past week I figured that would be a good call. I wish I would have gotten out of bed and to the gym 30 minutes sooner, then I would have gotten to my 5 miles. It takes just over an hour right now for me to make it 5 miles, I should be able to do it in under an hour when I am feeling 100%. It was really nice to run today. I felt more alive doing that than being in bed sick. The little break was nice. I am ready to conquer the treadmill! So this Saturday I am running a 5k, and want to shave 7 minutes off of my previous time.

I thought I would be able to start running yesterday, I was wrong, today I was good until I played racquetball, it looks like one physical activity a day is what I can handle right now. So I will do my run in the morning. I will also do a run Friday to make up for all of my down time. Don't worry, I am still on track for my marathon and will be back on track with running 100% by Monday. Running miles for this week should break down as follows. Thursday: 5 miles Friday: 3-5 miles Saturday: 10 miles Sunday: a 1-2 mile walk. -Riley 

I am still sick, it turns out I got... Really really sick. I have been out of commission since Thursday night. I am on a steady diet of fluids to keep hydrated (good m aeration training). I cheated and got a sandwich today which I will regret later (but solid food was so tasty). Pro's about being sick... It cleaned out my body of all the bad fuel I have consumed (junk / fast food). And weight loss. Con's about being sick.... Everything else. I should get a slow 3 miles in tomorrow morning, and will try for 5 on Wednesday. Until next time... -Riley

I was in bed almost all day yesterday with a high fever and stomach issues, getting up every hour to... Well you know do sick person with stomach issues stuff. I was starting to feel better last night, my fever broke and I started to plan my run (which never happened). I was up all night loosing it from both ends. Running scared me,what would I do if I got sick half way through the run? So I am still in bed, and am missing my eight mile run and am going onto my 10mile run next Saturday. Stay healthy and have a good day. -Riley

Decisions are often hard to make (easier now that I'm a marathoner, that what my training guide said to call myself). I have been contemplating if I should drop one of my PE classes, and decided I needed to. So as of 5 minutes ago I dropped swimming. I needed more time in the morning for running and getting ready so I don't smell like chlorine until I make it home between 8 and 9 at night. Today I did 3.06 miles, it wasn't as great of a day as last night was because I didn't prepare for my run as well as I should have (especially after what I learned last night). I missed breakfast and relied on the tootsie rolls at the gym for some quick calories to burn. It was a bad idea. I am completely spent after minimal energy out put. I have my second 5k coming up in just over a week and am hoping to break the 40 min. threshold that I know so many people are stuck at. :) I can do it, because I'm a marathoner not just a 5k'er. Until Next Time... -Riley

Tonight I had to squeeze in my run I slept through this morning. And because of that I have another 3/4 of a mile run to hit my distance goal for the week. Tomorrow morning I will be getting in the last of my pre long run miles. I made it to a nutrition class for running at the Runner's Corner tonight. Here's what I learned The benefits of caffeine on a long runs: With caffeine it is a nutritional supplement that should not be consumed before a race, because it can hurt your time if you are running to get a better time by causing a rapid jump in consumption of fuel in the body, causing the wall to happen faster. Once you start taking it during a race you need to continue at regular intervals. When running the body will metabolize caffeine differently, and utilizes it for endurance energy. The correct time to use gels: A general rule is to wait until you are 60 min into the run. The every 30-45 minutes after that. This is according to multiple record holder

Today I didn't want to run, and my effort showed it. I made it maybe a total of one mile running and the other 2 walking. My feet hurt and legs were tired the entire time. I have 5 miles to do in the morning, and am not feeling too optimistic about it. But I will go forward and do it, and do it the best I can. My new shoes are really comfortable, and I need to put two new lace spots on each shoe so I can secure them around my ankle more effectively. My goal for tomorrow is to get to 5 miles, but 4.5 is acceptable. I nee to get to work on my painting due tomorrow. Until Next Time... -Riley

This isn't Sweat It's Liquid AWESOME! Week Scheduled Distance: 17 Actual Distance: 16.58 I saw that little tag line and it fits me to a tee. I have liquid ASWESOME around me all the time. Today I really didn't think I could finish 7 miles. I did it at the gym (which seems to be the story of the week). I discovered the discomfort of chafing, and now have pro glide to help with that. I also picked up a second pair of running shoes to make sure mine last as long as possible. I was going through shoes at the Runner's Corner (where they are always super helpful) and was about to decide on a pair of the newer Altra Instinct 1.5 when I saw on the clearance table a pair of blue Altra Torin, in a size 14. I asked the price, they were $30 less than the instincts and a minute or 10 later I was walking out the door with them. Today I christened them with 7.3 miles. I need to add two more holes for lacing so I can do the ankle securing lacing. My run was nice.

It wasn't the the run that was hard or making it to my swimming class on time that was difficult, it was the cup of yogurt and my meds and supplements for breakfast that were, I finally got to eat at 1pm after my run at 830, swimming class at 10, and art history at 1130. Oh glorious food. I had a BBQ Blue Bacon Burger from the smoke house today for lunch, it was quite the lunch (I wish I had a second they are that good) combined with the mac and cheese, and a cool glass of water... I need more water. My run was a little short due to getting out the house a little late. I should be able to make up the distance Saturday with my run. I will be starting on a different part of the Provo River Trail than I usually do (about a mile and a half away. I am hoping to run at a better pace than last week (by starting out slower). I really love my GPS for these outdoor runs, I am able to measure my distance better. I am really starting to hammer my shoes with the distance I am putting on

This morning was a hard morning to get out of bed. I just wanted to sleep. But my sleep was becoming increasingly restless and my conscience was saying things like, "Don't justify your way out of this run. You will regret it," and "You need time to finish your entire run, you want to do this outside!" My lazier side lost (barley). I made it to the gym (not my outdoor run like I originally planned) but I made it out and that's what mattered today. I cut my run short so I could make it to my first class of the day, swimming. I did 200 meters, and tweaked my shoulder and right thigh (they are doing better after resting most of the afternoon as I painted my comp (in the process of doing art you often have stages, Thumbnails, Roughs, Comps, then final piece). So swimming beat me up, and I am looking forward to being more than just the underwater no form swimmer. Whose idea was it to run on Tuesday again... oh yeah mine. I am off to my next class, until

Today was a good run. It's really nice outside right now and I should have ran in the canyon but I was feeling lazy and ran at the gym. I did set my incline to 2 (what ever that means). By the time I left the gym I was spent, then I went to the car and got a peach ring (or 2) and munched on those as I started my Gatorade Rain Lime flavor (it's a toss up between that and grape rain for the best flavor). I was doing some reading this morning when I was procrastinating going to the gym. It was about energy gels. I have some cliff chews on top of my fridge I am going to try on Saturday pre-run when I do my 7 miles (Saturday is also the 4 month mark of the journey). I will also use the gel while I run. It helped a lot this past Saturday and the taste was tolerable. Right now I am mentally prepping for my half marathon in October (but reading as much as I can about strategies. I found one that I tried for the first time last week and did again today with similar success