11-30-13 New Pillows and New Socks... that's a good Saturday!

Scheduled Distance: 19

Actual Distance: 19.54

Average RPE: 4.875

Miles on Black Torins: 218.24

I find it somewhat disturbing that I really don't like running in the morning. It makes sense I guess, I don't like waking up in the morning, getting out of bed in the morning, or even eating in the morning. I understand that I sound a little crazy when I say these things, but alas they are true. But I still managed to roll out of bed around 8:30 a.m. it was quite the feat. After I woke up I went to my two stores that have all the fashion sense I can muster now a days, Costco & Runner's Corner. They happen to be right next door to one another and by my bank (a triple threat when it comes to getting running gear on sale on Small Business Saturday). Most people don't know this about me but I am a supporter of small businesses like the Runner's Corner, Epic Puzzles and Games, Board Game Revolution, Dragon's Keep, Game Night Games, Salt Lake Running Company, The Smoke House (BBQ), and more. I still shop the big stores as well, but if I can put money back into a local businesses, I will... Oh yeah, at the Runner's Corner they had this amazing sale, half off on all Socks until noon. Also Sports Beans, buy one get one free. So this half off on socks extended even to compression socks. I didn't want to have the same problems I did with the last pair that I picked up (them not covering my leg correctly). I went with a brand that I have sen many runners wear, in particular the staff at the Runner's Corner wearing them in races I was in where they ran. So I go these killer royal blue stocks (marked L & R). They fit really well too. As I was waiting for my running clothes to dry I walked around in them. I didn't think anything of it until I started running. Then came the end of mile two leg pains... but I was only just over mile one. They came and went quickly. I didn't think anything of it until my ankle started to hurt (turned out my shoes were too tight so I had to tie them again). Right now it's been a half an hour since I ran. My feet don't ache and my legs feel really good. I would say that the socks did there magic, and I will be wearing them race day. Also at the Runner's Corner I picked up a pair of Saucony Kinvara socks and a pair of awesome Asics socks that were both on clearance for half off as well. I will spare the photo I took of my new folded socks.

I did my run today at the gym. I intended on doing it in the canyon but sleep won this morning and I woke up an hour after my wife left, so she wasn't able to take me to my drop off point, which is all my fault. I probably wouldn't have been up at 8:30 accept we have horrible pillows and I couldn't stand sleep on it any more. I went to Costco and picked up 2 new pillows that I wanted to sleep on as soon as I put them in there pillow cases. I got to the gym after errands and working on my homework for just over an hour. So I was able to accomplish a lot more than I usually do when I go running in the middle of the day. I think 8-10 miles is just about right for a long run for me. I am able to get a good run in and burn lots of energy, eat a good meal, and get all my homework done that I need too all in one day. But I have to say that those really long runs tell you a lot about yourself, stretch you more than you are comfortable with, and leave an extremely satisfied feeling inside when you finish it.

When it comes to running, if you do it or not that's alright. But do something. On the day of my marathon it will have been 7 months since I started training. The only regret I have is not the time put in to accomplish my goal, but the quality of time I put in. Because what you put in you also get in return in a greater amount. If I would have put a greater quality in, a greater quality would have come out of it, and I wouldn't be as nervous about finishing in the time allotted to me to do so. If you don't do something physical and are reading this, your life will improve if you add something in. If you have a struggle in eating right like I do, it's time to reign it in and correct it. It's not a new year yet, and you may think I will make it a new years resolution to get healthier, to start being physical, eat right, get the sleep I need, spend more time with the people I love... well I have bad news, most new years resolutions fail. Commit to yourself today and do something about it. I had the chance to get my wife, her youngest brother and her younger sister out and do a health walk on Thanksgiving day while I did my run. I will try to get them to commit to more next year. I dare you to take a step to make a change. Commit to something and then tell everyone and their dog you are doing it. You become more accountable to yourself by bringing others in to the light about what you're doing.

Thanks for reading, I know it was a wordy post today,

-Riley

11-28-13 Earn Your Turkey Run... and I did

So I did a Turkey Run today, and it was 4 miles instead of a 5k (which I rambled about yesterday). My time was 47:42... which is 2 seconds slower than my first 5k time. Right now I am tired, but happy. I got the runners high from a shorter race. I can't believe I did 4 miles as fast as I did my first 5k. It's been almost 4 months and have improved that much. I didn't win a turkey or pie (at least to my knowledge), I left after I took a picture of my posted time.

The run was good.

Today we are having Thanksgiving, I am making a massive 18 lbs. turkey. I will also be making stuffing, gravy, and something else most likely. I make a good Turkey. It will also serve as a great protein source as I do my carb depletion starting Saturday. So here's the theory I picked up from a running nutrition class I went to, I may have said it before but I will do it again. The meals after the Saturday run before the race start a high protein, no carb diet for that day, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. After that you do your run on Wednesday morning, then fill up on carbs. Then Wednesday you do your run in the morning then start to carb load (good carbs, the Milky Way and Mountain Dew diet is not a valid option). On the Friday you have something with a fair amount of carbs and protein for lunch (like a Cafe Rio salad). If you have never had one and are wondering what I'm talking about try going to one when you are out west (here's there locations: http://www.caferio.com/locations). Then you snack the rest of the day, pre race you have a good breakfast (for me it will be oatmeal and a bagel with peanut butter. Also stay hydrated.

Well, I have been an absent host for a little too long and need to eat something as well. So happy Thanksgiving, or for anyone who doesn't celebrate the holiday, happy 28th of November.

Thanks for Reading,

Riley

11-27-13 9 days 9 hours to go

As my marathon gets closer the more determined I am to finish in the allotted time. I am exhausted right now and look forward to being able to just do shorter runs during the week for a while after my race is done. I have decided a change to my heavy racing schedule next year. Here's the changes:

January/February Change focus of running to weight loss and weight management and speed

March do a St. Patrick's Day 5k

April SLC Half Marathon.

May do a 5k
June Ragnar
July Canyon to Canyon 13.1 Trail Run (for the experience)
August Wasatch Wellness 10k
September do a 5k
October Halloween Half Marathon
November Thankful 13 half marathon or Earn Your Turkey Run

My wife and I talked and came to the conclusion that more marathon's will have to wait until I am done with my undergrad. But doing half marathons seems to be alright while going to school. Those will also give me goals to shoot for that are not school related. Also the long runs won't take me away from a day of school work.

My run tonight was alright. I did just under a 13 minute mile for my first three miles, walked a quarter mile and did 16 minute mile after that (it was on the treadmill so I did the gradual increase again, but only until I reached 5 mph, then started going back down again). I only did 4 miles tonight because I will be doing another 4 tomorrow morning. I waited too long to sign up for the thankful13, and am doing the Earn Your Turkey 4 mile run. I will be in the Clydesdale division which I like because they actually have one. My wife will be doing the 2 mile health walk with her sister and youngest brother. I'm really proud of her, she's doing something that's closer into line with the obsession I've had over the past 8 months.

Lastly, doing an event is much different than your normal training. It serves as a cherry on top after you have done training. It gives you a goal to work towards. Race day is much more fun because you are out there with others of a like mind. When you finish a race you have a great feeling. Yeah you get that to some degree as you train, but more so as you finish a race (Runner's high, legal in all 50 states). If you have never had it and want to feel something great, train for and run a 5k (here's a 9 wk program I know some people have done with great success http://www.c25k.com/). For me I really felt it after my half marathon (here's a website I follow on feedly and there guide Half Marathon for Beginners). With a race I challenge you to do one. Choose a program, and sign up for a race that fits in that time frame. I can't say something like, "If I can do it anyone can do it..." Because that's a load of bull. I'm doing something hard and have put a lot of time and energy into it, and if you want to do it, it takes commitment, time and energy. There will be days you just can't make it out. It happens. There will be days you don't want to make it out, but then you drag your ass out the door and do it, and afterward feel better than you have in a couple of days. Do something you never thought you could, but more importantly train for it. Again, I have just over 9 days until I run my marathon. I don't care if I'm the last person in, as long as I give all I have and finish.

Thanks for reading and happy Thanksgiving.
-Riley

11-25-13 I run because I feel better when I do

Time is starting to really fly. I am going to run and finish my first marathon on December 7th.

So my run today was pretty awesome if I do say so myself (which I just did). I did a relaxed 14 minute mile to start out with, then pushed up to 4.5 mph (13:20 mile), and increased it by .1 mph every .1 miles. So by the time I got to 1 mile, I was at 5.5 mph (10:55 mile). Then I transitioned to intervals doing a change every minute for the last mile (4.5 mph to 5.5 mph). By the time I got to the end I pumped it up to a 6 mph (10:00 mile). So I pushed it really hard for my last two miles. I did this all at the gym, and finished 39:20. Which is god overall. Thursday my goal is to finish the 5k in under 40 minutes. Now I believe I can do it without a problem. My run was a lot of fun, and used a lot of energy.

Today I played racquetball earlier and had enough energy to run this afternoon. I changed from my regular shoes (Altra Instinct that are officially dead) to a pair of my running shoes (black Altra Torin's). I walked in great comfort all day. I will be wearing them on Mondays and Wednesdays from now on, and running in them for the rest of this week and next week (since I will be retiring them before the big race)

Well time to eat and do homework.

Thanks for reading,
Riley

11-23-13 20 mph winds are nobodies friend

Scheduled Distance: 27

Actual Miles: 14

Average RPE: 4.25

Miles on Black Torins: 198.7

Don't freak out everyone, I will be running a marathon in two weeks... this applies to me as well, don't freak out. Alright onto today's adventure. When I was going to head out and run it seemed like our apartment was shaking, and I decided not to go running outside because I am tired of being cold, which for some reason has plagued me this season so far. So I went to the gym and ran. It took a message from my cousin Andy that finally got me out the door. It was perfect timing. So I finished the run about an hour ago. I tried to go at the pace I need to so I can finish my marathon in enough time. It took a lot of energy to get this first three miles in, it wasn't hard, just used up a lot of energy.

During the run I incorporated two sets of speed drills, in which I did 1 minute run at just under an 11 minute mile, then 1 minute at a 13 minute mile. I did that at the half way point for 6 minutes, then at the end for 6 minutes. I really like those speed drills. I need to get better at them.

You may look at my miles for the week and ask why I didn't get to my 27. Well I tweaked my right calve during my racquetball class, it hurt to walk for two days. One thing I've learned on this journey so far is, it's ok to mess up. It happens, and what's more important is how you recover from it. So here I am, my leg feeling better, and 9 miles ran. This coming week I don't have any plans of injury, only a little gluttony a 5k (which I still need to sign up for), and buy some art supplies at Michael's Arts & Craft for 30% (plus sale prices).

I have decided one last thing as I finish up my blog and before start to do my homework. Japanese curry is a great meal after you have run and refueled. So dinner after I run. I found this curry called Vermont Curry (Japanese Curry with maple and apple in it). If you like curry of any sort you should try it. I make mine with baby carrots, onion, potato, and chicken thighs then add water and the curry blocks. I will be making it with some Korean rice I got at the Asian market yesterday (also the same place I got the curry).

Thanks for reading,
Riley

11-19-13 Tapering day 1

Black Torins: 189.64

So today I had a hard time getting out. Since I had a late night out with some friends last night it made it a necessity to get out to do my 5 miler tonight. Tomorrow I will be getting my 8 miles in, then Friday I will do 5 miles and 9 miles Saturday. I will keep up with speed drills for the end of my run on Friday. Why am I doing speed drills you may ask, because I need to run faster. If you look back at my post announcing that I would be running Tri-State marathon you will notice I chose it partially because of the time cut off of 6:30:00. I was on the site on Sunday and looked at the time information, namely the cut off time. It was changed to 6:00:00. So I have been in a freak-out since then. I figured if I could get my speed drills in, it would be slight push in the direction of finishing faster. I have no idea if this will work or not, but I will prepare to run this marathon to the best of my ability, I have decided I will do all I can to finish this race in the amount of time I have.

I have been using the Jeff Galloway website to gauge my time. When it comes to the magic mile I am using my PR time 00:10:55 and am getting really close to accurate times on my training. My previous PR of 00:11:55 gave me an almost dead on time for my half marathon. So if I keep pushing this last little while I just may have a chance to finish it.

Now that I have vented, i think I can move on to a new topic. I keep losing girth, which is good. I will post my numbers a few days before the race. Also take a look at the countdown clock... just over two weeks to go. If you are reading this and are a praying person, please keep me in your prayers.

Thanks for reading,

Riley

11-16-13 18 miles down, 26.2 to go

Scheduled Distance: 36

Actual Distance: 36.29

RPE AVG: 4.125

Black Torins: 184.64

Blue Torins: 123.34

I first want to thank Lisa Messinger for the running analysis she did with me, and the coaching on correct form. Right now my left IT Band isn't bothering me in the slightest. My swollen feel are what's bothering me, but ibuprofen is assisting in that department (and if I had clean compression socks they would be to).

Vivian Park where I was going to start my run

It took me a while to get out today. I missed all the time I planned on working on my illustration projects, and eating lunch. But I ended up spending my morning finding pants I could use to run in the snow. I wouldn't have worried about if I were only going on a short run, tights and shorts would have worked then. But I intended on being outside for at least 4 hours... so I am now the proud owner of a very warm and fairly water repelant pair of running pants. Oh, then need for them. It's been snowing almost all day here in Orem, a wet snow. As I went up the canyon the snow was coming down a lot harder, and was sticking to things very effectively. Vivian park was going to be my starting spot for my run today, and if I would have left earlier it still could have been. I got there and they had about an inch of snow on the ground (again wet slushy snow), and one of the parking lots full of cars of people fishing. Those fishing people... if only they understood how much fun running in the snow is.

I got out of my car, started my GPS on my phone and on my watch, and walked over to the running trail entrance and was met with the following sign. My run was hampered by avalanche danger... great, now I would have to make a new route in my head. So I did. I drove down the canyon and found a spot of the trail that was less covered with snow and not near shear walls like Vivian park is. So my revised plan is, run the canyon down to where I head towards BYU's football stadium and go down until I get to the major road by the stadium (it ended up being 5.5 miles). I then turned around and went back to where my car was with the intention of going up the canyon another 3.5 miles. By the time I got to the major road by the stadium I was so wet it was slowing me down as I rang out my gloves and skull cap every few minutes. When I got to my car I was drenched and freezing. I was in the little mess of cold because I grabbed the wrong jacket to run in. This is another testament to wearing the right gear. After I got to my car I talked to my wife who was all encouragement. I made it home and changed clothes, heading out again to the gym. My wall cam around mile 11 today Silvia helped me past it, then again at mile 14 and determination to finish got me past that. So my last 7 miles I finished at the gym (it wasn't as interesting as running in the snow, but it was a lot warmer).

So here I am after making it a total of 18 miles... my back is sore, my feet are swollen, and I feel good. Silvia made me a pasta dinner which I am going to go devour right now. So have a good night and thanks for reading.

-Riley

11-14-13 Movies while running, what a concept

Tonight I was running at the gym. I finished all 5 miles, while is amazing since it was at the gym and it was more than three miles. I now have all my runs accept my long run in for the week and I will get that done this Saturday.

My run today took a lot of self talk around that point where running becomes easier (outside mile 2, inside mile 3). I was convinced I was only going to get 4 miles in and stop. But I kept going after I got to 4 miles. I even had to stop the treadmill and enter the manual program I was running again (gym treadmills stop at 60 min. and for me 5 miles is just over that. It was little more over that tonight because I went to the gym tired from a tiring run yesterday.

Well, like my run this post is short tonight.

Thanks for reading,
Riley

11-13-13 Today is a good day to run

When running I discovered that not playing racquetball earlier in the day makes it easier to run. Today I did a two part run. Six miles on the trail in the canyon and two miles of speed work at the gym. I finished my fitness day at the Salt Lake Running Company with Lisa doing a follow up to my gate analysis (which apparently is going alright so far) she did suggest looking into another shoe if my Altra's start bothering my legs (my old Altra's are, but they are an everyday shoe). After meeting with her, I went to a foam roller clinic teaching a protocol to use the foam roller for the likes of me who have never used one before but needed to learn how for self preservation. I decided the foam roller is having fun with me as I work with it. To be honest I fear the foam roller.

My run today I did at noon, so I was a little hungry when I went out so I parked next to where my lunch would be... Bajio (where they ended up giving me a huge sweet pork burrito when I did finally go in and get food). I did a solid run and was at my 6 mile time of 1:24:00. So I was at a 14 min mile average (it would have been faster if I wasn't stopped at that red light... oh yeah and if I would have run faster too. I did expend almost all that I had left in my two mile speed drills through. My mind beat me as I was running those and I had to recover. It was two 13 min miles for those, which is a little slow, but I wanted energy to drive to this foam roller clinic. The clinic was amazing. Basic principal was to start at the distal end of the leg (part furthest from the heart) and work towards the hard, assisting the lymphatic and circulatory systems in the process. We started with the calves, then the shin splint muscle (tibialis anterior). Worked 1 leg at a time with hamstrings to IT band to quads to adductors (inside thigh muscles). Then we worked the muscle between the hip bine (greater trochanter of the femur) and the sacrum (the muscle is the piriformis). That last muscle hurt like hell when I found it with the foam roller. I was sweating hard at this point from going through the protocol. It was an additional 30 min workout. We did back, and then lats next. They were both really hard to do.

Today I started to panic about the life of my running shoes. Most of the miles on my shoes have been done at over 300 lbs. (as of Saturday I am now down to 295 so all miles will now be for someone less than 300 lbs.). So the average runner is said to get an average of 400 miles out of a single pair of shoes (I assume it is based off someone who is 175 lbs.). So I am doing the math in my head (175/400 equals a number, and if I take my 300 lbs and multiply it by 175/400 I get 685 and some change which means I go through shoes about 40% faster than someone who is 175 giving me only 230 miles per air of shoes). I understand my math isn't perfect but it makes sense in my artist brain. So I will be retiring my black shoes after my marathon and will use my blue shoes exclusively in my recovery period.

I want to share one last thing. At church a couple spoke who did the Vegas Ragnar. They were both ill prepared for it and hadn't trained for a couple of weeks leading up to it. He talked about how encouraging other people to keep going was something the helped him to keep going. I have noticed I run better when there are other runners around who are polite and smile at me and give me that knowing nod of, "I've been where you are, it gets better." So with the insight this speaker gained, I would like to challenge everyone who is a runner that reads this to make sure you say hi, and give encouraging words to those who look like they are struggling, I am going to try the same thing. Even if you don't run, you will still get warm fuzzies from doing it.

Thanks for reading,
-Riley

11-11-13 Back on track

Tonight was a good run. My patient wife road her bike with me in the dark as I ran. She sang girls camp songs as she road until she ran out. Whenever she starts singing those it brings a smile to my face because I can see how much fun is associated with those songs. She had a head lamp on her helmet and was acting as the primary light source for us as I ran and she road. Every time she stopped for a few moments, I got ahead of her. She then road to catch up and said,"You're so fast!" I smile and say thank you and pretend I am for a moment. It was really encouraging and I liked hearing her say that. She is a constant source of encouragement for me. I don't know what I would do without her.

The run itself was a good run. A little slower than I would have liked, but after my week last week it was an absolute victory. I feel really good post run, and worked on my form as I ran. Again my IT band started to bother me, but I corrected my form and the pain just goes away. I need to keep practicing so this IT band issue will stay gone.

My goal is to head out and do 5 miles tomorrow morning and the 3 miles tomorrow night with some speed drills.

Thanks For Reading,
Riley

11-9-13 The worst week of running in 6 months

Scheduled Distance: 36 miles

Actual Distance: 6.74 miles

RPE: Crash and Burn

I would like to preface this weeks post with a couple of things. Running with Bipolar disorder is difficult. The rise and fall of moods (at times the littlest thing will cause the trigger). I had a breakdown this week, I hit the wall in my training, and haven't been able to pass it mentally. I have for the most part recovered from the breakdown. I am still a little sensitive emotionally which is one of the things that lingers after I cycle. I am up to date on all of my homework, and no major assignments are do next week. So I should be able to get my entire training session in next week.

I missed so many miles this week and need to move past it. I have a bigger week ahead of me starting Monday. I made a futile attempt at running today making a visit to the gym where my wife and I are staying for our late anniversary getaway. I thought if I loaded up my iPad with movies I would be able to do the treadmill forever today and get to my mile goal of 18 miles... that didn't happen.

So here I am only reaching 1/6th of my target distance this week. I need to pass through this training wall that I've hit. It's going to take prayer and all the fight I have to make it through this week and to my taper weeks. I have the chance to rework some of my assignments with lower grades on them to get them to be a more professional quality. I will be doing that until I head to dinner with Silvia.

Thanks for reading,

-Riley

11-4-13 Fitting in running on a ridiculously busy week

I am dripping liquid awesome everywhere. It was a short intense workout, and it was frustrating. This week is full of deadlines, a test (which involves last minute studying), and more upcoming deadlines for next weeks assignments. I wrote a whole spiel then erased it that was a rant on how much work illustrations students have to do do get a degree in what they enjoy doing. It's a lot of work, if you want to know shoot me a message and I will give you the steps of completing assignments in most classes. The reason I bring this up is because I am not sure how I am going to get my running in this week. I will do all that I can (for myself readers you're second in this equation sorry), and will have a chance Thursday morning and Wednesday night (they are both slim windows of opportunity) to try to run and I will do my best to do so. Any words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

My run tonight I tried to teach Silvia the form that I am working on for running. It's hard to do when you are so ingrained in running a certain way. It was helpful for me and I have some ideas on how to drill it a little better when working on my own (drills I remember from high school that helped develop this form, like falling sprints etc...) This week I will be off from my goal, I will try to pick up some extra distance in my two other runs this week before my big run. Only two more big runs until I start the taper weeks.

Thanks for reading tonight I hope I made some sense.
-Riley

11-2-13 My wife says I am amazing! Since I did run 16 miles

Scheduled Miles: 34

Actual Distance: 33.54

RPE: 4.125

Miles on Black Torins: 173.76

Miles on Blue Torins: 97.93

Have you ever said to yourself, "I wish I were only running 14 miles not 16..." Well I can add that to my list of crazy that I have developed since I started running. I went back and looked at some of my running entries from just before summer started a couple of days ago, and looked at the distances I was running. My short runs are 5 miles, and I about died doing 5 miles when I first ran it. Now I run 5 miles easily, instead of these ideas of walking then running then walking, as a matter of fact I can now run a lot more. My view of treadmills have changed (don't like them) accept for speed training.

So I ran a total of 16+ miles today, it was exciting to have that as my new max distance. By the time I got to mile 12.5 I was so spent physically I couldn't run anymore. At mile 8 my IT band started bothering me, then the knee pain came, but I kept trying to change form to what I was shown in my gate analysis. I was able to run 2 miles down hill at that point without my IT band flaring up until my form got sloppy.

The end of the run was really difficult, my IT band was fine when I stuck to the correct form, but my legs were so tired by the end of my run. Changing form is exhausting. But what's more exhausting is not fueling the body correctly. Last night I ate a bunch of junk food, and had pizza (that was all meat and cheese). For breakfast I had Oreo's, a Chobani yogurt and a cup of milk. The rest of the week I fueled correctly, I just didn't go into today with the correct fueling. I am making the adjustment to fuel like I will the day before the marathon (I only have 5 Fridays until it's the day before). So it will be rice, veggies, meat (curry or Cafe Rio salad) for a late lunch, then snack the rest of the day.

I seriously considered changing my marathon to the half marathon and just waiting until SLC marathon to run my big race. But that's not happening, I am running the tri-state marathon, finishing it, and getting a medal!

Well with all that said, until next time,
-Riley