Running Giant: My Journey

Pre Run 10/22 It's a struggle on days that I'm tired (like today) to decide if I run at lunch or if I wait until the end of work to get out. I write amidst this struggle. My run today will be out and back 15 minutes each way. I will be sticking to 30 minutes and not worrying about distance. I will be doing the 1:1 run/walk. I thought initially I would make it out for a lunch run, that didn't happen.  The Day After 10/23 Getting out for a run, I wasn't sure I'd make it as I was out there. I was uncomfortable the entire run, which is good. I finished and knew I had a lot more in the tank. I'm disliking evening runs, just because I'm tired after a day of working and don't feel I can put as much into the run as I start. I'm thinking it's partially a mindset thing and overcoming it would be really helpful. Speaking of working out after work, I have a 30 minute bike ride at the gym (my bike is in need of repairs due to lack of use over the years). I f

Yesterday started my off season training to get ready for training for my next goal race in March ( Running From Yeti ). My three goals for the next couple of months are to be consistent, get stronger, and get my nutrition hammered out. Those are three goals that need to be better defined. Be Consistent: I will follow my scheduled workouts throughout the week. Or if not my scheduled workout something for at least 20 minutes. Sun: Recovery Mon: Strength/Mobility Tues: 30 - 40 minute run Wed: 30 - 40 minutes stationary bike Thurs: Strength/Mobility Fri: 30 minute easy low effort run Sat: 60 - 90 minute run Get Stronger: Do 2 days of body weight strength training and 1 day of stationary bike for cardio. Get my Nutrition Hammered Out: Start meal prepping easy healthy means Saturdays after grocery shopping. Also limit eating out to once a week. I think each could use some further exploration on what accomplishing the goal looks like, making them SMART goals would be a good way to do that. W

I finished the race, what more could I ask for. It took longer than my projected 3.5 - 4 hours. I was the 12th from last person to finish. But I finished and that's the name of the game for that race. This race had more challenges in it for me than other races I remember. Some of the more notable challenges were some guy stepping on my ankle just after the race started. He was running backwards looking for someone and stepped on me. I'm a big guy and somehow he still didn't see me. Next challenge came at mile three. I took a corner at the top of a hill and got my footing wrong and about twisted my ankle by not landing on the road. That was a close call. Another challenge was little to no shade, which just translates to it being hot. I wasn't anticipating it being around 75° - 80° for the entire race in October. If it were a short run the weather would have been great, but for 13 miles, that just made it a little harder. Around mile seven is when I hit my first wall. I w

 It's the 5th, and I wanted to get some thoughts down as I prepare for tomorrow. I thought it was 2013 when I did my last half marathon, but it was May 2014. So, just over 10 years ago. As I prepare for this race, I have read past posts, especially the one from October 26th, 2013. It was my first half marathon, and I used it as a training run and just had fun with it. A lot of memories came back as I looked at the post. However, my goal for tomorrow's race is different and has been focused on finishing it. I will be walking the first half of the race at a pace that is good for me where I am now and then transition to a walk run for the last half. I suspect I will be finishing between 3.5 and 4 hours, but finishing is the goal no matter how long it takes. If you want to follow my progress tomorrow, my bib number is 2041, and you can get notifications at 5k, 10k, 15k, and 13.1 if you follow this link  Runner Tracking . Thanks for Reading. -Riley

 In roughly 12 days I will be running(ish) my first half marathon since 2013. I have been training for it since May. It's been a different style of training than I've committed to before. So I am trusting the process. It's been heart rate training, like I was supposed to do for last years MO' Cowbell, but I have stuck with it and will actually be doing the race. I've tried my hardest to stay in a lower heart rate zone to build endurance and an aerobic base. Staying in that range has been near impossible, but I am confident I will finish the race. My longest outing was 10 miles, I did it on a mild night after a long day. So it took longer than I wanted but I got it done. It also spurred the purchase of new shoes that I will be breaking in this week (all reviews of the shoes have said they really don't need to be broken in). I will be sporting a pair of Brooks Ghost Max for the race. I decided I needed a thicker sole because of my size. I've struggled to lose

Before the Run It's been a little bit since I last went running or posted anything. I did go on vacation and did a lot of walking during thst. Last week I missed due to increased anxiety when it came time to get out. But it's a new week and I'm getting back into it. I have a 40 minute easy run today. Then tomorrow will be speed/tempo work at race pace to high intensity, Thursday a medium intensity run, and Saturday will be 4 miles at medium intensity. I did go to the running store last Wednesday and picked up 2 running shirts, they had my size, which shocked me. I had $35 dollars in discounts so they only cost my $19. It'll be nice to have 2 light weight running shirts. One is long sleeved so I won't be sporting that until it's a little cooler. The draw back is that they're both black shirts. I wish they would make big and tall running clothes in lighter colors. I heat up enough without wearing black on top of it. They did find a tank top in my size in red