8-22-13 What matches black running shorts...


Today was a hard run. I have found if I run hard on Wednesday that my Thursday is a bit tougher. But I did something I have never done before which is kinda cool. I increased speed on my third mile (by a second) compared to my second mile.

Mile 1- 12:39
Mile 2- 13:45
Mile 3- 13:44

I am still having a hard time with the internal dialogue when running the first 20 minutes, but I found a trick that helped on the last 6 minutes. Take it one minute at a time. I was at 30 min of running and decided to do a 2 minute run 1 minute walk to finish off my last mile. I got to 31 minutes and said to myself, "It's only a minute more, why don't you push it to 35 minutes. I then repeated the process until 37 minutes, took a 1 minute break and then pumped up the speed to 6 mph. After running with the smaller stride of me going 4.9 mph, the longer strides were a welcome change.

With these blog posts they are serving as an accountability journal. I also look forward to see how far I will go and how far I've come. If you are starting a journey like the one I'm on (but maybe a little more sane with a Couch to 5k program or a 1 year marathon prep program) I would like to make a few suggestions.

•  Once you have even an inkling to do it, sign up for something and tell every living soul what you're doing. In massage school we called it Talking Your Vision. I believe the more people you are accountable to the more you will aim to succeed. I tell everyone I am running a marathon, I believe even my pharmacist may know.

•  Make sure you have the right gear. I am an avid shopper of the clearance section at just about every store I go to. My New Balance super dry running shorts are a $40-$50 pair of shorts and I picked them up for $20, I picked up two of my running shirts at Costco for $16, my fancy Asics running socks were in the clearance bin at the running store, my black running hat, and Rebok running shorts were on sale for 40% off. Right now is a great time to get running cloths (at least for me) because all of the summer stuff is going on clearance. The most important thing is that I am comfortable throughout my run.

• Use reference material to train with. The Non-Runners Marathon Trainer is only one of the running books I am using. I pick up Runnersworld magaine, I am reading Born to Run. This is a hard one for me, but I talk to people who do run. That's where going to the local running store helps. They usually have running meet up groups, who tend to be ok if you bail on the run after you hit your miles for the day.

•  The last suggestion is a reminder, starting running (or any fitness routine) isn't about winning the big race, but about learning who you are and how much you can bring to the table in your own life. Today I really didn't want to run, my legs ache, and calves are tight... but I got up and did it. Something I didn't have in me 6 months ago. I am able to push myself more than before, and I feel better for it.

On a completely different note, I have been thinking of the gear I run in lately and I like that I get free shirts when I run a race. So what goes with my black running shorts? My fancy socks, my fancy running shoes (I'm going to let them have a couple of days off after my Saturday run and use my older shoes), my technical shirts, my Walmart compression shorts, and my black hat. I would like to try our compression things like socks or the sleeves, but I found a pair of the sleeves in what would be my size and I couldn't fit my huge hands into the little holes. The compression socks are appealing to me because of the soreness I get in my calves after a run, if that could help decrease it that would be wonderful.

Until Next Time...
Riley

As of 1 minute ago I am signed up for the Provo Halloween Half Marathon.

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