Running Giant: My Journey

So yesterday was my first run in over a week, I have an excuse for that, and that is two days were recovery (where I should have made it out on my bike, but opted for homework instead). I have been working on pieces all week, and am currently avoiding working on a piece I am not enjoying, but like a run when I avoid it, I know the piece has potential to be really good like that run after avoiding it for a while. My work out this week has me back in the swing of things. I am prepping for my next two races now, one of which is on May 24 (Alpine Classic Half) . I would like to PR during it, but I don't know if I will be able to since it's a hilly course. I should go run in alpine some to help me prep for it. I will be doing some trail runs between now and then for my long runs and that should help me out some. It was a nice run yesterday. I was feeling crummy up until I got to mile 1. I have been doing a lot better since then. Running helps me feel so good. I am looking for...

So I didn't make it out at all this week for running. I was at school three days for 12+ hours, and up at 5:30 am working on assignments those days as well. I am doing my long run on Monday which will be nice. I don't run on Sundays or I would be doing it then. My diet has been horrid this week and I have gone over on calories every day. I am looking forward to next week where things will calm down some. Here's a link to my illustration blog. My last two assignments are the top two. http://rileyhornillustration.blogspot.com/ Thanks for reading and look forward to more about running this coming week.

Age division placement - 202 overall placement - 2701  Riley Horn Orem UT 33 2656 3:01:47 2:57:36 13:34 The lights are on and nobodies home The Training Group Silvia and Her sister surprised me here Just After Finishing Putting on my new bling The Bling Itself The Following are of the starting line and all the masses of people!

So today was the SLC Half Marathon, and yes I did run it. It was the perfect day for a run, as the sun was coming up it was overcast. And me and 6500 of my closest friends gathered together up at the University of Utah medical bridge and started running. If you have been reading for a while you have discovered I have some mental illness issues, one of the two is severe anxiety brought on by large crowds. With that I will begin the day. I was up before my body realized it was time to wake up (4:30 AM). I have become more of a morning person since I started running and getting a good nights sleep, but am still not one. Last night I got to be around 10 with Silvia massage my legs to help me fall asleep and prep for today. So I woke up, showered, and body glided up, missing one crucial spot that I remembered about the three mile point, my nipples. I am now sporting a band-aid over my left nipple, and showering was painful with it. But that is not the pinnacle of the racing adventure....

So last night when I went out for my run it was after picking up my bib for my race tomorrow, and walking arounf Salt Lake Comiccon . My legs were fatigued and I ate a big about 20 minutes before I ran. I was so sluggish running, it sucked! But I did learn not to run on a full stomach. The run was hard because of a full stomach, but it went by quick. I am getting into my rhythm faster, and mile one wasn't as miserable as the first mile has been in the past. Yesterday my wife and I drove the course, and there is a beast of a hill at about mile 4. It was vicious. But I know the course now and can visualize finishing it. Today I will be fairly stationary by painting most of the day. So my legs will get a sports massage tonight before bed, then off to the races. Tomorrow I will have a full race recap, thanks for reading my little post! -Riley

Alright so here I am, a few more days until I run the SLC Half Marathon. I am excited that it's here and that I get to do it. Next week I finish the semester and this is a nice finish to it. After I finish I have a week and a half before summer classes start. Then at mid term for summer block I have the Alpine classic half, and as the first summer block of classes ends I get to do Ragnar! Today I set a new 4 mile PR. It was a 6 second shave off my race time. I wasn't even huffing and puffing when I did it like I was during my Thanksgiving Race. I can only imaging how I would do now. After my run I sat down with Lisa and we talked about race day prep. The greatest advice she gave was, don't make changes to your routine for sleep. I get to wake up really early Saturday morning to make it to the race before 7. That will be fun. I live about an hour away from where the race is, and the train will be running early so I will be able to park near the finish line. I will b...

So my run today, I fought doing it with a lot of energy. I almost came home after we got gas and picked up GU for next Saturday. Today I had 6 miles to do with picking up speed on  my last two miles. I almost didn't make it out for the run, and was regretting it as I tried to justify it to myself about not running. I was able to hit that running zone today while running a couple of times. It was a really nice feeling. There is only a week left until the SLC Half Marathon! Today I was reading one of the many blogs I follow ( Muddy Colors ). Since I am an aspiring artist I follow quite a few illustrators blogs (I put illustrators because they are the artists I really look up to, for business reasons as well as style choices). This may sound strange, but there are quite a few illustrators who are fitness and health buffs. Like Boris Vallejo & Julie Bell (weight training), Randy Gallegos (Running), and Marc Scheff (overall fitness buff). I have found over the past year that fitn...

Today I did a run in the middle of the day. It reached about 65 or 70 while I was out. While I was running it got a little too hot for me, I wasn't able to muster up enough energy to do my complete set of fartleks. It was overall a good run though. Silvia came out with me, and we started and finished together. Today I changed my running shoes. I have been running in a pair of Altra Torrin's for quite some time, and today I retired my shoes that I wore when I ran my Marathon. They have been changed over the casual shoes to replace my previously retired running shoes. I have been distracted all day and not been able to write like I have wanted to. Tanks for reading and look forward to a better post Saturday. -Riley

I made it out this morning for my run in Salt Lake. I didn't think much of it, accept I know I was feeling good and I wanted to run. And run I did. I did just over 4 miles, but my pace was faster than average. I was just below a 12 minute mile on the first three miles, and then ran out of gas on my last mile (I did a little speed work and it took it out of me). But it was an amazing run, I am still feeling the endorphin from running. It's a good feeling. My race is coming up in just under 2 weeks, I am ready for it. I believe I will PR. But that's not going to be hard since I am running faster now, as well as have a taper before the run instead of just incorporating it into my training schedule. The race falls on the same day as the Comic Con Fan Experience in SLC. Both events are in downtown SLC. Since I am a nerd I respect the event, but having anxiety in large groups makes me shy away from it. I will have enough anxiety to overcome with all the people running that m...

So today I did something that I haven't done in a while. I left school early to run, skipping my last class. I was struggling in my head getting to where I could really focus and get things done. Even now I am distracted, and have paused my typing a couple of times. Running is really therapeutic when I'm struggling. I was able to go out, put on my headphones, and forget the world for a little bit. I had been stuck in my head all day with negative thoughts and self doubt. Running helps me get away from that. It also made my monster size breakfast at a local restaurant perfectly reasonable (If you're wondering, hash browns, biscuits, eggs, sausage, cheese and country gravy). I love comfort food. So about the run itself. I did my now standard 4 miles out and back. The Murdock Trail is amazing. I get to see Utah Lake and the mountains in the west on one side and more mountains with snow on the east side of me. It was really amazing, the sun was getting close to setting, an...

So today I made it out around three. The weather was really nice, it was a bit breezy which helped to keep the sweat from pouring down my face until I reached the end and the sun was out, and no breeze. It was hard to keep my pace while sweat was out of control. My run today was a 10 miler and pick it up on the last three miles. I was supposed to run part of my half marathon route this morning, but that didn't happen, I ended up waking up an hour later than I needed to so I could run with the group. Right now my IT band is all inflamed, and really bothering me. But I ran the whole run with it a little irritated, I hope I didn't damage it at all. I wish I had more to say, but I have run out of words. Thanks for reading. -Riley

So today is day 2 of 3 in running back to back. I had some issues getting out earlier week and am feeling it right now. My legs are feeling weak, and I just want to sit here and stare off into space. My run was was really good run, i remembered my watch so I was able to turn around at the right point. I should have pushed for 6 miles, then I would have gotten all of my fartleks in, as it stands I missed most of my 5th one. I like fartleks because I feel a little more alive after those runs. If you have never done them, try this out, run at your normal pace for your warm up, then after you warm up, run harder for 3 minutes, run slower for 2 minutes and repeat it a couple of times. You may hate me during the run for suggesting it, but if you are anything like me you will really like how you fill afterward. 2 Weeks until the SLC half, I'm almost there, I am looking forward to see how much training with someone has helped. I have a date with my wife now, so have a good night! ...

Went to the gym to bust out 5 miles, with increasing speed for miles 3 & 4. It was a good run and I realized why I don;t like the treadmill. Brace yourselves... there is no variety to the pace you run. So I set the pace to 4.8 mph and run at that pace, it gets tedious. I am going to run outside the next two days to make up for this tedium! Thanks for reading this little rant today, and have a great night! -Riley