Running Giant: My Journey

Just a quick post. It was breezy and not so hot that my skin was melting off. It was a good run, I was sub 13 for the most part. I did slow down on mile three because I was a little winded. It's staying light long enough now so I can go running at 7pm and not need to worry about night time running gear. Either tomorrow or Monday I will be doing my long run of 5 miles. I am thinking more of a 13:30 pace. It's late and I need to get to bed (it's past my bed time and I haven't eaten dinner and I'm quite hungry). Thanks for reading. -Riley

Today I ran... It was nice outside, I had cool water the entire run and the breeze was nice and cool. I am now sitting at home with our swamp cooler on (evaporative cooling system). It works well in dry climates. So I am cooling down from the outside, which feels nice after taking a post run shower. I missed my run on Tuesday, and will be doing three days of running right in a row again. They are all easy runs so I am not too worried about it.  Today I pushed a little harder than I probably should have, but it felt good to run at that pace. I was a little winded though. Running was great today, my legs are a little sore still from Saturday, but after working them that soreness is almost gone. I discovered today as I ran that if I am listening to an audio book as I run that I start looking at the ground and it makes my back hurt. So I need to listen to music or nothing at all as I run. while running today I tried a different app on my phone than map my run. I was told a...

Here is the map , you may want to look at it to see what I am rambling about. So I am sitting here thinking back over the half marathon I just ran. I can now say I understand what a runners course is. You are required to think more about where you will push, and where you will ease up. Even when it comes to the end of the race you are still thinking at this point how much gas do i have in me to finish this strong? I really liked this race overall, there were aspects of it that I didn't like at the time, but enjoy now that I am not running up a ridiculous hill. The hills were tough, I wasn't expecting some of the inclines, but was rewarded with some really relaxing down hills. I didn't think I would like this course at all. I wasn't ready for it, but I did well. The Halloween half marathon was all down hill and I barely did better then than I did this time. I thought I would think of hills as a swear word after running them like I did, but I liked it. I don't ...

So it was 80º outside as I ran today. It sucked up my energy as I ran. The tarmac I was running on was hot as well. After that I understand trail running a little more. A place without the heat of tarmac, where you get to be in the dry grassy areas here in Utah sound kinda nice after my run today. It was really hot, I was wearing a new shirt (from Old Navy) that I thought would at least breath as I ran. I was wrong. I need a couple more sweat whicking light colored shirts to keep cooler outside. My Old Navy athletic shirts would be great for colder weather for me at least. They trapped my body heat in, which I like when running in the cold. I would even venture to say they would be good for casual sports with some friends, but running in 80º is not something I would suggest in the shirt. The run itself was good, it was short only three miles. But the heat made it a challenge. By the time I got to my last mile that I was supposed to run harder on, I was fairly spend on energy. It had...

So it was mid 70's today as I ran. And this summer is going to be brutal to run in. I have decided to do most of my runs mid day. Why you ask, because I am mid day for Ragnar. After Ragnar I will be converting to a morning running out of necessity. To help me with the mid day run, the increasing heat, and my internal thermostat which seems to always be running on hot, I went to the Runner's Corner and asked for help. I got some great suggestions from them. They coincided with answers I recieved from friends on Facebook. The three things they suggested were to wear a white hat (wear white clothing in general), Soak a bandanna in water and tie it around your neck to keep cool, and wear a tank top (because heat not only escapes the top of the head but through the top of the body in general. So I purchased a white running tank top. I ran and did better than I had done time wise previously, and I'm not completely spent after my run. Oh yeah they also said hydrate hydrate hy...

Alright, today was my long run and yesterday I did speed training, so my legs are a little shot right now and it's not my favorite feeling. I am feeling great now that I have gotten some protein in me and also started my hydration restoration process. My hamstrings are bothering me some right now because I have been focusing on how high my feet come off the ground, engaging those muscles more. So looking at my splits, I had a few under 14:00 and am happy about those, and mile 4 would have been under 14:00 if I wouldn't have stopped to look how far I'd gone so I could turn around. I forgot to put on my watch so I could just have that turn around point in front of me. About the long run feeling long today. With changing how I have been running to emulate faster runners, new muscles have started to ache. I also was over 14:00 most of my splits, which is kinda of annoying. But I was just tired going into today's run, so every mile dragged on to a degree. So remember go...

So today was speed drills (actually it was supposed to be yesterday) and I really enjoy looking back on them. I was wheezing and seemed like I was about to die when I was doing it. I have run faster than my speed drills before, but today it sucked the energy right out of me. I bet the 82º weather didn't help with that. Not that I see that I realize I was not hydrated enough while running, 4 oz. after 13 minutes of running didn't cut it. I was losing more than that in sweat. Doing speed drills is I think one of the greatest things about running. Now hear me out, it may not be enjoyable when you're doing, but the feeling after doing it can't be beat. I was really wheezing at one point, but I started to run again without stopping to think about. Sure it seemed like I was going to keel over and die at one point, my vision blurred, and this nasty headache has come on since the run. But it's due to dehydration which I am taking care of. I think I lie speed drills (t...

It's really nice outside right now. The sun is out and it's warm. Utah springs are nice, when they don't get too hot. It's mid 60's right now, and was probably a little warmer, I didn't empty the old water from my camelbak. So it was warm water that I had the joys to drinking as I ran. It was a nice run, I didn't push too hard, but I did notice that my speed for a nice and easy run is much faster than what it was a few months ago. This week I have a good run. Tomorrow I will be doing 5 miles, starting slow, and incorporating 6 - 2x2's (2 minutes at 10-11 minute pace, 2 minutes easy pace). The I have 7 miles easy on Saturday. Monday will be another 4 miles. Today I accepted a new job, that will be a 12 - 25 hour week. I will be working at Staples here in Orem. This is going to be a nice change of pace. It will be doable while I am in school and provide me a little money that can be used for things like games, and buying my wife presents. But it won...

Running, running, running... what would I do without you. Wait I discovered over the past couple of weeks what I would do, gain back a bunch of weight and feel guilty about not running. I need running as much as it could survive without me, I am to the point where I need it. I was thinking about my next half marathon and I am a bit worried about it. After my run today doing another half is a bit daunting. I am still going to do it, and I will still finish it. But it's in 2 weeks, and I don't feel ready. My run today was tough, looking at my splits, I was progressively slowing down. I think starting just a little slower would have been wise. I made it to that last mile and was just spent. I still finished at an ok pace, but I was so exhausted when I got to it. Even now I am still exhausted. But that could be the Chinese food buffet that I went to for a late lunch. I think my lack of energy right now is due to not fueling correctly after running a long run. It was a beauti...

Today I made out, finally! It's taken two weeks to get a good run in. Yesterday I started doing a 3 mile run, then at mile 1 I mentally fatigued out. It was able to make it all three miles today and tomorrow I will be doing 6 miles in the morning. Monday I will do my fartleks, and Wednesday I will start up my regular running schedule again and gear up for the Alpine Half marathon (which is a training run for my Ragnar adventure). My run was difficult, I started out too fast and that hurt my energy and time. But I am glad I was able to finally get out and run. It makes up for not running. I also burned a little over 800 calories which will lat me stay within my calorie intake for the day. So I have been running for over a year now. I have lost over 40 lbs. and to keep losing I will need to adjust my diet, not just calorie intake. Since one of the main reasons why I started running was for my health. Over the past year I have learned a lot about who I am, and what I like doin...