The Life Of Riley

Little jog down the Provo River Tail...

First Marathon Completed. :)  I was shooting for 3:30:00 to 3:40:00 and finished with 3:39:40.  On the high end of my goal but definately within it.  I never guessed how emotinal the whole experience would be.  I choked back tears many time through out the race.  I was so excited to finally be doing what I had trained for for six months.  This whole experience gave me so much respect for all the runners out there.  I thought the rain was going to be miserable but it actually was quite pleasant.  At mile 20 I was on pace for about a 3:33:00 and once I climbed the little hill by the country club my legs started giving out a little.  I backed off a little because I did not want to cease my calfs and I lost over a minute per mile on my pace, I added over 6 minutes on the last 6 miles that I was not expecting too, but hey, it's my first marathon, I 'll get the hang of the distance on the next one.  After I finished, I broke down in my wifes arms, it was one of the best feelings I have ever had, what an accomplishment for myself.  I feel great.  I want to congratulate all those who ran today.

AM - 8.4 Miles on the Provo River Trail.  Ran at an 8:10 pace.

PM - 2 miles of a slow jog or a fast walk carrying my daughter on the PRT.

Good day on the Boat :)

Got in a few quick miles tonight through the fields.  Averaged about 7:10 on the quick miles with 1/2 mile warm up and 1/2 mile cool down.  I have the Hobbler Half on July 10th, I would like to get a new PR on the run so I need to pick up my training and get in some speed work.

Hit the hills tonight.  AP was 8:23 which I was pretty happy with considering 3 miles of the run was some pretty steep incline.  I am however getting a little disapointed with my overall progress.  I want to be getting faster faster.  Six months ago when I started running, it was easy to progress pretty much every day.  I could either go further or faster then a day or two before, that seems to no longer be the case.  Some days I feel good and I feel I am improving while other days, it feels like I have regressed.  I guess running is like anything else in life, it's easy to become average but to become great, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication.  That's all good, I like a good challenge.

Ninety degree temps are a little different to run in then the sixties.  The last couple of days I have been running in the evening while it is still 85-90 degrees and my body is still trying to get used to it.  All-in-all though, it was a pretty good run.  I got in almost 4 miles with AP of 7:20 and just under 4 miles at an easier pace.  Feelin' good.