Life running in the dessert

Preparing for your first 1/2 marathon

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
Made a resolution to run a ½ marathon this year? Well let me first say: Congratulations! I applaud you! You’re entering a world full of possibilities and hundreds of new friendships. There will be challenges along the way, but also incredible triumphs. You may have started running already, and thats good. You may have also got comfortable with your running, but the thought of running in your first race might seem a bit overwhelming. As your ½ marathon gets closer, you will need to begin your preparation. If you are not sure how to prepare for your first race, I’m hoping this post will help....

Getting to know your race

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
After training for weeks leading up to a race, one of the worst feelings is getting to the race and not knowing what is going on. Many veteran runners will study a race before the day of the race, so they know what going to happen throughout the weekend. Most of the race information is posted on their website and social media page. If you don’t see information that you’re looking for, you can always send in a question to the race director. Here is some information that you would want to look up before the race: Race fees: If you can, register for a race early. Most races have better prices...

St George Half Marathon - Race Recap

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
First race of the year is in the books, and the St.George Half Marathon was a great race to bring in the New Year. This is my second race in St.George, and I love the scenery this city has. I love running along the red rock. Now that I have ran this half marathon, I’m now guaranteed in the St. George Marathon this October. Its awesome knowing that I won’t have to deal with the lottery for the race. The City of St. George has a racing series where many races take place through out the year. They have a few select races that if two are ran before October, then select runners can enter the...

Rehab and Sprained Ankle

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
Here’s how to treat and rehab a sprained ankle—and make sure it doesn’t happen again. With the fall upon us, runners are out and about on their favorite running trails. Unfortunately, running over leaf-covered roots and fallen branches for the increases the likelihood that you’ll end up with a sprained ankle. This injury is surprisingly common. In the United States alone, 23,000 people sprain their ankle each day, and the medical costs associated with treating ankle sprains exceeds $1.1 billion annually. To make matters worse, these numbers do not take into account the long-term disability...

Run Surf City Marathon - Race Recap

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
The 2015 Surf City Marathon is now in the books! This race was a reminder as to why I don’t run the full marathon distance all the time, yet still glad I participated. This is by far not my last marathon, I still have to run Boston. This was one of the best scenery races I’ve ran, especially the time spent running through Huntington Beach Central Park. Running through that park was the best part of the race. The short time spent there was incredible. With the sun rising and showing through the trees and morning mist, truly breathtaking. Seeing so many little kids just there to cheer you on...

Feeling Different about Ultra Marathons

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor
I recently ran in the Surf City Marathon. During the race, I remember thinking the pain I was in because the distance, and for this reason I don’t run to full marathon distance that often. I also had the thought of never running a marathon again if I can help it. Before Surf City, I never entertained the thought of an Ultra Marathon, it was a distance I previously had no desire to run. I felt good about not ever worrying about training, running, or recovering from a race like this. After finishing the Surf City Marathon though, left me hungry for this distance. This past weekend in Surf City, I had very little training for the marathon. And it was painful to push myself to finish the race. I look back now that the race and see what kind of training would go into this race to run a successful race. A few days after the race, I watched a YouTube documentation of a runner’s ultra marathon. A fire began to grow within me; I wanted to run an Ultramarathon. This was a little...