Home run

When Jonathon Riley was a young track star, competing at Brookline High, he never did much in the way of exploring Boston. He was like the Philadelphia native who never had time to visit the Liberty Bell, the New York native who hadn't been to the top of the Empire State Building, or the St. Louis native who hadn't touched the famous Arch known as the Gateway to the West. Unlike tourists, residents know they can visit landmarks whenever they like.

Now living in Palo Alto, Calif., Riley looks forward to being every bit the tourist when he returns to Boston this weekend, looking for his third consecutive victory in the 3,000 meters at the USA National Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center today through Sunday. The 26-year-old Riley said he can't wait for tomorrow's race, and to get back to his roots.

"Even in high school, I lived in Brookline and really didn't get into Boston that much," he said. "Also, just being older now, I think I appreciate the city a lot more. When I get to go back to these meets and we stay right in downtown, I love wandering around the city. It's kind of nostalgic but also touristy in a way, looking at all the stuff I didn't get a chance to do in high school."

The last time Riley was in Boston, late last month, he ran the 3,000 at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, also held at "The Reggie." He took sixth in 7 minutes 51.63 seconds. That was a vast improvement from the year before, when he finished 12th of 13 runners in 7:59.61, 24 seconds behind winner Haile Gebrselassie. Riley said the disappointing showing was because he had focused his training on the 5,000 meters.

"When I went back to Boston last year, I had high expectations because I had always run well there and loved to go back," said Riley, who had a stellar running career at Stanford. "I started maybe to be spoiled with good performances there. I don't think my training was as specific so I ended up running one of my worst times in years in the 3,000 meters. A similar thing happened in outdoor. I think it was because I had been focusing so much on the 5,000, in the 3,000 I wasn't as sharp."

Heading into tomorrow's event, Riley feels focused, healthy, and ready. He believes he's ahead of where he was at this time last year because of a collaborative effort with his coach.

"The coach I'm working with, [Frank] Gagliano, there is a lot of communication back and forth about workouts we're going to do," he said. "We look back over the years, I've kept a pretty good record of my training, we look at what we've done that's worked and what we've wanted to change. It's nice having that constant discussion about what we're doing. Even this year, I look back at the training and some things are a little different than last year but also, I looked at some workouts and it looks like I'm about a month or two ahead of schedule."

One of the highlights of Riley's still-young career is his appearance at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Although he was unhappy with his 14th-place finish in the opening round of the 5,000, after a second-place finish in the US Olympic trials, the more time passes, the more he realizes how special it was. "It was pretty amazing," he said. "The more removed I get from the Olympic experience, the more I start to appreciate it. When you're there, the thing you're most thinking about is competing and doing the best job you can. Although you're aware of the entire experience, it doesn't sink in until that moment because even just the anxiety is a much stronger emotion than maybe enjoying the experience. For me, I had the anxiety because right after the Olympic trials, I had injured my calf a little bit. It was frustrating to be at such a big meet with high expectations but not necessarily feeling confident about the shape I was in."

Riley said one of the reasons he ran so well at the trials was because it was being filmed. Two crews followed him for months, shooting a DVD documentary entitled "Five Thousand Meters: Nothing Comes Easy." It follows the 2004 outdoor track season. Riley worked with two crews and said although he hasn't viewed the finished product, their presence was a motivating factor.

"I'm anxious to see it," he said. "I even told them it was nice having them at the track filming me. It kept me a little more honest on my workouts. I didn't want to slack off if I was going to be on TV. They were holding me accountable. I think it really did help me throughout the year."

What helps him most in his life, though, is his wife, Janet Westphal, and their 2-year-old son, Jonathon. Westphal is a former All-America track athlete at the University of Wisconsin. She took six years off after graduating from college in 1999 and recently began competing again.

"We met through running and it's something we have always shared," said Riley. "It helps a lot that she understands how I feel, the nerves of the races or training in general. Also traveling. There are a lot of jobs out there where you could make a lot more money than this one, and she's just very supportive. She knows I love the sport and want to follow it as long as I can. She thinks I can even go further than I do sometimes, what I can accomplish. It's really nice to have that reinforcement."

Becoming a father hasn't taken Riley's focus off his running career, it has enhanced it. It has also made him more patient.

"I had to learn to accept that there were going to be times when you didn't have a good night of sleep," he said. "When he needs something or is sick, that's going to take priority. I think it's taught me to roll with the punches a little better. It's also made me realize a good race or a bad race isn't the be all and end all. When I come home, I've got my family here and that's what is important. I think it has helped me put a lot of stuff in perspective."

That doesn't mean it has blunted his competitive fire. He said his intensity spills over from the track into other aspects of his life.

"I'm only competitive with things I'm good at," he said with a laugh. "My wife has been beating me pretty handily at checkers recently. There are some sports, basketball for one, they're not meant to be. I am competitive but I'm so intense with track that it's nice to do other stuff for fun."

Like being a tourist.