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Top of Utah Half (Pacer)

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Location:

Woods Cross,UT,USA

Member Since:

May 01, 2006

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

Current Running Life:
5k: 17:50 (2010 NSL)
10k: 38:20 (2007 Des News)
1/2 Marathon: 1:23:30 (2009 Provo Half)
Marathon: 2:53:46 (2007 St George)

Short-Term Running Goals:

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

 

Personal:

Daddy to 3 great kids - 16 year old son and 11 year old twin daughters

I do not know what tomorrow will bring but I do know it will start with a run.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony Grid A2 Lifetime Miles: 125.40
GoRun2 Lifetime Miles: 53.70
Adrenaline 2014 Blue (1) Lifetime Miles: 442.70
Adrenaline 2014 Red (1) Lifetime Miles: 429.20
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
183.7010.00193.70
Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 164.20GoRun2 Miles: 12.50Adrenaline 2013 1 Miles: 17.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Run from home to the Bountiful Temple and back.  Got a late start so it was a bit warm.  Had a nice little head wind while going up the hill which made it a lot more fun.  I regretted my decision about 10 feet after I made the turn from Orchard on to 1800 S. when the real hills started.  I felt very sleepy for some reason.  I pushed through the negative thoughts and just focused on one step at a time and maintained a good effort going up.  Form was not as smooth as I wanted coming back down.  I have a real hard time getting my legs to turnover as quickly as they need to on big downhills.  My natural turnover is slower than average (165/minute) which is not conducive to downhill running. 

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 10.00
Comments(5)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
16.500.0016.50

After a few hectic days at the end of a few super busy months, I finally crashed last night.  Fell asleep at 7 and woke up at 6.  Can't remember the last time I got that much sleep.  No time for a long run yesterday so I went out early this morning to get some miles in.  I was hoping for 20.  Started out and felt really good (11 hours of sleep will do that to you).  Headed to the LPT then ran south.  Got off the trail at Center Street and ran towards the airport.  Kind of cool watching the airplanes land.  The exhaust was not so cool.  Held 8:00/mile for the first 10 miles and felt very good.  As soon as I turned for home, my energy level dropped.  The pace was harder and I was starting to sweat a lot.  Slowed down a bit and just hoped to make it the rest of the way.  My goal was to make it to Legacy Park where I could get a drink of water and hopefully have enough energy to get home.  A mile away from the park, I knew I was done so I sent the distress signal to Becky for her to pick me up at the park.  My pace was holding steady at 8:15/mile but I didn't want to continue.  Could have, just didn't want to.  Not the best confidence building run.  I realized that I only drank 40 oz of Mt. Dew yesterday which is not the best hydration practice.  I also remembered half way into the run that the first long run in August has always been cursed for me.  This is the 3rd time that I have had to call to be picked up on the first long run in August.

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 16.50
Comments(7)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.003.009.00

Warmed up with 2 easy miles on the LPT then met Tara for some fast stuff.  We decided to mix it up and ran 3 minutes on and 3 minutes off times 6.  We averaged 6:00/mile for the "on" minutes.  It was a good, solid effort for me.  The last 2 were tough towards the end of each one and I started to get a little nauseous at the end of the last one.  A good indication that it was the right effort.  It felt good to get some 5k pace work in.  Cooled down with a couple of easy miles.

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 9.00
Comments(4)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.500.006.50

Reminded of why I do not run at night.  Super busy with work this morning so I didn't get a chance to run or go to the gym.  Went out for a few miles tonight on the Orchard loop.  Didn't feel right from the beginning.  At least I was able to get some miles in.

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 6.50
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.503.0012.50

AM

8 Miles: I'm still waiting for verification but I'm pretty sure I broke the world record for sugar consumption yesterday.  I have no idea what the deal was but I just couldn't get enough.  Felt like I needed a run more than a trip to the gym today to help flush it out of my system.  Saw the gym folk on an extended run.  I'm curious what kind of adventure they were on.  Effort felt very good and the body was moving well.  Second run with the GoRun 2's and I really like them.  Six miles is probably my limit until my achilles tendons become more acclimated to the lower heels. 

PM

4.5 Miles: Becky signed us up for a cupcake challenge 5k in Eagle Mountain where your time is reduced by 2 minutes for every cupcake you eat halfway through the race.  When we got there we realized that we didn't register correctly so we were just running the 5k.  Since it was a super small fund raiser it really wasn't much of a race.  She walked with her kids and I decided I would just run it at 1/2 marathon pace.  Started the race at a very comfortable pace and was easily in the lead.  The only problem with this was that I had no idea where I was going.  I missed one of the first turns and didn't realize it for a couple of minutes.  Most of the people that I led the wrong way turned back on the right course.  Some guy told me that if we continued on it would hook back up with the course.  I looked back, saw the droves of people that I would have to pass again and decided to take his advice.  After 1/4 mile we were back on the correct course and way ahead of everybody.  At that point I decided that I would just continue on and have them take me out of the results because I probably cut the course.  Continued on at 1/2 marathon pace and felt very good.  Just cruised along enjoying the run.  Crossed the finish line (20:45) and told them what happened and to not count my time.  I probably only cut 0.05 out of the race and won by a few minutes but I didn't feel right claiming the "win".  In hindsight, I should have back tracked and run the correct course.  I have a hard time making the right decision during races.

GoRun2 Miles: 12.50
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
17.000.0017.00

In preparation for the Big Cottonwood marathon, Becky and Shantell wanted to run the last 9 miles of the course after a few of the downhill miles.  We ended up a little higher up the canyon than we planned which turned the run into a 17 miler.  I didn't mind because I wanted more miles today.  I was shocked how good the downhill miles felt.  Our pace coming down the canyou was a little faster than it should have been.  I hope it wasn't my fault.  The first couple of miles out of the canyon weren't too bad.  Once we turned onto Holladay Blvd. it started to get a little tougher.  There is one good climb right before mile 20 of the marathon course and another nasty one around mile 23 before turning down 4500 South.  The toughest part is going to be on Highland Drive.  It is a long stretch that is slightly uphill and is going to be a killer.  It is also visually unappealing which makes the suffering that much worse.  I think we all got a little dehydrated which made the run tougher.  Good practice for race day. 

Adrenaline 2013 1 Miles: 17.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.000.0011.00

Drove to the LPT and got in a couple of warm up miles before Kam and Tara arrived.  I don't think any of us where in the mood for anything too hard.  We started out with a few easy miles while we decided what we wanted to do.  After 4.5 miles at 8:30/mile we started to pick up the pace.  Ran 7:30, 7:00 and 6:30 for the next 3 miles.  The faster paces felt good.  I wasn't feeling great when I started the run and didn't think I could muster anything faster than 8:00.

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 11.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.000.008.00

The mornings are cooling which makes running so much more enjoyable.  Felt better this morning than I have in a very long time.  Started with an easy mile then comfortably ran 7:15's the rest of the way.  Effort felt great and the body was moving very well. 

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 8.00
Comments(5)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
18.000.0018.00

I didn't want to venture too far from home in case I was needed so I made sure I was always within 30 minutes of the house.  I was able to run a route that kept me close to home but didn't feel like I was running the same loop for 2 1/2 hours.  Run felt great.  Averaged 8:05/mile and it felt incredibly comfortable.  The body was moving well.

I only got in 3 runs this week but they were all quality runs.  I'm not sure if I should be disappointed about the low miles or be happy with how good they all felt.  I wonder if I should stick to the 3 days running and 3 days at the gym schedule.

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 18.00
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.004.009.00

Ran an easy mile on the LPT before the group run.  We ran an easy 4 to start then did a 4 mile progressive tempo run.  Splits were 7:11, 6:45, 6:35, 6:25.  Kam and Tara took off the last 0.1 and I was content with my effort so just lolly gagged to the end.  I guess I have no killer instinct.  The effort felt good although I started to get uncomfortable during the last mile. 

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 9.00
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Run from home to the mouth of Mueller Park canyon and back home again.  Mind is in a bad place which means that the body is not performing well.  I like to run this when I'm not in the mood to run because going up the hill forces me to work.  Got caught in a rain storm for 1 mile which was just enough to make my shirt wet, heavy, and annoying. 

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 10.00
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Race: Top of Utah Half (Pacer) (13.1 Miles) 01:54:32
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
20.100.0020.10

We did a lot of dead lifts at the gym yesterday focusing on strengthening the back.  I don't think that I have ever taxed my back muscles before so they were completely trashed.  Wasn't even sure I would be able to run today.  My hope was that my back would loosen up once I started running. 

Race started and it was incredibly congested.  We had a hard time hitting our target for the first mile because of the congestion.  Still only a few seconds slow.  We maintained a good pace all the way down the canyon and along Hollow Road.  We were within a few seconds of our goal time up until mle 9 or 10.  Once we dumped out to the highway, we didn't back off as much as we should have.  That is one of the hardest things about pacing.  The slow down on the last 5k of this course is a little more than other races because of the gradual uphill.  When you are pacing, you are still relatively fresh and are able to maintian a good effort, putting you ahead of your goal time.  Ended up getting ahead by 45 seconds going into mile 12 where I thought we would be able to give back some time because of the hill.  Hit that mile in exactly what the paceband said so still had too much of a cushion going into the last mile.  Slowed it down to 9:00/mile and gave back 15 seconds and came in 30 seconds early.  Not too bad but further off than what I would have liked.  My justification for coming in early is that with this big of a race, it is better to come in a little early in case other runners chip times are not in sync with ours. 

After finishing, I put in another 7 to get to 20 for the day.  The back held up really well while running.  Now that I'm done, it is killing me and I can barely walk. 

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 20.10
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.500.008.50

Got in a mile at the LPT before the group run.  Started with a 4.5 mile tour of the local POP's.  Finished with a progressive tempo run: 7:23, 6:57, 6:32.

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 8.50
Add Comment
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.000.0010.00

Nice and easy run on the LPT.  Lots of bugs and unpleasant smells.

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 10.00
Add Comment
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
1.400.001.40

Hesitated going to the gym today because I am pacing the Layton Marathon tomorrow.  If there was anything like last week's back workout I would be in trouble.  Fortunately nothing too crazy on the board.  The workout included two 0.7 mile runs.  After all of the other exercises, these short runs are really tough.  I am trying to figure out why they are so difficult when I have a relatively high level of endurance.  I believe that the cardio exercises at the gym are really geared toward taxing your VO2max.  If this is the case, I should see improvement in my 5k times.  Maybe I should run one to see if this is true. 

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 1.40
Comments(1)
Race: Layton Marathon (pacer) (26.2 Miles) 04:14:56
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
26.200.0026.20

Decided at the last minute to pace the Layton marathon.  My preference would have been a 3:45 to 4:00 time but 4:15 was all that was left.  9:44/mile is a little bit on the slow side but I figured that pacing the slower time would allow me to recover quick enough to pace 3:35 at Big Cottonwood in 2 weeks.

Once the race started, it was very hard to lock into the right pace.  The 4 hour pacer went out very slow and I was right on his heels for the first 2 miles which made me worry that I was going too fast.  My Garmin was telling me that I was fine so I just stuck with the pace letting the runners around me know not to worry, that we were right on pace.  Held a good, consistent pace and had a good group of guys around me for the first 16 miles.  The crowd started to thin out once we got off the causeway and I was all alone the rest of the way.  I had a real hard time keeping the pace slow enough for the last 10 miles.  My body just wanted to be done and would naturally speed up. I got a few seconds ahead each mile but gave that time back at the aid stations.  Since it was getting hot, I walked each aid station at took in extra fluids. Was about 20 seconds ahead at mile 25 so backed the pace off to 10:00/mile and crossed the finish line in 4:14:56.

With the slow pace and flat course, I really am not sore at all.  It was a good way to remind me how far a marathon is before the more aggressive pacing job at Big Cottonwood.  Was happy to see Tom Slick get his BQ minus 5 minutes.  Impressive considering the honest course and the heat.

Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 26.20
Comments(4)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
183.7010.00193.70
Adrenaline 2013 2 Miles: 164.20GoRun2 Miles: 12.50Adrenaline 2013 1 Miles: 17.00
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