Marathon Top 10 Finishes: 7 Bridges ('15), Utah Valley ('13), Salt Lake City ('08), Top of Utah ('07), and St. Louis ('04). Ran around the equator (24901.55) in 4,388 days.
And my largest challenge to date, raise $20,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of my cancer survivorship and in memory of those lost to blood cancer...
DONE! $26,403.70
Grew up outside Chicago and joined the blog while I lived in Salt Lake City. Now living outside Birmingham. I am married with two daughters. Wife thinks I'm crazy for doing marathons. And yes I am crazy I'm a scientist for a living...
Relaxes a little last night, but very long day today. In at 5:30am out the door after setting up two things. Initial plan was for 6 mi but the weather was too nice and I continued down into Memory Grove, then up the ramp and back. The day was long and a bunch of things happened that were frustrating but I kept my cool and plugged along. The only draw back was I got home a little over an hour late. The good news is that Sandra had plans so then I got some good family time with the girls. Avg. 9:31
It is nice to relax. Yesterday got home from work early.
Played with the girls and headed over to a BBQ a friend from church was
hosting. He knows how to party. He had the most amazing steak, beacon wrapped
chicken tenderloins and the sides were equally as fancy. A few full coolers and
a trunk full of fireworks. We weren’t able to stay for all the fireworks but we
did do some sparklers and smoke bombs. In any case it was a late night and then
early morning. I had to get the run in before the 8am neighborhood 4th
pancake breakfast. My plan for a couple of weeks was to run the 2X5K workout this
morning. This time I started and finished at the exact same spots so that I
could directly compare my efforts. Last time the plan was 2X18min and I hit
~18:15s. This time the plan was as hard as I could muster on the first and then
negative split. Same one mile warm up. Turned down Sunnyside and I was off.
5:28.71HR 162
5:33.11HR 172
5:38.97HR 178
0:38.11HR 179
TOTAL 17:18.90
It felt ok. My leg/knee was a little tight but otherwise it
was a good effort. About a three mile recovery back to the start and I was off
again.
5:22.58HR 168Better, a little more
awake
5:32.63HR 175I could feel the fatigue
but at least it wasn’t slower
5:40.42HR 180Really feeling it. Bummed
I couldn’t negative all the splits
0:36.86HR 182
TOTAL 17:12.49
Overall, I am happy with the results. I made my main goal
and ran the second faster. Both were hard but not all out, 5hrs of sleep 2
beers and a pound of steak have a way of slowing one down. I know there is room
for improvement but my progress is going in the right direction. The rest of
the day was relaxing. Pancake breakfast, hour nap, ran some errands for the
around the house, and grilled for both lunch and dinner and that is about it.
Avg. 7:24 HR 150
AM: Repeat of the Beacons’ Hike. This time we decided to try
and beat our time from last weekend. It was just hiking on the way up but no
stopping this time. On the way down the back side we ran it. I have to get used
to this trail running if I’m going to break Jon’s streak J…
Just kidding it will be a few years until I’m ready for that. However, I did do
a lot better than last week and even kept up the running for over two mile 5.65
mi (2 running).
PM: Planned on running with my daughter but it was too hot
and the day slipped away so we played in the kiddie pool and sprinkler while I
grilled dinner. After bedtime drove over to City Creek and ran up to the water
treatment plant and back (from the overlook). 8 mi 1hr exact! Avg. 7:36 HR 139
Have to get this fog out of my head. The morning was fine.
Last night I got a decent amount of sleep but… Into lab early and then I was out
the door. The moon was just above the mountain range and during the first half
mile I was running directly toward it. It is amazing how quickly things move.
By the time I hit my turn the moon was completely behind the mountains, nice to
watch. Then during the next mile or so I swear there was a dove on each block
cooing its head off. Finally got to Memory Grove and was just jogging along.
Turned up to head out and got a rock in my shoe. As I stopped to take the rock
out a guy I see relatively regularly going in the opposite direction caught me
as I was starting to run again. We happened to be going at not too different of
paces so I just started alongside him. However, he was not talkative (though I
see him about once a week) and I just kept going. At this a younger guy passes
by going at a good pace. I was said hi fairly loudly and no reply from him
either. Now is it just me or is there some type of runner’s code? I try and acknowledge
others braving the elements and hitting the pavement or trails with me. Even in
a hard workout I will try and give at least a nod. In any case I wasn’t sure what
I was going to do so I tucked in about 20 ft feet behind him so as not to crowd
him. Then my competitive side got the better of me and I decided to pull along
and say hi, maybe I’m too eager to meet other runners… He was going at a good clip
and we were running the FireHouse mile in reverse (up) at this point. I pulled
up and just went with him. There seemed to be a couple surges. We hit the mile
in 6:26 and I was about to find out who he was, how far he was going, introduce
myself, whatever, and he turned back to head back down the mile. So I had one
hardish mile with mystery guy. I’m 90% sure I’ve seen him going the other
direction before as well. I think this is enough procrastination. Now on to
work…Avg. 9:00
Yesterday must have been a fluke. Today everyone was saying hi. Even the first guy from yesterday gave a node. I didn't see the second guy though. In hind sight he probably just wanted to do his workout and not have some unknown factor come up and push the pace on him... Also today the birds were out in first. I saw three birds of prey, two hawks and a falcon. Two hummingbirds and my quails. I know I've said this before but every time I see a quail run I have to laugh. The run was slow and I am tired but otherwise it was a nice morning run from home to Memory Grove to Lab... Avg. 9:50
Today was a slow day but not bad. I’ve taken a new outlook
on life and am trying to keep to it. I went for my run after the girls went
down. Plan was an easy home loop. Got to thinking about speed about the time I
was passing the East High track and decided I was going to do a 1600m time
trial. Ran onto the track and started immediately. There were a few other
people on the track two runners doing workouts (1/4s I think). I did my 1600
and continued off the track and on with my home loop with a modified return
from SugarHouse.
Continued with the “speed” theme and broke out my flats. Two
goals: 1. See that they still feel fine and break them in; 2. Get in some fast
downhill miles as practice for Des News. The weather was perfect, upper 50s low
60s.
Ran to the FireHouse mile and hit it.
5:00.11 HR 170
descent 209ft slight crosswind
Then I continued down into City Creek and up into the
canyon. The sun coming up was perfect. There is a clearing where the sun just
opened up and there were three hummingbirds playing in the light. It looked
like I was in a magic kingdom watching fairies fly around.
I turned around and
did the City Creek Gate mile.
4:50.00 HR 177
descent 234ft slight tailwind
Overall the run was great. My efforts on the miles were
about 90% of mile effort (as can be seen by the HR).
The good news is that my knee was no worse for the wear after the hard downhill miles yesterday. The run this morning was sluggish but fine. I have to work today so I got in and set-up stuff for about an 1.5 hr and then out the door for a modified Memory Grove/City Creek run. The hummingbirds from yesterday were there again but it was later so the sun/shade effect was lost. Also ran into Albert and stopped to talk briefly. His training is going very well. I'm eager to see how well he does at Des 10K. Hopefully this time next year I'll be able to give him a run for his money but this year I'll be happy to see the back of his head during the last long straight away... Avg. 8:06 HR 137
I'm on to a good tradition. These Sunday morning hikes are such a great way to end/start the week. John and I hit a new trial, Grandeur Peak. It was a tough climb but completely worth it. It was so scenic and I felt like I was in the CO-Rockies instead of the Wasatch front. There was one crest when we went over into a field of at least 15 different kinds of flowers. The climb was from 4928ft to 8480ft in 2.3mi 1hr and 5min. The way down was TOO fast and I got a monster blister on my right heal. I ended up pealing it off and dealt with the joys of that for most of the day. Our church had their picnic at SugarHouse and then we had friends over for dinner who are leaving on their mission next month. After dinner I braved a Suicide Rock/Dog Park loop run, blister or no blister... Overall a good day.
It is Wed that I’m updated so the next three days go
together. I will try and type each entry as I had them outlined in my head
though for the specific day.
Monday, Monday… Typical crazy busy day with everything that
could pop up, pop up. After all family and work items were taken care of I
headed out the door for my run (9:45pm). I did the home 5K loop but slowly. I
initially had planned 10 for today but needed to get some sleep as well. Avg.
8:27 HR 127
AM: Memory Grove loop from work. My quads are still killing
me from the hike on Sunday. My blister is more or less a non-issue though. Avg.
9:12 HR 139
The morning was going more or less like a usual day. I had
planned two runs for the day. In lab things kept going wrong. We have a number
of summer undergrad “helpers” and some of them are better monitored than
others, I’ll leave it at that. By about 2pm I was ready to through in the towel
and head for the hills. Then I checked my e-mail and found out that I GOT MY
GRANT! That means I have a job for at least another three years. It is nice
when hard work pays off.
PM: After going home early (4:30pm if that is early) and a
celebration dinner of sushi with my family I had to drop some stuff off in lab
and then headed over to City Creek. It was a perfect evening, I’m sure the good
news of the day helped. Legs were still sore so I took it easy again. Tried to
go off road but was forced back by the overgrown trail I chose (12:51 for that
first mile). Then back on the road and up to the water shed line. About a
quarter mile before the mark there is a little waterfall. I was busy looking at
it and had to clear my nose. Upon clearing it a buck took off from the bush
about 50ft ahead across the road and bounded into the bush. I think I startled
it more than it startled me but it was still cool to see. Also, my friend the
hummingbird was dancing in the dusk light near picnic area number 8 again. Avg.
8:23 HR 136
It was nice to have the night off. Today is just getting
situated on the stuff I dropped yesterday and making sure all the paperwork is
in place for the new grant to start. Busy work I can say I actually don’t mind
doing.
AM: Commute run in the backside of campus. Avg. 9:19 HR none
is that bad???
PM: Naked nose run. After the nighttime routine headed out the door. Temp still read 90F but it didn't feel that bad. The nose run comes from the fact that I tried to control my pace by only allowing myself to breath through my nose. It forcing you to focus on your breathing and means you can't go too hard. I use it from time to time...
Interesting day. Sometimes things are not what they appear
and discussion is a good tool to get through it. Also, interoffice politics is
as entertaining as it gets. Is that coded enough for you? My right leg is still
tight, mostly the quad. Just did the 33rd south loop. Avg. 7:42
Early morning. I had my heart rate monitor on just out of
bed and it was reading between 37 and 42 bpm. Then out the door and it went up
to 120 in the first block. The heart is amazing. I did a commute run in to work
to the Firehouse mile and hit it in 5:06. It felt harder than it should have
but it was ok. Avg. 8:36 HR141
Not a very restful night. Sleep time was typical but I had a lot of dreams that I don't remember but did not allow me to rest. Then the girls woke up a little before my alarm and I felt like a slug from there on. I ended up leaving the house about 10 min late but Eric waited for me and we did a preview run of the Des 10K course. It is funny how less painful the last two miles are when you're running it at a relaxed pace and talking. As always we had some good conversation and overall it was a good run. Legs are still sore but the knee and quad are feeling much better than the rest of the week. Avg. 9 flat, since I'm a number freak I always find it amazing when the average pace is even to the second. HR 126
No alarm. It felt nice to sleep in. The after some playtime and breakfast off to church. I did have to work a couple hours after that and then our usual errands but with the 100F day we then got out the kiddie pool for a little dip. After the girls were in bed I headed over to City Creek and parked at the gate. This time I went 5 miles up (just past the 26th picnic stop). On the way up I saw two squirrels. That is note worthy as I always make fun of UT to my Midwest friends and family for the lack of them around here. I also so a gopher snake and a doe. On the way down I did it as a progression run with the intent of going all out the last mile (City Creek Mile described on Friday). The way down was going well. I let up a little too early on the last mile otherwise I would have had a new PR. Feels good to run that fast again. Last mile 4:45.83 dwn 336ftHR 182 , as I mentioned before the starts and stops on these are by where I start and vary. This one obviously had a bit more in my favor... Avg. 7:04 HR 153
p.s. Aided or not this is my second fastest mile ever!
After the hard run last night I was wired. That and I had a bunch of work to do. For whatever reason decided not to stop until I finished the table I was working on, that was at 2:55am... The morning was sluggish and even with sleeping in with that late of a bedtime the total sleep was still lacking. I guess that's what I get for sleeping over 8hr the night before. Today was ok, felt good about getting the stuff done last night. Now to move on to the next thing. The run was pretty random. Up and down random streets to Liberty then over to SugarHouse then home. Avg. 8:11
After the lack of sleep the night before 6.5 hr felt like a dream. Hip is a little sore from Sunday I think. Otherwise nothing special. Had to squeeze the run in while it was still hot between dinner and Sandra's book club. Avg. 7:21
Hip still a little sore. Otherwise feeling ok. I'm getting back into work mode. The grant last week is great news but it did cause me to re-evaluate what I've been up to. I hope that this brings me new focus. This next week I have the summary from my previous grant as well as a manuscript draft to get it sent out to the co-authors... The next 10d will be "fun"... This morning was more a death march commute run than anything. Avg. 10:16 (no kidding)
p.s. I put the City Creek, FireHouse, and Home 5K on the course tool so you all can see how much I "cheat" for my fast stuff...
Deseret News 10K (6.2 Miles) 00:33:30, Place overall: 38, Place in age division: 7
Easy Miles
Marathon Pace Miles
Threshold Miles
VO2 Max Miles
Trainer 1 Miles
Trainer 2 Miles
Racer Miles
Total Distance
8.00
6.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
14.00
Deseret News 10K 2009—
This race sure knows how to turn
around my mood. I’ve been very hesitant coming off my August 20th
injury. I know I ran St. George on it (probably not the best idea but I don’t
regret it). Since then I’ve been making a slow climb back to “health” and now
athlete again. I’ve had glimpses of encouragement along the way, some fast time
trial 5K and all out miles. However, I still had some lingering pain and was
not 100% confident going to the start line.
Sandra was gracious enough to
pick up my, Sasha, and Jeff’s race packets Thursday. Sasha stopped by that night
to pick up his (sorry about the safety pins). Then Jeff came by my place at
5:20am on the dot and we warmed up over to the start. With both I had good
conversations.
Then at the start saw a lot of
people I haven’t seen in awhile. I could really feel the nerves. I knew I had
built this race up in my head as “my return” so the pressure was on. However, I
wasn’t sure what to expect or how to proceed.
A few minutes before the gun, I
felt that I would just try and keep some of the familiar faces in view and go
by feel. The night before I had re-read last year’s race report and really
wanted to have a repeat but also did want to go out and break myself again. I knew
Albert was in much better shape than last year and there would be no Chad,
however there were both Cody and Jon at the start this year and though I knew
they are both running well this year I felt I would try and keep up with them.
The first mile as always is a
screamer and to my surprise I looked down at a almost the exact same split as
last year. The good news was that despite the heat and humidity it didn’t feel
as hard as last year.
5:03.86 aHR 176 Ascent 16ft Descent 206ft
I could see Albert was already
well out of reach. I felt Jon might be as well. I could see Cody and began to
work up to him. Though he had his first split as a little slower than mine I
didn’t think I passed him until the down by the VA Hospital. The second mile
surprised me even more as I saw that split was also about the same as last
year.
5:05.05 aHR 185 Ascent 32ft Descent 205ft
After this I was a little in a
daze. I couldn’t believe how good I was feeling with the heat. I just focused
on a Wasatch Running Center jersey about 50m up and wanted to catch whoever
that was. However, every time I made a move he seemed to do the same. The
distance even started to grow at this point. There was a guy in a black jersey
and one in a red jersey as well and I tried to work off of them. The third mile
felt hard and was bummed to see that it did deviate from last year’s but wasn’t
too worried about it at that point.
5:23.90 aHR188 Ascent 86ft Descent 172ft
Remembered were the 5K point was
and looked down to see a 15:55.## click by. Pretty sure that is a new PR…
At this point I was just happy
that I made it through half the race without my legs falling off or my knee
exploding all over the street. My hip was tight but not too bad. I was in race
mode and wanted to keep going. This next mile was the last of the “easy” miles
and I wanted to do my best. Wasatch guy still didn’t seem to be getting any
closer and I was definitely getting more tired.
5:34.82 aHR 186 Ascent 91ft Descent 187ft
I could tell the wheels were
falling off and even with the parade crowd I was finding it hard to hang on.
Mile 5 was a blur and all I remember is hearing someone coming up very close.
5:28.79 aHR 186 Ascent 130ft Descent 232ft
I was happy to see a slightly
faster mile. However, the “person” got closer and then pulled up alongside of
me. When I heard my name I just assumed that yet again I had gone out too hard
and Jon had got me toward the end of yet another race. But to my surprise it
was Josh S. I assumed he would have either been way ahead of me or playing
around out back. But I forget what a stellar athlete he is and he was just
playing around up front (or at least by me). I tried to tuck in behind him and
he encouraged me. But I was not having it. I was done. I let it creep into my
mind how few training miles I had done and that it was too hot. My bad on all
accounts. Before he left me he said we could catch the two guys ahead (one of them
Wasatch guy). I didn’t think so and just watched him go. But to my surprise
they started coming back to me. I tried to push a little harder and though Josh
continued to leave me the other two were getting closer and closer…
5:47.19 aHR 188 Ascent 52ft Descent 70ft
I was really hurting but mustered
a high school finish and “sprinted” past first black shirt guy and then at the
line Wasatch jersey guy.
1:06.63 aHR 190 Ascent 4ft Descent 10ft
My post race time and place: 33:31.1 in 33rd place
My official striderracing.com
time and place: 33:30.8 in 38th
place
That is my second fastest 10K.
Turns out Wasatch Jersey guy was Darrell Phippen and black jersey guy was Seth
Gutzwiller. Chris Odekirk also came up to me after the race and I guess I was
his Wasatch Jersey for the race but he ran out of road, lucky for me…
Overall, I am very happy with this
performance. I guess I cannot play lame duck anymore. I’m still sore in all the
wrong places but I am not sorer than going in so I think that is a good thing.
I double checked and I have run 719 mi less this year than last with much less
structured training.
After the race (and before the
race) I met some more bloggers. Redrooster and Dave S among a number of Walter’s
women. It is always nice to put a face to a name. Then Jon Cody and I ran up to
the start.
I was surprised last night to find out that a friend from Korea was in town so we went on a walk around town and then had a great sushi dinner.
After the race yesterday Cody had mentioned running to Dog and Desolation lakes. I was a little hesitant being the day after my test run and being a little later in the day for family time but in the end got the ok from the boss and we met at 7am at the Big CottonWood park and drive. Cody took me up to his old stomping grounds and we ran first to and around Dog Lake. Then up to 9600ft to look at Park City and Salt Lake City at the same time. Then back down and around Desolation Lake. It was a very scenic run and very entertaining. It was great to get to know Cody better and hear some of his stories about his childhood days on the trails. It was also hilarious to watch how the world was out to get him today. There was a Kung Fu cyclist and a couple attack ground squirrels but you'll have to ask him for details.
My legs were trashed from yesterday, for this run and I just tried to do my best to keep up with Cody as he showed me what trail running is really about. After this first set of the run we crossed the road and ran up to and into Donut Falls. Very amazing at the top!
On our way out we stopped to soak our very sore legs but a park ranger stopped to remind us that it was a water shed area and we had to get out now or face a $450 fine...
Considering I had run my second fastest 10K on a downhill course yesterday I was very happy with how my legs felt. The beautiful scenery (wild flowers, trees, waterfalls and a number of deer including a doe with two fawns) as well as the good conversation I'm sure helped.
Nothing too special today. Just a day of rest and recovery. My calves and quads are very sore but to my surprise and delight my knee and hip are not "too bad"... Sandra was nice and let me sleep in while she got up with our youngest at 6:30am. Then my oldest and I did our errands before lunch. We went to a farewell service for our friends who leave on their mission next Saturday. Afterwards my daughter and I played in the wading pool in our backyard before dinner. Just a little time in work today and off to start the week fresh tomorrow. BIG plans for this week as I have three work deadlines...
AM: SH commute run. Still feeling sore from the race but not too bad. Avg. 9:35
PM: Had to come back into lab. Ran to Memory Grove Overlook and back. Feeling much better. Overall the day was not as productive as I would have liked... Avg. 8:18
Topsy turvy week. Last night was rough. After a solid few
weeks of at most one wake-up (often unnoticed by me), my youngest woke up three
times. Needless to say I was in a daze. On top of things Sandra had some
errands during the day so I had family time in the middle of the day and worked
through dinner. Finally got out for my run about 9pm. Since I was still in lab
I did the work-MG loop plus a mile up and down CC. All and all ok day. Avg. 8:06
I spoke too soon. Today was hectic and it started off with a
very rough night. My youngest was even more off the wall and I didn’t get down
for good until 2:30am!!! So instead of the planned 5am wake-up and 14 mi split
in two runs I barely squeezed in one short home loop after everything else was
done for the day at 9:30pm. These late night runs are not as good as the early
morning runs. I did forget to mention that I saw a bat last night near the CC
gate. Avg. 8:46
Well whatever was going on the other two nights stopped and we got to sleep through the night... Otherwise the day was sluggish and I spent most of it catching up on paperwork. South loop. Avg. 8:02
Only one wake-up last night and Sandra took care of that. Up early though as I have a lot on my plate today... Into lab by 5:30am. Then out the door after setting up a few things. Ran the road to City Creek (3.5mi) then back via BST and down Dry Creek. The morning weather was great and my timing was perfect. I was running up towards Little Black as the sun was rising behind it. On my way down Dry Creek a student from BYU was heading up and turned around at the top and we ran the last little bit down together. Other than that on to clearing off that plate. Avg. 9:35
