High Speeds

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 7, Jenny and Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny and Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny and Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5.

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny did not run - had a sore throat,  Julia ran 2 - she also got a sore throat, but hers got better, but we still decided she should run only 2 as a precaution, Joseph did 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny 2, Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, and William 0.5.

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny and Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5.

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny and Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny and Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5Benjamin and I did a pickup for 0.5

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny 2, Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny 2, Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 6 (recovering from the stomach flu), Jenny 2 ( same problem), Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny and Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5.

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Rob 4, Jenny 3, Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5.

From Dad's blog : Did 8 with Benjamin and Caleb, then ran with the other kids

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny and Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5.

From Dad's blog : 8 with Benjamin

From Dad's blog : 8 with Benjamin, then ran with the other kids

From Dad's blog : Did 8 with Benjamin

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny and Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5

From Dad's blog : After running with the little kids (Jenny and Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1), I decided to wait to run with Benjamin and Sarah until laterEven then, Benjamin and I took 1:11:06 to run 8 miles

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny 1, Julia and Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5, Sarah 1

From Dad's blog : Benjamin reaped the fruit of his labors winning all 5 games and the top prize along with it in the Junior High division8 miles total, all with Benjamin

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny rested (recovering from stomach flu), Julia did 1, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, Sarah 1.5, William 0.5.

From Dad's blog : 8 with Benjamin, more with the little kids

From Dad's blog : Benjamin ended up with 9 miles for the day, and I ended up with 11.

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny 2, Julia 3, Joseph 2, Jacob 1, William 0.5

Eight miles in 1:01:37.

Eight miles. Did the first mile of a tempo with my Dad.

sick

sick

sick

sick

4 miles in 32:37.

40:53.

5 miles today in 40:59.

Five slow miles.

6 slow miles. Still recovering.

From Dad's blog : It was Benjamin's 14th birthday, so I ordained him to the office of a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood

Seven miles in 56:54. Caught up to Adam and ran with him for a while.

Seven miles today in 54:57.

Seven slow miles in about 56:00.

Seven miles today in 54:45.

Eight miles today. First one with my sister Julia.

Eight miles with Chad and my Dad in about 54 minutes.

Eight miles in about 55 minutes today.

Eight miles total today. One with Julia, 1.5 with my Mom.

Eight slow miles.

Eight miles in 1:03:03.

Eight slow miles in about 64:00.

Did a two-mile tempo down the canyon with my Dad in 10:55.

From the start, my legs hurt. I did not feel like running, much less running fast. Originally I was planning to only run the first mile, but it turned into an "until the standard bearer fainteth" run. At 1 mile, I asked my dad when I should stop. He said 2000, but for some reason I didn't stop at 2000. I still don't know why.

Then, I made it to 1.5 miles and really wanted to quit, but thought of how sad it would be to drop out with 800 to go in the Olympics. That motivated me for another 400. Then, with 400 to go, I started feeling nauseous. That almost did it for me, then the thought came, "Jesus suffered what you're going through, and infinitely more. You can do this." After that, it still hurt, but it was bearable. Like unseen hands were bearing me up.  

I finished with 2:00 for the last 600. Total time for 8 was 1:00:24.

From Dad's blog :

Eight slow miles. Two with Julia in 17:46.

Five easy miles. Recovering.

4.5 easy

Went to the Utah Elementary State Chess Championship with my family. Julia scored 3.5 out of 6, Jospeh 3, Jenny and Jacob 4, and William 1 out of 3. I volunteered as a TD and played blitz in between rounds. It was funny to watch all the little kids hanging their queens and making illegal moves and getting out of stalemate (impossible without some serious rule violations).   

From Dad's blog :

Six slow miles. 

Seven slow miles, including 0.5 with William in 5:05. 

eight easy.

Eight easy.

Won my first 3 games in the chess tournament. See next entry. 4.5 easy.

Five easy. Went to the final 4 rounds of the Utah Junior High State Chess Championship. In my fourth round (first for the day), I faced Eric Tokitka (or whoever his last name is spelled), and won. He was 300 points below me, so the result was unsurprising. This was my last easy (relatively) game for the tournament. 

      Round five is when the fun began. All the top players were paired against each other. My opponent was Clancey Black, about 100 points below me at the time, though that was due to inaccurate published ratings. He had taken first in state (with me second) twice. I had played him twice before in a tournament - a draw and a loss. 

     Anyway, I opened with an unexpected opening, causing Clancey to spend too much time on the clock - a reoccurring pattern for the remainder of our game. He attacked too early against a solid defense and ended up trading queens to avoid loss of tempo. This prevented any future attacks against my king, which caused me some relief. The game was now headed in a direction I was more comfortable with.

    After thinking hard on several moves, Clancey finally moved too quickly and dropped a pawn. I managed to trade off pieces and win the pawn up rook endgame.

  In the sixth round, I played Sam Mason, 150 points above me. He smashed me in the opening and won the Exchange (Bishop for Rook) , but like Claney before him, spent too much time on moves. He also dropped a pawn and gave me connected passed pawns which could prove dangerous if he blundered. (Hope all the chess detail isn't too confusing :-)).

 But Sam was still winning. My only remaining tactic was hypnosis. In chess, hypnosis is when you make moves that are not the best, necessarily, but set up easy-to-miss traps for your opponent. So it was with me and Sam. I gave him a 'free' pawn and he took it, after 7 or so minutes thought. Then the trap was unavoidable and I won back the Exchange. The game ended in a draw. I might have had a win in the endgame, but I missed it. A draw was definitely more than I'd hoped for.

In the last round, I was tired, hung a piece, and lost after a botched, desperate, counter-attack. I ended up 4th overall, and 2nd in my grade for the 3rd year in a row (but not to Clancey), and with the distinction of being the only player at the tournament to play Sam and not lose.

Eight easy miles. 

Eight easy miles.

Eight easy miles.

Eight mile in 60:10 with 4x400 in 75, 74, 71, and 76 (uphill).

Eight fun miles in the snow.

Eight easy in the snow.

Eight easy.

Did a 2-mile tempo in 10:47. Mile splits of 5:33 and 5:14. Last half mile in 2:33.

Eight easy.

4x100 uphill (75, 76, 75 and 71) My Dad told me to gap him on the last one and I did.

Eight easy.

Four down the canyon in 22:57 (new PR). In other words, 22 minutes and 57 seconds of voluntary pain to get a PR.

Usual easy 8, then ran 1.2 to a car shop later in the day.

Did a 2-mile tempo down the canyon in 10:32, a PR. Mile splits of 5:18 and 5:14. Half mile splits of 2:39, 2:39, 2:40 and 2:34. It was wet.

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny 4, Julia 2, Joseph and Jacob 2, William 0.5

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8The splits were 71.7, 72.2, then Benjamin ran around 63.8 and I did 64.5 on the last one in the canyonThe very last one up the hill was 70.7 for me and about 70.3 for Benjamin

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny was sick - 0.5, Julia 2, Jacob and Joseph 2, William 0.5

From Dad's blog : Benjamin ran with me for the last 4Benjamin did 10,  Jenny 3, Julia 2, Jacob 1, Joseph 2

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 8, Jenny 2, Julia 2, Joseph and Jacob 2, William 0.5

Two miles fast in 10:32.6 (new PR).

From Dad's blog : Benjamin did 6 in anticipation of the track meet the next day, and also due to bad sleep from upper back tension

Warmed up 3, two with younger siblings, 1 at the track. It took untill 7:30 for my race to start. It was after the two girls heats and I was in the slow heat. We tried to get me into the fast heat, but were unable due to my lack of a mark.  The first 800 was in 2:48. I was following the leaders. Then my Dad yelled at me to get out of there. I did. I hit the mile in 5:31, the next 800 in 2:42, and finished in 2:30 (78. 72). Last 1600 5:14. I lapped most of the field. Toward the end, when I started lapping people, a group of spectators started cheering "Go Crocs!" That helped a lot. I finished in 10:46. Eighth overall. The winner of the fast heat did 10:08. Admittedly, I was in the wrong heat, but it was fun to destroy the field. I qualified for 1-A in state.

easy

easy

easy

easy

easy

easy

easy

10K of doom today. I survived. got 35:30, a PR.

ez

easy

Misery workout today. 800 (2:18), 600 (1:41.5), 400 (62.3), and 200 (29.4). Ouch. Still feeling effects 3 days later. Nine miles total.

Ran 4 while at campout. Could not run more due to hip pain. Probably a side effect of the workout yesterday.

Seven miles despite hip problem.

Pirformis still tight.

Easy 8 miles.

Easy 8.

Easy 8.

8 easy.

  Took the  AP Chemistry test. Felt pretty confident on multiple-choice , 55-65 of 75 correct (no penalty for incorrect answers). Blew up on the calculator free-response, but answered everything. I'm sure I missed half of a question, and probably at least a third in the other two. I will be lucky to get 60 percent on that portion. The non calculator went a little better. Did about 60-70 percent right on one (I think), then 80-90% on the next two. The calculator questions are 30% of my total score, the non-calculator questions are 20%, the multiple choice is 50%. So 4-5. I deserved a 4, but when we approximated my score based on how I think I did, without giving myself benefit of the doubt, my score was .1 above the standard for a 5. A 5 would be great, a 4 would be unsurprising.

   Ran one mile back from Orem high, then 4 alone in 30:18.

  Took the AP Computer Science test (namely, the Java test). The syllabus incorporates alogarithms, as well as Java-specific materials. There is also a GridWorld case study. However, in small snippets, Java looks and behaves almost like C. So it wasn't like I was learning a foreign language. The principles are basically the same (with a few gotcha's, hence the name of Java test). On the multiple choice (50%, 40 questions) I felt sure about almost all (90%) of my answers. I probably had 5-10 multiple choice wrong. I know I caught one mistake. I have a habit of thinking I understand something perfectly, and then confidently giving a bogus solution.

  Also, for the first half of the multiple-choice, I was drowsy. I knew I was about to crash. I spent more time than I should have on the first problems. Then I said a silent prayer that my mind would clear and that I could solve the problems. Within a few minutes, the drowsiness lessened. I was able to solve the remaining questions more quickly than the first half. Some may call that a confidence effect. I think it should be called the faith effect.

Next were the four free-response questions. I finished with 26 minutes to spare. Then I went back and caught 4-6 horrific mistakes. I could have lost as much as 10-13% of my score to them. So I fixed them and with 10 minutes remaining did not find any more mistakes. I felt confident about all my free-response answers. I think I got a 5, but can't say for sure.    

  Ran a mile home, then 4 in 31:16.

Took the AP Calculus BC exam today. Scary sounding name. Not quite so scary in real life. I believe Calculus could become at least optional curriculum at the 8th-10th grade level -- if we could fix up our education system, that is. It doesn't take a prodigy to learn calculus at 8th grade  (If my IQ score is any indicator, I am certainly no prodigy). There was a fourth-grade teacher who taught his entire class calculus. They were not a class of prodigies. They were taught more effectively, at a higher standard, and as a consequence performed at that higher standard. Students will rise or fall to what is expected of them. The reason we don't expect them to learn calculus until college is because our current method of education is ineffective. It takes until college to lay the necessary groundwork to understand calculus. That is not the student's fault. It is the fault of the system that teaches them.

I'm not trying to single out public school. Homeschool has its problems too. I'm talking about our general approach to education in America. Many teachers nationwide do an excellent job, but they have to (or choose to) stick with the curriculum. The same often applies to homeschoolers.

     Enough about education. Here's my personal experience on the exam.

I felt sick on the multiple choice section of the exam. I felt like my ability to problem solve was impaired. Still, I think I got 55-70 percent of the questions right. The AP exams are set up like Olympiads. You're intended to miss some questions. That's why the grading curve is usually 66% :-). I prayed repeatedly that my mind would clear. It started to towards the end of the calculator multiple-choice. It was totally clear at the start of free-response

I did better on the free-response questions, 80-95% estimate. Hope I got a 5. Hope my estimates were accurate.

Three easy.

4 easy.

6 easy.

3000 meters of misery in Park City. The splits are in my dad's blog. Probably kicked too late. Just could not get myself to run faster. The heat (and the altitude) got to me.

Took AP Physics C:Mechanics. The score approximator I used, based on my "worst-case scenario" gave my score as 0.7 points above the standard for a 5. So we'll see. The curve on physics is 50-55 points out of 90, and for a good reason. The free-response questions are comparable to Russian Olympiad problems. I got into time trouble.At least I know for sure I answered 1.3-1.7 of three correctly. I wrote something everywhere else. Hope I got enough partial credit.

8 easy. Actually. 3.5 easy, then 4.5 at night vomiting every half mile or so.

All easy.

Ten miles of pain with my Dad. we did 5 times one mile at 6:00 pace, with a mile rest. Sounded easy at first (how naive I was). I'd run a 10K faster than 6:00 pace, with no rest. So I asked my dad, "Only 6:00 pace? And with breaks?"

     He basically told me "you'll see". What I didn't realize was that two of the fast miles would be uphill, into a head-wind, and that the "breaks" were going to be run at a briskish pace, three of which would be uphill, into a head-wind.

  At 4 miles, 3 uphill, and two of those uphill miles fast, I felt pooped. Now I understood why we were 'only' going 6:00 on the intervals. My splits for the first two miles were 5:59 and 5:53. The downhill miles (5:50, 5:50)  were easier, but I was still getting murdered aerobically.

    The final  interval was at the end of the workout, and as a consequence I got to run the hilly course by my house (those of you who've run with my dad recently know exactly what I'm talking about) in 5:50.

Total time for 10 miles was 68 something. Felt like the workout was a success. Took a 50-minute nap after my run. More accurately I lay on the couch, incapable of movement, more dead than alive, until I had recuperated sufficiently to walk.

8 easy.

Eight easy.

  Ten miles of pain in 58:34 (fortunately not in the rain). Drove up the canyon with my Dad to the magic 10-mile mark, then warmed up a half mile.

   For the first two miles I was antsy - full of little aches and doubts.Over the next 3 I felt pretty good, but was dreading the second half and potential crash. Around 3,5 we slipped on some mud. Luckily, no one fell. The near miss shook me up.

   At 5 miles, we were a low 29. Any readers will need to look at my Dad's blog for splits. I started thinking, "Each mile under 6:00 moves me away from disaster. Juts one more mile." Somehow I held on for 4 more miles, averaging 5:50-5:53.

  With a mile to go, I was safely ahead of the 6:00 guy. I took the lead, trying to not crash. For me, it's physiologically easier to lead than draft over the last mile. I feel more in control. Maybe it is my competitive nature surfacing. For all the benefits of drafting, no one ever wins a race by drafting throughout the kick.

  The hills over the last 1000 got me. The bear, no, mammoth, jumped on me with 800 to go. I may also have had physiological issues. I managed to kick over the last 200. Last mile in 6:03. Only mile over 6.

  This workout wiped me out, which was my Dad's intent. Practically everything hurt. So I guess I can consider it a success.

easy

easy

easy

easy

Easy, did a 600 pickup in 1:46.9.

Took a potshot at the Utah Youth state record for 1500 meters, which is 4:29.4. Unfortunately, the track was at UVU. The wind was terrible. I ran alone. None of the competition could pace me. My splits were 72.7, 74.3, 75.1 and 52.7. The conditions were far from ideal. I'm happy with my performance, but I missed the state record by 6 seconds. Next time I'll be running in a regional meet. Hopefully there will be no wind. Hopefully some Youth in the region can pace me for at least part of the way. I would prefer it if I could sit on some super runner for the first three laps, then get out-kicked. As in chess, your best performances in running occur when you lose to an opponent who beats you, but just barely.   

easy

Thought I'd licked my mental block. Apparently not. It reared its ugly head after mile two of the three mile tempo with my Dad and Dave. The pace had felt faster than I expected from the beginning. I let it get to me, and temporarily lost my reason for about 200 meters. By then, it was too late. I ended up with 16:56. Ouch. Hopefully, I've learned my lesson that if I have breath to whine, I can keep up the pace.

easy

easy

easy

Warmed up about 1 mile before the race. This is the first Church-sponsered race I've heard of.

By 600 meters, the last competitor besides me and my Dad (a kid named Logan) had been dropped. My Dad led the first quarter, I led the second. For splits, please refer to his blog. Then I betrayed him. I let him lead the next mile, when the plan had been for me to trade quarters. Fair racing tactics, I guess. Then I kicked with 800 to go. I ended up gapping my Dad by 6 seconds.

Logan took third. Then it went Joseph, Jenny, Jacob, and Julia (all between 14:30 and 14:55). Cooled down five miles.

Logan came and ran the first 4 with us. All easy. For scouts:

45 pushups in 1 minute, 1 pullup, 46 situps reached to my toes (however far that is)

Every runner has dual personalities. (Some have more, but those are the exceptions). I'll call the two personalities Mr. Lazy and Mr. Athlete.

Mr. Lazy is (naturally) lazy. He hates pain. When things get hard, he gives up. Mr. Lazy is what makes you think sometimes, at the end of a marathon, when you've crashed and people are passing you, "I don't care, I just want to get this over with." 

Mr. Athlete is the polar opposite of Mr. Lazy. He loves to win. He loves to run fast. He looks on pain as the price of running fast. When you see people passing you, Mr. Athlete sees red. He screams at your legs to move faster.

Mr. Lazy and Mr. Athlete are constantly at war. When Mr. Athlete loses, he is invigorated. He is determined to win next time. When Mr. Lazy loses, he gives up. 

Last week, Mr Lazy won. I quit. This time, Mr. Athlete was determined to win. I ran 16:01. The last 1200 was misery. Mr. Lazy wanted to quit. But Mr. Athlete was stronger. I ended up out kicking my Dad by a second or so. Dave was out kicked by 4 or so seconds.

tapering for the half

easy

easy

Ouch. That's all I need to say :-)

I felt a little antsy for the first 4 or so miles. Then I felt pretty good for the next 3. I started feeling weird at mile 7. At 8, I was miserable. By the time I hit 10 miles (57:07, 10 mile PR (Also hit 10K PR for the first 10K of 35:20)) I was ready to stop. The next mile was uphill misery. I survived. The last two miles consisted of indescribable agony. My Dad mentioned a courageous push in the last mile. I didn't notice it. Pain had become the dominating factor in my mind.

    When I finished I couldn't believe it. Not only did I do better than I had expected, I was done. Somehow I had convinced myself that the half marathon would never end, that my ordeal was eternal torment. Thankfully it was only the longest hour and 15 minutes and 21 seconds of my life.

I can safely say that my half was the hardest thing I have ever done. It was also one of the most worthwhile things I've done.

easy

On hike

Recovering.

Recovering.

Recovering.

Recovering.

Six easy. Did a 400 meter pickup with Andrew and Logan. Logan and me got 74.5. Andrew got 77.8. Last of the six was with William.

For scouts:

  10 pushups (hurt finger)

  31 situps

   0 pullups (finger)

   As far as my toes for the flexibility test.

800 in 2:23.5.

600 in 1:46.

Had adrenal fatigue today. Ended up in second.

800 at track in 2:29.7. 

The lactic bear jumped on me with 300 to go. He brought plenty of family members. My opening lap was 65. something. I closed in around 70.6. The first place medal was cooler than most others.

  Warmed up 2 in the early morning. The race was at 11:00 AM. Right before, I did strides with Eric Lambert. We didn't time them, but both of us were feeling sluggish. The temperature was 88 degrees. Much better than the day before, but still plenty hot.

  As I walked to the starting line, I kept thinking: "I really don't want to run a 1500 all out." Usually, this is a precursor of a mental failure during the race. Heat messes with your mind. It distorts both your sense of pace and your sense of pain.

   The first three hundred was in 55. It felt uncomfortable. Eric led. We passed a kid who started out too fast around 250 meters. When I heard the split, I knew I needed to lead if I wanted to get a decent time today. I led for 300, then let Eric lead. We did a 71.8 next lap.

  Somewhere around 600 meters, when I returned the lead to Eric, a mental beast within me awoke. It was the same beast that kept me from breaking six. It almost got me today. I came within a millimeter of dropping out. I had thoughts like "there's no way I can keep up" and "I'm sprinting all out to keep up. My legs have to give out." I wanted Eric to be faster. I wanted him to drop me so I would have an excuse to run slower. I envied everyone who wasn't running. Everyone who sat in the shade, sipping ice-cold water, watching contentedly as I endured what I am convinced is among the most devious forms of torture ever devised. The agony of torture racks is undoubtedly greater. But the pain of running is self-inflicted. It has a mental and emotional side unique to running.

   Somehow I survived until the kick. It was in 70. Eric got me by 0.08. I ended up with 4:31.58. I'm happy with my performance.

Easy. Last 0.5 with William. He has a talent for finding excuses not to go on his run. Mixed with the usual "I'm too tired" and "It's bad to go on my run" are "runs are dangerous" and "the bacteria will get me". At least he runs, despite all the excuses. That's pretty good for a four-year old. 

For scouts: 50 pushups, 40 situps, the rest same as last time 

Ran to track. Did a 1000 pickup with my Dad and Logan. We got 3:07.6. Andrew ran the first 300.

Warmed up about 1. The humidity got me at about 1.4. I also had mental problems. The pace felt faster than I thought it should have from the start. I ended up with 17:47, 13 seconds behind my Dad. Cooled down about 4. 

2x500, 1:32 down and 1:38 up.

  Warmed up about a mile.

  I was the number four seed at the starting line. I was nervous, fearing I was about to experience 10 minutes of pure pain. 

  My first 200 was in 34. As expected, the leaders went out fast. At the 200 mark I was in 7th or so place. Over the next two laps I caught up to the leaders. I was feeling good. The next lap felt a little slow - 80.5. At that point, I was surprised to be halfway done and not yet hurting. Then my Dad yelled at me to make them go faster, I didn't have the confidence to take the lead, so I settled for applying pressure from behind - a mistake, as my Dad later pointed out. The pace picked up over the next two laps. I kept applying pressure from behind, then being squeezed out into the outer lanes. Then, the lead pack broke up. Millesio, the leader, dropped back. He was the first seed, with a personal best of 9:24, but started out too fast and died. Gabriel Fendel, number two seed, best of 9:42, broke away. I followed. Miguel, the number three seed, dropped back as well. I couldn't believe it! I was still with the leader coming into the kick.

  Unfortunately, I lacked the confidence to kick with 600 to go, and fell victim to Gabriel's 100 meter kick. I started to hurt in the penultimate lap, but only a little. Less than I should have. Lack of confidence hurt me in that race. I kicked with 200 to go, but it was too late. Gabriel passed me back with 100 to go. I didn't have it. The last lap for me was 72 - Gabriel did 70. He put 1.5 seconds on me in the last 100. My only chance was to grind him down with an extended kick. Oh well.

  I'm very happy with my result in this race (after all, 2nd in a national meet with a state record to boot), but I've learned some important lessons about track racing.  

eay

easy.

Did 1200 in 3:54 practicing track passing skills.

Easy

Warmed up about one mile. The first two miles felt too fast - but they always feel that way. The first mile was 5:22, then 5:21 for the second. I didn't get the split at mile 3. I felt the pace slow in the third mile, but was too afraid to break away. I think I waited too long to start my kick. Morale of the story - if it's hurting less in the third mile of a 5K, floor it. You can judge how well you raced by how much pain you were in.

Cooled down 5. Ended up with 17:01. I'm content with this result. My goals before starting the race were to not psychologically wimp out, and to beat my Murray 5K 'PR' of 17:47. I accomplished both.

Warmed up 0.5 or so. I was sleep deprived. I got about 6 hours of sleep or less the night before. I saw the first two heats. I noticed the pattern of drastic slumping in lap 2. Yet I failed to learn from it.

   The first 300 was in 50.5 for me, a little faster than expected. My Dad hadn't expected such a fast start. He had instructed me to take the lead in lap 2, thinking I would be in sixth or seventh, rather than last. Once he saw the pattern, he would have told me to floor it in lap two, regardless of the competition. However, he wasn't able to talk to me after the heats had started.

   The second lap was where I blew the record. I flopped in 75.5. I even saw my split of 1:28 at 500, but my brain was too sleep-deprived to make sense of the split and realize that I was slipping catastrophically. I passed some people, felt some wind, and was too timid. I convinced myself that I was running fast enough. My dad yelled 76 as my split. I saw 2:24 at 800.

Over the last 800, I floored it. Yet I was unable to accelerate fast enough. My splits were 73 and 71.8. I finished 4th in my heat with 4:30.8 (PR), and barely qualified for the finals, with the 12th fastest time.

I should have opened 52/72 , then I would have had a 73 and a 70 kick, giving me 4:27. I learned that I needed to floor it in lap 2, not relax. It needs to hurt in lap 2, or I'm not racing right. Cooled down 4 or so.

 The finals is on Sunday, so I am not running it. It would mean a very good chance at the record, now that I've learned my lesson. I would be racing the same kids; they would follow the same pattern. It would give me a chance to place in Nationals - something I could only have dreamed of four or even two years ago. But the Sabbath day is more important. I believe in "Six days shalt thou labor, and on the seventh thou shalt rest." Some might say, "Well, can't you run just this once? After all, it's the national finals! You could still go to church." 

  Well, part of the reason we have commandments is to see if we will keep them. To test our faith. Are the commandments worth more to me than a record? Is my duty to God worth more than running in the finals? Yes. Is it worth it to compromise my values for a record, a medal, or whatever it may be? No. 

 When my Dad told the lady at the packet pickup I had qualified for the finals and wasn't running, she was shocked. He asked if another person could advance in my stead. She had to consult the rules. Apparently, no one had ever done what I did in that meet. Or she'd never heard of it. She told him that the final would be run with 11 people.

  Missing the record was frustrating, but I learned a lot. And I got to both send a message and learn a lesson myself about keeping the Sabbath day holy. So the experience was worth it. I'm at peace with my performance

A.M. 5.5 easy. P.M. 2 easy with Julia

50 pushups for scouts and 40 sit ups, I think. Did 2 pullups.

Logan did a two mile time trial on our nasty uphill course. He got 11:54. 

I needed a twenty mile hike for a merit badge. I got sick and missed my troop's high adventure 37 miler, and the chances of getting them to do another one were less than zero. My Dad suggested a 20 mile run. Nothing in the requirements said that running was prohibited.

We stopped at 7 for a water break, then at 9 for a bathroom break. At 14 we stopped at the house, then took the kids for their runs. My heart rate stayed at 140 for the first 17 or so. I started feeling weird at 13.5. Things gradually progressed for the remaining 6.5 miles. My heart rate climbed to 150 after 18. I was pretty tired afterwards, but the Utah Valley half was much more painful. I'd take 20 easy over racing a half any day. Our time for twenty was 2:39:39, I think, just barely faster than the 8-minute mile 'guy'.    

3200 on the track with Logan and my Dad in 11:27 - Logan's PR.

Six miles on campout with the young men in my ward.We were at about 9000 feet. I ran on a hilly dirt road. I got about four hours of sleep. I need a better camping pad.

Did 0 pullups for personal fitness merit badge, 50 pushups, I think, and 46 situps.

sick

sick so zero for everything for my personal fitness test.

Sick. Have been for the last week.

Was still a little under the weather, but managed to win.

Felt weak on the course today. Especially on the hills. I also think that I took some long-cuts, added 10-15 seconds.

Was afraid that Spencer Jarvis (800 PR 2:06, mine being 2:16), would kick my trash. However, I got lucky -- he was out of shape. 

I started out fast with the intention of dropping Grant from the get-go. He stuck with me, and that was a major psychological blow. That may account for the slowing down in the middle. I let Grant take the lead, feeling /weak. I felt very weak on the hills -- like I was barely staying with Grant. However, I managed to kick and win by 10 seconds.

Four in the morning.

Got 11:07. The course was slow. I don't think I pushed myself as hard as I could. I did not have real competition.

Did about 1.5 combined in warmup and cooldown, giving me 7.5 for the day.

4x300 in 48.2, 46.9, 44.9 and 44.0.

Did a 10K time trial today in 34:41. It hurt, Maybe I could have gone 10-20 seconds faster. But I got my goal of sub-35:00, so I'm happy. I enjoyed General Conference.

Three in the morning. I warmed up a mile with my Dad. I felt good during the race. The course had a lot of downhill, but the grass kept me from really accelerating. I did beat my Dad by 20 seconds. A large contributing factor was the turns on the course. I gained a couple seconds on each turn. He had also done a 5 mile tempo in the morning. However, I've started to get an edge on him over shorter distances. This race was the first one against him where I maintained a gap the whole time. In every other race where I won, it all happened over the last 200-800 meters. Cooled down one mile or so after the race, giving me a total of 6 for the day.  

Did 4X300, 48.9, 45.9, 46.9, and 46.0. About 2 seconds slower than last week. It may be due to the 10K on Saturday or to a little extra wind in the canyon today. I felt more tired than usual during  the intervals. Saw Logan Norris on the trail. 

Matt Paulson decided he'd join in on the fun today. He won in 10:20. I stayed with him for about 400-600, then fell back adn got 10:56. Matt's GPS showed 2.02 for the '3K' course. I'm inclined to believe it. That would explain my abnormally slow times on the XC courses this year, while I'm performing fine on the road or track.

Pulled my Dad for a 3 mile tempo. I got 15:42 (PR), he got 15:48. It happened over the last quarter. I felt relatively good for the first two miles. It started to hurt in mile 3. I did not want to run any faster than 79 per quarter. But with 800 to go, an 'engine' turned on. It felt like some external force was moving my legs -- some subconscious process. I felt the same way last Saturday at the end of my 5 mile tempo. My Dad stayed with me for a quarter in 75, then dropped back when I really cranked it up. I got 73 for my last quarter. Mile splits were (by my watch) 5:15, 5:20, and 5:07. 

Did an 800 on the track in 2:12.3, a PR. 

Eight easy in the morning.

  Did my Eagle Scout project today. We painted 16th of a mile marks on the first 4 miles of the Murdock. The marks are the same as those on the Provo River trail (those of you who are familiar with the trail or its marks can skip the following explanation). The marks start with 4 triangles, then 1 triangle a 16th of a mile later, then 2, then 3, then 4, and the cycle repeats. By allowing accurate. frequent splits, they make running on a trail much nicer. They enable me and my Dad to do speed workouts in the canyon. Without them, or a simliar system, the only way to do quality speed is on the track.

  Down to the project.

  We started a half hour later than I had planned. Since the marks needed to be protected for 20 mintues after being painted (or so we supposed), I had developed a plan calling for a half-mile long train of paint watchers following the measuring wheel. A team of watchers would guard two sets of marks for five minutes before moving on, and then the next team would move into place, and so forth. The plan called for four teams total, including the lead painting team. We had 12 people total, including me and my Dad, which ended up being just right.

  On paper the plan looked good. When I attempted to implement it, however, several flaws were discovered. Since we were running late, I didn't have the time to instruct the volunteers as much as I should have, and some of the problems were due to that. Still, my plan hadn't accounted for certain factors, such as distance. I ended up having to do a lot of yelling. A couple of times, we made  Andrew, a homeschooled teenager who ran with us during the summer, run back ro give instructions to the trailing volunteers. Also, the timing of the paint-watching shifts got messed up or misunderstood. The paint dried faster than I had expected, and we ended up moving faster at the end to finish before dark.

    Though it had to be adjusted during the project, the plan succeeded. The project was completed, and no one got hurt. I learned a lot about leadership and logistics. Some last-minute organizational help from my Mom made the project much better. I'm glad that I could get it out of the way. The Eagle Project is a big part of the reason that only 7 percent of scouts make Eagle. The thing I will remember most about this project, though, is that I managed to plan and carry out a project where the majority of the workers literally watched paint dry :-).

  Took the ACT again today. Felt about the same on English, better on Math (no time trouble, much less guessing), worse on Reading (got into time trouble, had to guess on 5-6 questions. Partly due to a hard first passage. Also, I accidentally filled in some ovals on the Science test when answering Reading questions, and had to erase and re-fill in the proper ovals. It really flustered me.) and better on Math. My guestimate for my scores is 34-36 on Math, 33-35 on English, 28-32 on Reading, and 33-35 on Science.

   Ran a mile home form Orem High, then went to the Murdock Canal Trail with my Dad and ran 7. He biked, having already run 20 in the morning. The 16th of a mile marks we painted for my Eagle Project yesterday were still there. That is, they'd dried without peeling or getting stepped in. There were some faint smudges and some of the triangles were a little less than ideal, but no major messes. So I think I can safely call the project a success.  

Did another 800 meter time trial toda. Got 2:11.4 -- a PR and a family record. When My Dad started at 300 meters, I felt like I couldn't keep up, like I was about to be dropped. Then, I gritted my teeth and found those extra gears in the last quarter,

Did a two mile tempo in 10:14. Mile splits were 5:06 and 5:08. Busted the first halF mile in 2:31 up that nasty bump on my Dad's 3 mile tempo course. I paid for it with 5:10 pace from 0.5 to 1.5. This is my two mile PR.

Did 4x400 in 64.0, 64.8, 64.5 and 62.6.

Did my Dad's favorite 3 mile tempo run down the canyon. The first mile was 5:07, as planned. I was breathing hard, but not too fatigued. I doubted my ability to run the tempo in our target of 15:30. I felt that I needed to push harder to keep the pace, and figured that I'd better hammer the pace while I still had downhill. I wanted to push hard in the second mile because I doubted my ability to push hard in the third. In any case, my next quarter was 72. That was when things started getting miserable.

I got 10:13 at two miles, a PR of 1 second. My second mile was in 5:06. The second mile with its nasty bump is the slowest mile of the tempo run. I really hammered it. That cost me later on. My third mile was 5:12, with the last quarter in only 76. I got 15:25 for the entire tempo, a PR of 17 seconds. My Dad thinks that If I'd waited to start hammering untill a mile to go, my time would have been at least several seconds faster. He's probably right.

  Today I got my ACT score back - 35 composite, 36 on English, 35 on Math, 36 on Reading, and 34 on Science. I'm very happy with my result. I was expecting another 33, based on how I felt and on how hard the Reading test was. I believe that many more students could score 34-36 on the ACt, than currently do. I'm not in the top 0.3 percent in terms of aptitude. I am where I am because of how I was taught. My parents were not afraid to challenge the norm. People can do what I did if they try. Also, my Dad would give me problems that would frustrate me so much that I would learn the concept on my own. That's how I learned calculus, and chemistry, and physics, and algebra. I was forced to gain a deep-rooted conceptual understanding. I didn't have to spend eight hours a day. My schoolwork usually takes no longer than 3 or 4 hours, but my time is spent efficiently. You can spend dozens or even hundreds of hours memorizing algebraic or even calculus formulas, or you can gain a deep, intuitive understanding of the concepts first, and then all the formulas you really need can be mastered in minutes or a few hours. Memorizing a formula does you no good if you do not understand why it works, or what it means.

4x400 in the canyon in 61.8, 63.7, 63.0 and 61.1.

Twelve freezing, miserable miles in the snow today. My and my Dad had planned a workout, but the snow made the trail too slippery.

Did a three mile tempo down the canyon. I got 15:30 for the whole thing. First mile in 5:09, second in 5:16 and third in 5:05. I think I could have pushed a little harder in the third mile, but flaked out mentally. Still, a 5:05 is good. I felt like I did not want to run fast (not that I don't always feel like that :-), but more than usual.). My Dad thinks it was due to the cold and lack of aerobic base. I think it was a combination of the cold, aerobic base, and mental issues.

Eight easy today.

BYU called back today. They accepted me as a 'status quo' student. I can take up to 11.5 credit hours. I can't register for classes early. I don't have first choice. But I'm in! I'm happy. Hopefully after a semester of good grades I can gain full-time student status.

Last 4 fast down the canyon with my Dad in 23:15. The wind was brutal, like yesterday. At certain points the wind was so bad that we struggled to run 12:00 pace.

This year's Thanksgiving was considerably more pleasant than last year's. Last year, I was sick. My 23:08 four miler last year was the most miserable experience of my life. I also paid for that time with 4 days of misery with a 100+ fever and a throat so sore it hurt to drink water. This year, I got 21:09, 9th place, less misery during the race, and NO sickness afterwards.

  My Dad told me to stick with the lead pack for as long as I could. The first half-mile felt easy, actually. I didn't know how fast I was going. Then It started getting harder. I was breathing really, really hard. I thought, "Am I out of shape or something? There's no way I can keep this up for 4 miles!" Then I saw my 4:55 split at the mile, which was probably short. My real mile split was more like 5:00. Short or not. the sight of 4:55 -- only 3 seconds slower than my official mile PR (though my Dad thinks I should be able to run something like 4:40) scared me into slowing down. I leapfrogged from guy to guy until I got behind Gordon King, a 18-year old just out of high school. My two mile split was 10:26, believable. My three mile split was 16:00, but my Dad thikns it was 5 seconds long. With 1200 to go, I started making a move. Gordon responded and passed me. Then I passed him. Every time I tried to gap him, every time I reached a certain intensity, it felt like I could not breath. I felt like my legs were strong and wanted to fo faster, but that I was unable to breath hard enough. I finished in 21:09. Gordon got 21:01. With 500 to go he kicked, and I couldn't respond. I may have had a little mental lapse between 600 to go and 400 to go. But I don't think it cost me more than 2-3 seconds.

I ended up pacing the one mile race, winning time 5:43 -- Josh Blackburn. I was afraid I'd have to run 5:20 or 5:30. Thankfully, my fears were not realized. Our total turkey count was 7. And this is the first year that everybody has gotten an award -- Matthew for youngest participant, and everyone else for place.  

Last 4 down the canyon in about 23:15.

2x200, both in 28.0 (my PR0.

Cold.

Eight at my Grandma's house.

Eight at my Grandma's house.

Twelve miles in the snow today. I was very tired after finishing. I think I put in more like a 14-mile effort since the ground was so slippery.

Feeling like I am coming down with a cold, so only 2 today.