Blake Bennions running

Draper Days

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Member Since:

Jun 01, 2013

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Ran for SUU on their Cross Country/Track and Field teams

2015 Alta Track Athlete of the Year

Short-Term Running Goals:

Stay healthy and and build mileage

Sub 1:20 half marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

Keep running

Run the Boston Marathon at least once

Personal:

Married, we have one daughter so far. I ran for Alta high school and was trained by Rob Murphy, he is a great coach, one of the best there is. I also ran for Southern Utah University.

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Miles:This week: 11.15 Month: 31.15 Year: 306.05
Sat, Jul 19, 2014
Race: Draper Days (3.17 Miles) 00:17:08, Place overall: 10, Place in age division: 3
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.000.003.206.20

I got to race early enough to do about a mile warmup and some striders. I started out a little faster than I had planned but I was still behind everyone from alta and corner canyon. I found myself next to Sasha and decided to see if I could stick with him. I passed people one by one, I got up to Albert and he stuck with me for a while and then passed Davis. I could hear 2 people right behind me, I wasn't sure who they were, I thought Albert was probably one of them. Later i found out it was Sasha and another runner. I accidentally turned into the wrong place during the last mile and Sasha followed me, probably added a few seconds to both our times, sorry! But I got back on the right trail and Sasha and the other runner passed me. I started realizing that the finish was close but I hadn't started my kick. When I passed my Coach he told me I'm a high school runner and should be kicking a lot harder. That really helped me be motivated to start my kick, I gave it all I had, passing both Sasha and the other runner. I was kicking pretty well and I saw another runner sways ahead, I targeted him as my goal and really put everything into my kick, I barely caught him a few meters before finishing. It was awesome racing with so many experienced runners, I learned a lot about how I should be racing my 5ks. I finished in the top 10!!!!!!!!!!!!! And 3rd for my age group!!!!!!' Wow, too bad I didn't stay to get my awards. Hopefully they will mail me whatever I won.

Comments
From jtshad on Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 11:08:43 from 69.20.183.178

Congrats on a solid time!

From Blake Bennion on Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 11:13:25 from 204.14.22.58

Thank you!

From Sasha Pachev on Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 13:20:31 from 192.168.1.1

Blake:

Thanks for helping me win the masters. Mark (the other runner that was with us most of the race) perhaps does not appreciate that part, but I am sure he is thankful for helping him run a fast time.

You did not miss much with regards to awards - they did not have they and will be mailing those out. To improve your 5 K, up the mileage (gradually, and consistently), and do workouts that will convince you that 5 K is a long sprint. With your mile speed you ought to be running in the low 15:00 if you had proper endurance support. To get there, start with just one 2000 meter interval which you run in 6:15. Once you master that, next step is 2x2000 in 6:15, then 3x2000 in 6:15. Then make those 6:10, 6:05, and eventually 6:00. This workout should be done once a week with aerobic mileage and possibly some explosive speed maintenance to supplement it - but the focus should be aerobic. Once you can do that in a workout you will be running a low 15:00 in a race here in Utah, and sub-15:00 at sea level.

The important thing to understand - about 70% of 5 K performance comes from aerobic base. 5 K improved through aerobic base training pretty much automatically improves all the distances up to the full marathon. But the remaining 30% is in convincing the brain that it is safe to hold the target intensity for 15 minutes, thus the 5 K specific workouts.

From Jake K on Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 14:26:46 from 98.202.128.218

Good run Blake - way to take it to the old guys at the end!

From MarkP on Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 21:14:22 from 65.130.117.236

Nice job. Thanks for pulling me along.

From Blake Bennion on Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 10:44:22 from 204.14.22.58

Thanks everyone. And thanks for racing with me Sasha and Mark! You both helped push me a ton! Thank you Sasha, that would be incredible if I can run that fast in cross country! Awesome news about the awards too, that will be my first individually earned medal! (if they give medals). I've been working to up my mileage this summer, and I think it's been working well, I want to be running in the 60s for mileage every week and am working my way their. Thank you for the workout plan you gave me! I think mental toughness for the 5k is something I need to keep developing!

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