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Provo River Half Marathon

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Location:

Salt Lake City,UT,USA

Member Since:

Jul 23, 2006

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

5k 16:16 / 10k 33:12 / half marathon 1:12:28/ marathon 2:32:59/ 100 miles: 34 hours, nine minutes (Wasatch 100).


Short-Term Running Goals:

Compress six months of marathon training into six weeks.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Stay curious.

Personal:

I'm an attorney in Salt Lake City. Married to Heather. We have two little boys.


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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
276.9031.206.600.000.00314.70
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
10.000.000.000.000.0010.00

Out and back from home to the Donner Hill Monument at the bottom of Emigration Canyon (exactly 5 miles via the route I took).  I went out late and it was warm. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
10.750.000.000.000.0010.75

Run with the Radda crew.  I arrived a little early and ran 1.3 solo.  Then it was the Holladay Mansion Tour via the canal route. Great day for running, though humid.  On the return on Evergreen Ave, there was a house fire and about 18 fire trucks were parked along the street.  I have no idea why they had so many trucks.  Slow morning, I guess.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
10.250.000.000.000.0010.25

Donner Hill Monument via Shoreline Trail. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
16.000.000.000.000.0016.00

Bear Lake for a couple of days with friends.  I would have liked to try to hook up with the Logan guys, but not much time this weekend.  I drove down to the bottom of the hill and cruised around the dirt roads near the golf course and then ran out and back past Garden City and the Bear Lake Marina. Not to hot. Lots of runners out today, I was surprised.  Pace was easy, with the last few miles at sub 6:30.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
3.000.000.000.000.003.00

Three easy miles in the neighborhood to stretch the legs after driving home from the lake. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
9.000.000.000.000.009.00

Plan was to run 8 due to early commitments, but ran a little longer once I found Josh, Megan, and Amy out on Virginia Street. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
5.600.003.600.000.009.20

Black Sheep workout.  I warmed up solo on the track and then ran 1.3 with the group on the road, followed by a mile of speed changes on the track. Then we ran 6 x 1000m.  Goal was to run 80 second quarters and we mostly hit that; Josh was faster on a couple of them.  Times were 3:22/3:20/3:20/3:19/3:21/3:19.  Cooled down 1200m and then went home to relieve Heather of baby duty so she could go run. She is now training for The Other Half. 

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
10.400.000.000.000.0010.40

From home, I ran to the bottom of Dry Creek and then south on the Shoreline Trail to Red Butte Canyon (up and down) and then on the Zoo trailhead.  I ran home on the roads via This is the Place, Research Park, Fort Douglas, Federal Heights.  Pace was so slow on the way out (though plenty of climbing too) and it took me about 7 miles to feel warmed up, but then it was pretty good.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
11.400.000.000.000.0011.40

Hooked up with Aimee Larkin at Radda at 5:45 for a couple of miles before meeting the rest of the group at 6am for the canal route/mansion tour. Johanna Neilson is in town and she joined us for a bit, though she's injured and couldn't go far.  She's getting pretty mean on the bike and swim though from what I hear.  Anyway, I ran slowly again today, just no bounce in the legs.  I do have a massage planned for tonight, that may loosen things up a bit. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
7.250.000.000.000.007.25

Easy loop through the U and the Avenues. Legs feel less dead after the massage.

Comments(1)
Race: Provo River Half Marathon 00:00:00, Place overall: 7
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
4.5013.100.000.000.0017.60

This race could be described as a complete disaster, but it ended up being ok, all things considered. In short, Adam W. and I started the race two minutes late, at the very very very back of the pack--in dead last place. We were still taking off our warm-up gear when the race started, two or three minutes before the projected "7 toi 7:30 am" start. It took forever to weave through the bodies to get to a point where, after about 2 miles, we could run comfortably. Even though the first two miles have loads of downhill, my splits were hovering around 6 minutes, a testament to how much slow running I was doing.

It was frustrating at first, knowing that my hopes for a strong finish were pretty much up in smoke, so I concentrated on changing my attitude about the race., I decided just to run hard and make up as much ground as possible, but not kill myself trying to do it. After making this mental adjustment, the race when much better. I saw where all the leaders were at on the Bridal Veil turnaround and it looked hopeless that I would catch anyone in the top 10. But I kept up the pace, tracked down a few runners, and ended up finishing 7th overall. My actual time was 1:15:20 (having started my watch at the exit from the Vivian Park parking lot) for 13.22 (on my watch). My official time was 1:17:20. I felt fresh at the end and I feel like I could have run sub 1:14 today, if I had bothered to line up at the starting line on time! The upshot is that I that my legs aren't trashed and I get to try again at Hobble Creek in a couple of weeks. Live and learn!!

Another upshot is that I enjoyed hanging out with Adam, who treated me to a trash-bin ice bath after the run. Much better than the tub. Ahhhh . . . ice bath.

Comments(10)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
5.250.000.000.000.005.25

Easy neighborhood miles to shake out the legs. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
12.200.000.000.000.0012.20

I ran out and back to the Donner Hill monument in Emigration Canyon. I don't have too much soreness to speak of from the race, just a little tightness in my upper quads.

I rode my bike to work and brought along my running stuff with the plan to leave my bike here and run home.

PM; ran home from work, 2.2 mi.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
10.700.000.000.000.0010.70

AM: Out the door at 5:30 am for a loop through Federal Heights/Avenues. An early meeting kept things short this morning.  I'm going to try again after work for a few more. 
PM: 3.40 through the neighborhood.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
10.250.000.000.000.0010.25

AM: 6 miles up to Federal Heights. An early meeting kept it short once more.

PM: 4.25. Somehow managed to squeze in ten miles today. The odds were against it.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
9.250.000.000.000.009.25

Run with the Radda crew. I couldn't get there before 6am, so no pre-miles.  We ran the Holladay Mansion/Canal Route.  Nice and shady on a warm morning.  

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
10.150.000.000.000.0010.15

This morning I ran out and back to the Donner Hill Monument and beyond (about 25 feet beyond).  

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
12.900.000.000.000.0012.90

Cucina loop on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. We had a great view of the implosion of the Key Bank Tower.  Added a little extension at the end with Sam. Nice morning, brought little Jack to Cucina afterward to say hi to everyone.

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
10.050.000.000.000.0010.05

Out and back to the Donner Hill monument. The pace was a little faster today. I needed to get home so Heather could go out for her run before I went to work. Having a baby does make things a little more complicated.

 This is the Place I Run Through On this Route

 

Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
7.150.003.000.000.0010.15

Since I set my alarm last night for 5:10 p.m., instead of 5:10 a.m., I failed to wake up in time to get to the Black Sheep workout. In fact, I didn't wake up until about 6:20.  But I suppose that's the amount of rest my body wanted, so no problem. I figured I would just go improvise a workout.  Warmed up through Federal Heights and up to 11th Avenue.  I decided to start my little workout on the very narrow paved track around the soccer field at Ensign school. It's about .34 around that track. Warmed up once, then did 3 speed intervals at sub 5:30 pace.  Then up onto 13th Avenue for some longer hill stretches.  I ran 4 of these, 2 up 2 down. They measured about .44 and I ran at about 5:35-40 pace on the up, and sub 5:15 on the down.  Then some easy running, followed by a couple of miles at 6:20.  Chatted with a friend in Memory Grove, and then easy run home.  This actually felt just right for today. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
10.100.000.000.000.0010.10

Emigration Canyon, out and back, 75 minutes.  

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
11.150.000.000.000.0011.15

Radda run. I started solo at about 5:37 am and ran 2.83 before meeting up with the group at 6.  We ran a modified canal/Mansion route.  I accidentally dipped my foot in the canal when trying to get around a fence.  I'm sure the murky green waters will give my foot some tropical-style infection. Anyway, we kept the pace up.  Total time for 11.15 was 1:21, and this included about 2 minutes of waiting time when I forgot to stop the watch.   

Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
7.100.000.000.000.007.10

Easy tour through Federal Heights and over to 13th Ave, to City Creek and down Memory Grove.  I'm digging the first song on the new M.I.A. album, "Bamboo Banger":  "Roadrunner, roadrunner, going hundred miles per hour... with your radio oooon!"

Comments(2)
Race: Hobble Creek Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:12:28, Place overall: 5, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
7.0013.100.000.000.0020.10

Hobble Creek Half Marathon. My goal was to run sub-1:12 and it didn't happen, but I gave it all I had today.  I scratched out a PR, by 10 seconds. Results are here.

The race started about 40 minutes late, a byproduct of some busses that didn't show up to pick up runners.  So it was hotter and brighter than it would have been if it started on time.  I may be the only one, but I really prefer racing when the sun isn't right on top of me, it just makes it feel hotter and later in the day, and thus slower!

The upshot, I suppose, is that I managed to get in 3 miles of warmup while waiting for the race to start. The downside is that I warmed up and cooled down three times.  It was a little frustrating, but I did get to chat with the St. George boys, Scott B and many others.

Once the race started, things spread out quickly.  A group of four went out fast, including Clyde, Matt Harmer, and the two Runners Corner guys.  Steve Hooper, Scott and I hung together for a half mile or so and then I surged a bit and was alone in fifth after that.  And I continued to race alone through about mile 7.  I think this wasn't a good thing. I couldn't see anyone ahead to chase down and I had no one nearby to work with or help me push the pace. My splits were actually very modest and the course did not seem like the downhill screamer I remembered!  Here are my splits for miles 1-7: 5:22, 5:28, 5:21, 5:21,5:30, 5:27, 5:40.  At around this time, Ryan Bybee caught up to me.  This was actually a benefit. I was starting to struggle a little and fall off the pace and we ran together until around mile 9 when he dropped me.  Splits were 5:31, 5:35 for 8 and 9.   But I did see one of the Runners Corners guys ahead and struggling a bit so i had something to focus on.  I caught and passed him at mile 11, so still hanging on to 5th.  Splits for 10 and 11 were slow; 5:54, 5:58, as the course leveled out.  I ran the first 11 miles in 1:00 flat. Then I was on my own again, trying to wrap up this race.  My calves started to tighten.  As a rule, this is my most serious sign of physical fatigue and it only happens when I am redlining.  I focused on keeping my pace as fast as I could manage, squeezing out 5:47 for mile 12.  Heading into mile 13, I was ready to be done. It was hot and my calves were giving me more signs of trouble. I hit the mile 13 marker and made the turn to head towards the finish on the grass.  That's when my calves started to seize up and cramp, literally making it impossible for me to keep my stride.  The last 1.1 was 5:27.

 I think the cramping may have been a symptom of dehydration. I grabbed cups at every aid station, but most of the water ended up on the ground rather than in my mouth.  I think the late start sort of threw off my pre-race nutrition a bit as well.

I ran four miles to cool down after the race through Mapelton mansions. No calf problems at 9:35 pace.

Final analysis, hey it was a PR! Ten seconds faster than last year, not really groundbreaking, but an improvement.  My training is basically very similar right now to where it was last year and I am a little bit more fit.  Not a whole lot, but some.  Congrats to Clyde on his 3rd place finish! Many other great performances today by other bloggers.

Comments(14)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
0.000.000.000.000.000.00

No running. Swam 900m at Steiner. It's been a few weeks since I've been swimming and I thought I might have lost what little technique I have picked up this summer, but I swam well (for me) and it felt great. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
13.100.000.000.000.0013.10

AM: Didn't have a route in mind when I left the house this morning. I soon found myself wandering higher and higher up into the Avenues until I was on the Shoreline trail, headed for the meadow. I ran a couple of loops around the meadow, and then wandered down through Capitol Park toward City Creek where I ran just a bit into the canyon before turning back down Memory Grove and toward home. Lots of slow climbing today, probably 1000 feet. But it was a really nice morning. No major effects from the half marathon, just a little quad soreness. Calves are fine.

 PM: I ran home from work, added a bit to make it 3 miles.
 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
12.150.000.000.000.0012.15

Looked at the lunar eclipse at about 4:15 or so. An hour later, I was on the road running up to Red Butte to catch up with the Black Sheep. My legs told me I wasn't quite ready to go all out today, so I did what amounted to a fartlek workout, a healthy mix of paces over different distances, with lots of slow running. I did about 1/4 of the group workout. I ran home afterward. Not much intensity today, but some good recovery miles.

One more thing, I just learned that I managed to get myself an entry into St. George.  That probably changes my plans for the coming weeks.
 

Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
11.000.000.000.000.0011.00

AM: Golf Course Loop via This is the Place.  Great morning for a run.  It's taking longer for it to get light out now, which I like.  Well, I like it until January anyway. 

 I'm looking forward to gearing up for St. George.  Since I was planning on running NY until yesterday (which would have given me another month of training), I feel like I don't have a whole lot of time to prepare.  But I think I'm pretty close to where I was at last year and with a few tweaks I hope I can run a little faster than last year.  Beginning this week last year I ran four consecutive 80+ miles weeks before St. George and it's going to take that kind of work and more to perform well this year.  That's not much compared to some of you maniacs, but it's plenty for me. I am beyond busy and it will be even tougher to get in the miles this year, but I'm going to give it a try.  If it's just not coming together for some reason, I can go back to the NY plan, but I'm not going to think about that.  I'm just going to try to stay focused on St. George for the next 37 days.

Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
10.255.000.000.000.0015.25

Most Thursday's I run with the Radda gang, but I had limited time this morning and wanted to try to get as munch bang for my buck as possible, which meant skipping the 15 minute drive.

The plan was to run 5 x 1 mile in City Creek Canyon and Memory Grove; 2 uphill miles, three downhill ones, each with .5 of easy running between. Warmed up 3.5 miles from home up to Virginia St and 11th Ave down to City Creek Canyon. First mile up City Creek is tough, its a long slow climb and I was still warming up. Time was 6:43. After an easy .5, started another long slow climb, even tougher in some sections, 6:37. Then another .5 of easy running. At about the 3 mile mark in the canyon, I saw this large, very fast and extremely quiet "thing" dart across the road in front of me about 200 meters. It was like a streaking blur. I have seen mountain lion tracks in that very spot in the winter and I'm pretty sure that's what it had to be. Deer are stealthy, but not that fast, nor that quiet. It didn't bother me much, I know their nature is to keep away from people unless provoked and I don't think he had much to fear from the 8 min pace I was holding at that moment.

For the first two downhill miles, I wanted to stay between 5:30 and 5:35, and I did just that. The miles were 5:35 and 5:30, respectively. Both of these miles felt smooth and easy as far as form goes, though my quads were still singing Saturday's tune a little bit, so I decided to back off on the last repeat and just hold it at 6 min pace down Memory Grove. Cooled down to home via 4th Ave. Not a Big Workout, but a useful one.

PM:  Ran home from work, 3.1 miles

 


Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
9.000.000.000.000.009.00

Shoreline Trail to Red Butte Canyon. A few drops of rain in the air and a stunning sky made this a really relaxing and enjoyable easy run.  

 For tomorrow, I think I'm going to run up Emigration Canyon and try to watch some of the SL Half Marathon racers coming down the canyon.  Maybe I'll jump in with the middle of the pack and cruise down to spice things up a little.  Good luck to those that are racing the half, I hope to see you tomorrow.
 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
276.9031.206.600.000.00314.70
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