Wheeler Farm Loops

AM - 21 miles. A big squad (15-20 guys, plus Devra - the lone female mixing it up with the dudes) met down in Riverton for a longer run on the JRP. Our total for 21 miles was 2:12, so ~6:17 pace average. Pretty amazing to be wearing a t-shirt in December... some guys were even shirtless towards the end. Had only planned on running 20, but Fritz and I stretched out the second out & back to mess w/ Kotter :-)  Last mile was an inadvertent 5:15, which coincidentally USATF just decided is my new marathon goal pace.

Really great morning... its so easy to get in the LRs with a group of great runners like this. The conversations make it fly by... and you always have to be on your toes because you never know when Matt decides its time to throw down a 5:05. Its awesome to see how excited everyone is about the spring marathon season - the enthusiasm with the group is contagious. Let's keep doing this all winter! 

*Got home just in time to watch the Foot Locker West Regional - Conner and Kramer both made it to Nationals!!! So exciting to see those two guys both up there in the front!!! 

Here's a PSA - 50% of Fro-Yo at the 21 & 21 Yogurt Stop!  

AM - 10 miles, most of it looping around the grass at the horsepark... finished at the gym and did 30 minutes of pool running w/ Andrea.

I also attempted the elliptical (for the first time in my life) while Andrea was finishing up, but stopped after 5 minutes because I was nearly launching myself off the thing and she told me I looked like I was going to seriously hurt myself... I just want to push off my toes and that doesn't really work when you are on a stationary machine. I'll never match James' elliptical PRs, but I guess I can live with that :-)

PM - 4.5 miles. 

AM - 15 miles. 3 warmup, 10 mile AT progression in 53:45 (5:23/mi avg), 2 cooldown. Splits - 5:35, 5:33, 5:28, 5:24, 5:24, 5:20, 5:18, 5:21, 5:16, 5:06. Always feels good to knock out a solid workout to start off the week. 

In addition to the new OTQ standards, something of interest (to me) that came out of the USATF meeting is that Twin Cities will be the site of the USA Marathon Championships for 2013 and 2014. Its not my ideal timeframe/location, but definitely something I'll think about... in about 7 months :-)

PM - 30 minutes pool running.

Caught a beautiful sunrise as I was leaving for work...

AM - 8.5 miles up to work, easy. 

PM - 8.5 miles home, also easy. 

I was looking through the historical data for OT standards and # of qualifiers yesterday, and ended up making this chart: 1980-2012 Olympic Trials Marathon History. For the most part the men's standards have remained consistent, getting slightly harder over the years... while the women's standards have jumped around all over the place. I like to visualize how things have changed over the years. A lot of people though that tightening the standards and getting rid of downhill courses after 2008 would cause the # of qualifiers to drop, but the opposite actually happened... it was probably the strongest cycle since the early 1980s and 2012 was the fastest OT marathon ever. Now that the bar has been raised again, it will be interesting to see what happens. I suspect (and hope!) that athletes will rise to the new challenge and it will end up being a very good thing for the sport.

Also - Camille Herron just posted some more information about the USATF meeting, trials standards, and future sites of US Championships. She was keeping me in the loop via email during the meeting over the weekend. Good stuff here, worth checking out if you are interested in how this whole process works. It looks like there will be some new additions to the national circuit, including some team championships at 8K/10K. Very cool... I think FRB could field some teams that could compete very well against the top-notch programs/clubs.

AM - 10 miles up to work.

PM - 7 miles. Down to the track and right into 8 x 200m in ~34 seconds. Then Andrea had me do some drills.

Long Run - Saturday, 8:00am - 800E 1200N in Orem (Soccer Fields). We'll do the first half of the run in Provo Canyon, and the second half on the Murdock Canal trail. 

AM - 14 miles. Warmed up 4 miles. LT Reps: 6 x 1 Mile - 5:07, 5:04, 5:04, 5:02, 5:03, 5:02. Rest interval was ~0.3 mi jog back to the start. Cooled down 2.5 miles.

Good session this morning. Was shooting for HM "date pace" (~5:05-5:10) and went a little faster, but it was a very controlled workout. No hammering the last rep, tried to keep them as consistent as possible.

PM - 35 minutes pool running w/ Andrea. For now, I'm trying to give my legs 24 hours of rest after harder workouts. 

I've been thinking a lot about what I have planned for this training cycle. I feel like I have learned a lot about training for the marathon and there are a lot of things I want to incorporate. However, this is actually a somewhat shorter buildup, so I'm not going to be able to get everything I want in there. The key is finding the mixture of the most important elements, figuring out how they fit together (that's what coaches get paid the big bucks for!) and executing them properly. The other thing to consider is how this marathon builds into the rest of the year... in 2012, I was in fantastic shape in March/April and really never got to a higher fitness level. For this upcoming year, I want it to be more of a progression... I'll run the marathon in March, then probably two national championship races in the spring/summer (25K & HM), and then potentially go for the OTQ in the fall season. There has to be more cycling up and down in order to run better as the year goes on. So I'm not going to play all my cards in these next two months - some things will get saved to provide a different type of stimulus down the road a bit. Its exciting, because while its taken me a while to figure it out, I think I've fine-tuned my approach (or at least have a plan) and can make a big jump in 2013. The conversations that Andrea and I have (especially during these afternoons in the pool) - breaking down all of my ideas, simplifying, and letting the most important things rise to the top - are incredibly valuable. 

AM - 12 miles up to work, very easy. 

PM - 4.3 miles down to SHP. 

Ryan Hall announced this morning that he is going to be coached by Renato Canova. I think this is a very exciting move... I'm a huge fan of Canova's methodology. While I don't think it can be applied to recreational runners and even for someone like me its needs some tweaking... a guy with Hall's ability level has the potential to flourish under the system. And I have to make the obvious joke - if his current coach got dropped in favor of Canova, what does that say about Canova? :-)

If you want some information overload, read this thread (good summary document available for download linked in that one), this thread, this blog, and these training programs.

Got a kick out of this comment on the message boards... "Two of Letsrun's most controversial figures in one convenient package. It's like a comic book dream team!" 

AM - 22 miles. It doesn't get much better than this. If my counting was correct, I think we had 33 guys meet for the long run this morning in Orem. Actually, 32 guys plus Kassi. We started with an out & back on the new Murdock trail, then I did a mile around the soccer fields while everything was getting drinks/GU (today was a scheduled depletion long run for me), and then we did an out & back up Provo Canyon. Kept the pace honest up the canyon, then turned around and did a little tempo on the way back. Fritz, Matt and I ran the first 3/4 mile together at around marathon effort, and then I did the next 3 miles in 15:24. "Cooled down" 2 more miles which were still pretty quick. Average pace for the whole run was 6:13 / mile. Felt good and I'm happy with how these first couple weeks of the cycle have gone.

Great running by a lot of guys today. I'm already looking forward to doing this again next weekend. I gotta say, these big group long runs are just so much fun. They're energizing for me, and I think we're very lucky to have such a great group to get out and hammer some miles with. I'm stealing this photo taken before we started from Justin - but I'm sure he doesn't mind...

Andrea and I are headed up to Park City for the night and some skiing tomorrow.

AM - 7 miles in Park City on somewhat snowy roads. It was 8 degrees outside!

Then we went skiing, which surprisingly didn't make Andrea hurt. We want to do a couple inbounds days before XMas and get our legs back under us before hitting the backcountry this year. I learned a couple things while skiing today...

1) During the two winters I lived in Vail, where it was cold beyond cold, I developed a high tolerance to really brisk temperatures. I have now officially lost that edge, especially after last "winter." I was freezing today!
2) Andrea has definitely surpassed me as the better skier. 
3) My favorite months for skiing are still March - June! 

PM - 7 miles on much less slippery roads in SLC. 

This week I'm going to drop back the intensity (just one quality mid-week workout) and let the volume climb up a bit.

AM - 9.5 miles up to work. I was really going all-out trying to make sure I didn't hit a patch of ice and slip... so I ended up averaging about 8:30 pace.

PM - 9.5 miles home. I hate running in the dark in the evenings, so I beelined it home and then just added the extra miles on the rollerblade loop.

If you missed it over the weekend, Conner and Kramer took 12th and 16th at the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships. They are both underclassmen and are already among the top runners in the country. Conner wrote up a great recap and put up some photos. Maybe Kramer will post something too if Coach Murphy makes that his last assignment of the season. But if you get a chance, give those two guys a shout, because their races are probably the most impressive running anyone on the blog has done this year.

For those planning ahead, this long run meeting spot for this Saturday (12/15) will be the 6200S park and ride (8:00am). We'll do some variation of the Wasatch/Zoo run. Its a good one, plenty of rolling hills. Can we get a bigger turnout than this past weekend?

AM - 11.5 miles up to work. 

PM - 8.5 miles home. Almost ran straight into Andrea who was out running b/c her doctor gave her the wrong appointment time, then wouldn't see her. Jerk. Poor girl has been struggling for half the year and this is how he treats her. Unbelievable. I am so mad. 

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This guy holds a lot of records. I can't decide what the most impressive one is... I can't even narrow it down to my Top 20!

Saucony is looking for more wear testers.

AM - 18 miles. AT Reps: 4-3-2-1 miles + 4 x 1/4 mile (1/4 mi jog b/w all reps). 3.5 warmup, 1.75 cooldown to make it a clean 18. 

Splits: 21:43 (5:30, 5:29, 5:23, 5:21), 16:08 (5:20, 5:28, 5:20), 10:42 (5:15, 5:27), 5:12, 73, 76, 73, 73.

The wind woke me up a little after 4am and I laid there debating modifying the workout for a while, then finally decided to just get out of bed and go get it done. Gusty wind (up to 45mph this morning) is more of a mental challenge than anything else. I knew the workout would be a little slower than I was planning so I didn't pay attention to the watch and just ran it based on perceived effort (probably would have been a good session to use a HRM). I figure races aren't run in a bubble (well, indoor races are) so I didn't really have any excuses. Plus it was really warm outside for this time of year in the morning. Average pace for the whole run w/ warmup/cooldown/recoveries was 6:03, and I did the whole thing continuous, so this workout doubled as an almost long run.

PM - 6 miles easy. 

And just so I don't look back and say "why was this workout so slow?"... 

AM - 10 miles up to work, zombie shuffle.

PM - 6 miles down to SHP and a little extra on the grass. 

Woke up to emails and texts asking me if I saw Bruce and Bon Jovi singing duets last night. How in the world did I miss such an important night in American history?!?! Instead I was hula-hooping against Fritz and Kevin. Gotta get my priorities lined back up! 

AM - 10 miles up to work.

PM - 7.5 miles. Down to SHP w/ a 2 mile DH effort (5:11, 5:00) and then cruised into 8 x 200m on the track in ~34 seconds. Jogged some more laps until Andrea got there. 

The school shooting today was just a couple miles from where my Aunt lives in CT and my Dad and I ran the turkey trot over Thanksgiving. Its such a small, peaceful town. So sad.

AM - 21 miles. Woke up to quite a bit more snow than I expected would come down last night! About 6-8 inches up on the bench where we started. Met up with the subset of our long run group that was willing to get out in the elements - down from 30+ last week to only 7 today: Fritz, Kevin, Collin, Matt, Brandon, and Mike. Kept the pace easier today because the roads were really slushy and there wasn't much of a shoulder. It was a lot of fun just to get in a nice relaxed long run w/ the guys. Average ~6:50 pace and no one fell or got hit by a car... so a very successful morning. Brandon tried to string out the group w/ a little surge late in the run but no one took the bait :-)  I'm really impressed by how well everyone is running.

Andrea, Amiee, Allie, and James were kind enough to have a great hot breakfast prepared for all of us when we finished down at our place.

Fun morning... I'm definitely looking forward to 10 days of running in Phoenix over the holidays, though :-)

PM - 4.5 miles. Had to take Andrea out to play in the snow. We ran 2 laps around the horsepark and then I ran home from there. 

Tomorrow we're running from Highland High School at 8:30am, if anyone wants to join. 

AM - 14 miles easy on a nice winter morning. Met up w/ Fritz, ACorn, Collin, James, Allie, and ROB MURPHY at Highland High. We ran ~10 together and then I added on a few more w/ the Smoores as they ran home. The easier paced LR yesterday allowed my legs to bounce back really quick.

PM - 4 miles. Couple w/ Andrea and then added a little bit extra. 

Couple good links to share (Bam and Rob have already posted these): documentary on the 1976 Olympic Marathon, and a profile on Debbie Heald. 

AM - 13.5 miles. 4 mi warmup, 25 x 400m in 70.8 seconds average (55-60 seconds active rest), 3.5 mi cooldown. Splits: 70.0, 68.9, 69.8, 70.4, 71.3, 69.8, 70.1, 71.0, 71.3, 71.1, 71.6, 71.0, 71.3, 71.0, 71.4, 71.5, 71.1, 71.4, 70.9, 71.2, 71.3, 71.2, 70.9, 71.0, 70.2.

I had to go out to the Univ of Utah Medical Center at Daybreak for work this morning, so I figured if I was going to drive all the way out there, I might as well do my workout at the Olympic Oval. I've run there once before (last March on a morning where everything was covered in ice), and the one thing I know about this track is that if you hammer, your legs will feel like you ran a downhill race. Quarters seemed like the best idea for getting in some quality work without beating myself up on that track. I was looking to average under 72s... after the first seven reps I found my rhythm and then it just became a VERY LONG game of "let's see how close I can get to 71-flat w/out looking at my watch." Felt pretty good and like I could have dropped them down quite a bit in the last 1/3 of the workout, but like I said, that track is hard and I'd regret that tomorrow.

Really not a hard workout for me at that pace, more of a mental challenge..."8 down, 17 to go!"

After that session, then going to Daybreak, and then driving back up to Huntsman... I am starving!!! 

PM - 30 minutes of pool running w/ Andrea + hot tub + a good amount of stretching (for me). I love when bad weather corresponds w/  a scheduled afternoon off. Makes it a lot easier to follow through on the plan.

AM - 10 miles up to work.

PM - 5 miles down to the track + 12 x 100m strides. 

For your listening and learning pleasure: Alberto Salazar podcast on Competitor radio. One of FRB's finest had this to say about it... "Thanks for the tip on that Salazar interview. Great stuff! Getting into a rut, doing the same old thing, is a recipe for mediocrity in running and coaching. Also, the need to thoroughly understand what you are doing or having your athletes do is so critical."

AM - 11 miles up to work.

PM - 7.5 miles down to Sugar House. 

Minimalism.

AM - 16 miles. Warmed up 4 miles, 10 mile AT Tempo in 53:39 (5:22/mi avg), cooled down 2 miles. Splits - 5:25, 5:26, 5:20, 5:21, 5:20, 5:24, 5:21, 5:24, 5:18, 5:19. 

Too cold to run anything faster than MP this morning with the wind chill at -7 degrees. Brrrr. Actually not really too bad if you layer right once you get going.

I'm alternating between 2 types of aerobic tempo workouts - steady (like this one, where I attempt to keep the splits w/in ~5 seconds of each other) and progressive (where I'll start ~5:30-5:40 and finish ~5:00). The idea is to be changing the stimulus and not repeat the same thing more than once every 2-3 weeks. Felt like I was holding back in the second half and that I can probably do these tempos faster... but I have a lot of confidence in the plan I'm following so I'm not going to start pushing the envelope yet. Each one of these sessions means nothing on its own, they're all building blocks.

PM - 30 minutes of pool running w/ Andrea. 

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I know its not "family safe" to post the Suzy Favor Hamilton story that just broke... but holy moly... (and after reading more of the story, its pretty sad). So while on the topic of 1990s superstars, how about a little chat w/ Bob Kennedy. He's a family safe guy.

AM - 10.5 miles up to work, very slowly.

PM - 6 miles down to SHP and ran w/Andrea for a bit. 

Flying down to Arizona tonight for training camp the holidays. I also found out yesterday that I'll be going to San Diego for 4 days in January (work conference, but unfortunately I'll miss the winter series 5K!). Since we're not skiing anymore until Andrea is closer to 100%, I'll gladly take the opportunity to train as much as possible in warmer climates during the coldest time of the year in Utah. It works out pretty well.

AM - 14.5 miles. LT Reps: 3-2-1 miles (1/4 mi recovery). Splits - 15:03 (5:02, 5:01, 5:00), 10:06 (5:04, 5:02), 4:55. Warmed up and cooled down 4 miles each.

Got in late last night due to a flight delay and didn't get to sleep until after 1am, so I was a bit tired and didn't feel too sharp this morning. But still got in a pretty decent effort. Like I said the other day, these are all building blocks... and this is going to be an intense microcycle, so I didn't need to leave it all out there today. Nice to run in shorts and a t-shirt! 

PM - 8 miles. Ocotillo Loop. 

AM - 18 miles. Ran to the canal and did most of the run on dirt, which was nice on my legs. First 14 miles easy, and then a short, progressive tempo for the last 4 miles: 5:21, 5:18, 5:13, 5:03. I'm glad I'm not doing any real long runs during this stretch because I've gotten spolied doing them with the group! 

PM - 5 miles. Did some sporting clay shooting up at Ben Avery this afternoon w/ the family. A lot of fun - I've never done that before and did pretty well. I scaled down to the 20 gauge and my shoulder is thanking me for that :-)

Chandler Tumbleweed Tree!
 

AM - 14 miles. Ran over to the park and junior high in my parent's neighborhood and did a lot of laps around the perimeter on the grass. The loop was a little over 1.5 miles, so I just did that over and over and over. Salazar got in my head w/ the soft surface obsession :-) I'm trying to keep all my recovery runs on the canal path or in the parks while I'm down here. Tomorrow will be a harder day so I kept the pace very casual this morning.

PM - 5 miles at sunset.

We went to X-Mas Eve services at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale. Beautiful setting next to Camelback Mountain... nice to sit outside in the sunshine...

AM - 16 miles. Slow warmup for 3 miles. 10 Mile AT Progressive Tempo in 53:06 (5:19/mi avg). Splits - 5:33, 5:26, 5:25, 5:21, 5:20, 5:19, 5:17, 5:13, 5:10, 5:02. Cooled down another 3 miles.

Perfect workout for this morning... needed something I could ease into and reduce the "why am I doing a workout on Christmas morning?" thoughts :-) It was actually a really nice morning, completely empty roads, and a beautiful sunrise was going on during the second half of the tempo. I felt really lucky in that moment, clipping along easily at 5:20 pace and watching all the colors in the sky. I have a lot to be thankful for.

PM - 8 miles. Ocotillo loop.

Did a nice hike at San Tan Mountain Park during the afternoon w/ my parents. It was surprisingly overcast today, but fun to get out in the hills. My parents hike FAST!!! I'm used to moving slowly when not training.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

AM - 17 miles. Mostly along the canal on the dirt. First 11.5 easy, then a 4 mile progressive tempo - 5:19, 5:17, 5:10, 5:04, and cooled down another mile and a half.

PM - 9 miles, grass loops at the park. 

Since Andrea posted her Christmas day family photo, I'll post mine as well. Our dogs are not very well trained when it comes to looking at the camera...

AM - 12.5 miles. Ocotillo + grass park loops. Super slow recovery pace.

PM - 11 miles. Ran down to the high school track, 20 x 200m in 33.4 seconds (with a standard deviation of about 0.02), then back home. I accidentally chose the direction that was slightly into the wind but didn't feel like switching after the first one so I just went with it... whatevskis.

First golf outing in ~5 years today w/ my Dad. We just played 9 holes. I managed to go the entire round with the same ball, and scored par on one hole. I'll take that! It was a lot of fun.

AM - 12.5 miles. Ocotillo + grass park loops. Same as yesterday, but even slower.

PM - 8 miles. Ocotillo loop.

Hiked the Peralta Trail up to Fremont Saddle this afternoon w/ my family. I've done this one before, but its always worth going back to... one of my favorite areas in Arizona... and such a beautiful day!

AM - 15 miles. LT Reps: 10 x 3/4 Mile (1/4 mi) in 3:41.2 average (4:55/mile pace). Splits - 3:45, 3:45, 3:45, 3:38, 3:42, 3:39, 3:41, 3:41, 3:40, 3:35. 3 up, 2.25 down.

I was shooting for ~8 @ 3:45, and thought with the cumulative fatigue of this past week, even that might not feel so hot. Was a little tired when I got up and opted to go for a walk with my parents and the dogs to wake up a bit. Then once I started the first rep I transitioned into robot mode and the whole session was actually a lot easier than I expected. The 4th rep got a little quick, and there was no going back after that. Could have stretched it out to 15 reps, but I had to get back and say goodbye to my sister before she left for the airport. The cool thing about this workout is that if you keep the recovery brisk, the whole thing averages out to well under marathon pace, even though you are jogging a quarter of it.

PM - 7 miles. Grass park loops. 

AM - 15 miles easy along the canal. No signs of the Chandler flasher. No residual effects from yesterday's workout, either. I was originally planning to run w/ Derek D today, but he had to get going at 4am and I needed a solid 10+ hours of sleep :-)

PM - 8 miles. Ocotillo loop. It started to rain during the last mile. Guess that's a sign that its about time to go home to Utah.

AM - 15 miles. Warmed up 5 miles w/ a half-mile at MP to get the blood moving before the workout: 10K LT Tempo in 30:52 (4:58/mi avg). Splits - 5:00, 5:02, 5:04, 4:58, 4:55, 4:55, 0:58. Cooled down 4 miles.

A good workout to cap off the Arizona microcycle. I figured anything under 31:30 would be a sign that I didn't overdo it this past week. The third mile felt harder for some reason and then I found my groove. I'm feeling really good right now. Still a lot of work to be done, but I'm starting to get on a roll and my confidence is building. This was actually only the second time I've broken 31 minutes for 10K (not counting half-marathon splits).

The take-home from this workout is that it will be especially important to try and run the first 2 miles of the upcoming half-marathon no faster than 10:05-10:10, then start dropping the pace. A little early patience goes a long way.

PM - 7 miles. Grass park loops. Now just to bang out my last set of pushups to hit 30,000 for the year, and then I swear I'm not doing anything else in 2012.

Derek sent me the poster for this year's Mountain to Fountain 15K. I'm sad I'll be missing the 2013 edition (its the week after the PHX marathon). One of my favorite races of 2012...