Wheeler Farm Loops

Happy new year Jake! Always fun to get to share some miles. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Again, awesome week last week. Thanks for making the drive down.

Thanks for driving down Jake. Awesome run. Your fitness is amazing. Always a pleasure to run with you. Happy New Year!

Monster year Jake and a quick start to yet another. Any mileage goals in mind for 2013? Do you think last year was harder on your body than this year because of the skiing? I am still in awe of the mileage and workouts you can put in day in and day out. I think a reasonable goal for me is 3,500 running miles considering I only did about 2,500 this year. To get there I know I will need to do some doubles and subscribe to the 8 min pace philosophy.

My goal is LESS miles this year. Keep the high weeks high, but I need to have better "down" periods after peak races... not just 3 easy days and then ramp it right back up. That needs to happen more frequently if I want to get faster. Having the gym membership and the pool will help with that. I don't like to waste money so I'll make sure I use it a lot.

I don't think either year was physically more demanding. Long ski days are hard but they are also so much fun that you forget that they are hard. The quality of miles I did this year went up a lot, but I was ready for it. My body has gotten very accustomed to the demands I put on it :-)

I think above anything else, if you're having fun w/ it and enjoy it, you can automatically handle a little bit more, b/c its not draining you mentally.

That makes sense. You have such a huge base that more down time would never hurt your fitness and should only help you come back stronger, mentally and physically.

I couldn't agree more that having fun is crucial to the equation. I really don't see myself at a 4,000+ running miles per year guy but lots of group runs and some doubles should get me closer.

Thanks for taking the time to write and share the last couple of posts.

Wow, nice job on a great 2012 and I love the detail to your year in review. I'm surprised you didn't list out the ingredients of every food you ate last year. Maybe in 2013. Kidding. You are a data hound!

And confident you should be. You are running great right now Jake!

I look forward to reading the review.

Cool graphs! I always like to think I take my training somewhat seriously, then I see the kind of details someone like you tracks, and I see what real dedication is. Anyway, I bet this is a huge year for you - not just saying that either, seems like you are on fire right now.

Great year Jake, Thanks for sharing with all of us. Hope you have a great 2013.

Thanks for that Jake. Some great info and it really does show how hard you worked last year. Impressive.

Some great pictures too. My favourite is the start line of Boston. Priceless. I would've done bunny ears over your man, just for the heck of it. That's why I would never be in that position, or at least one of many reasons.

I'm looking forward to seeing how you go this year. I think you'll be mixing it with the big boys...

You are ready to achieve your goals.

Hey, my wife is running the Phoenix Marathon, too.

Where'd Andrea's blog go?

Ditto on Andrea's blog? Both of your posts are great to read!

She tried to update her blog from her TI-83 calculator and it broke. Apparently the same thing happened to James and Allie.

Honestly, she was mad at me for running a thousand miles last week, because I said I wouldn't do that anymore... but I didn't realize the rule still applied when we were in different states. Now we're good again :-)

Dale - PHX is a great course. A good hill from 5 - 6.5 miles, and then just cruising flat / gradual downhill the rest of the way.

Lol at both responses. I had forgotten that I clicked on allie's blog the other day com it did the same thing.

My wife is looking forward to that marathon, but she is also nervous because she has been sick with one ailment after another for the part month, so she lost a lot of fitness.

Great recap on the year Jake. 113 average miles per week is incredible!... As are all of your other stats. Can't wait to see you get your OTQ.

when i read that you ran more miles than you drove in your jeep in class just now i started laughing and had to do my best to restrain myself

You forgot to mention the smog, and the cold and the slick roads.

None of those things bother me. The smog is overrated, the cold isn't a big deal if you dress for it and don't look at the temperature before going outside, and the slick roads are OK if you get out early enough and don't have to worry as much about cars. If those are my biggest problems, than I don't have much to complain about :-)

I didn't say you had to complain about them.

I would say my biggest problem with the cold isn't the cold, it's the heat. I always end up over dressing and over heat then I'm miserable. I do best in shorts and T's.

I get sick of people complaining about the cold all day at work. Its like - you live in UTAH people, what do you expect?!?

Yeah I agree though, shorts are the way to go. Much simpler. Even capri pants are a better option than having to wear so many layers on days like today.

It only dropped 9% because I stopped eating ice cream for a couple months! You should've picked up the slack.

It will be interesting to see how the lack of icecream consumption effects your performance. :)

Great blog posts the last couple of days Jake. I am definitely looking forward to the one on recovery as that is something I have definitely neglected over the winter.

Its definitely not a "lack" of consumption!

And your favorite flavor would be?

Cookies and Cream was the big winner in 2012, accounting for a staggering 24% of total ice cream eaten.!

Specifically, Kroger's Deluxe Light Fun Munch

Loved the detail of the annual report with all of the graphs - and the ice cream stats today made me grin.

Happy to see that your weight fluctuates a bit during the year (like mine). I think that graph would actual be close to what my year was like. I just always assumed the elites were pegged at a certain weight and stayed there year round.

The true elites might stay more consistent, but for mortal high-level hobby joggers like us, that's too hard!

My body seems to have a set point around 145 during the colder months of the year. When its hot outside, that set point seems to drop. My diet doesn't really change and my mileage is consistent, so its kind of interesting to see how it fluctuates.

Like Bret, I too was surprised with how your weight yoyoes. I could understand the odd pound here and there but the range was quite marked.

That said, there's no way you'd be able to do the quantity and quality of training that you do, if your nutrition wasn't close to being on the money.

Also, in any pictures I've seen of you, your BF looks as though it's probably around the 6% area, if not lower - although your eye-lids often look heavy:)

Maybe if you were to stop running you'd balloon. Best you only do two day tapers this year:)

Seriously, those stats and graphs and your attention to detail were enlightening and show how much you want all this - I'm sure that you'll get it too.

Jake, you remind me of me when I was younger. I kept stats on just about everything. It's a lot of fun.

I really don't obsess over the details. I wake up, jot down my heart rate, sleep hours, weight... it takes 2 minutes total... then pretty much forget it and go on w/ my day... I do it because I find it interesting over the long term, to look back at it all and play around in Excel :-)

Obviously I have some OCD tendencies, so this is actually a healthy outlet for me.

Most of my weight is in my face. As Andrea points out all the time, I have a "cartoon head"

I've found that my resting heart rate is a very good indicator of how well I am recovering, whether I have a cold coming on, etc. I get a lot of information from that first 60 seconds of the day. That knowledge alone makes all this record keeping completely worth it.

Sadly, I had to put ice cream back on the "no buy" list. I tried it for a while this summer, but my per day carton average was pretty high. Say, closer to 1 than to more sensible decimals that fall between it and 0 :)

haha, I know... when I round to the nearest number of cartons per day, I would really like the closest whole number to be "0" and not "1". I cannot lie and say that has currently been the case. But part of that is Andrea's fault!!!

WTH?!? Can you beautiful people explain to me how you get away with eating that much ice cream at all? I can't do that or I feel fatty patty! Dang

I burn a few calories with some of the running I do, here and there.

One time I ate an entire jar of peanut butter and half a jar of Nutella over the course of 10 days and lost 7 pounds during that time frame (John Muir Trail!)

I'm so disappointed that your not on top of the leader board for the week. Some 50+ year old guy is spanking you.

During the summer of 2010, I ate 4 dunford donuts every saturday, and brownies with frosting on Sundays. I was mega twig that summer!

Jon - a good FRB group resolution would be to keep me off the top of that page. Take turns. Crockett stepped up this week. It would be good for me as well in my personal life... Andrea doesn't believe my tall tales of schoolgirls in Africa running 150 miles a week, so it would be nice if I had some tangible evidence that people are running more than me all the time :-)

Jake- I think you staying off the top of the board is up to you more than us, as few of us are willing/able to regularly top 100 miles. Even the ultra guys don't do more than 120 miles the week of a hundred race (Davy's the exception with his 48 hr race).

Just finished up reading your recovery article. Too many good, useful things to even comment on, so I'll just say thanks for typing that all out for us. I have it bookmarked!

Compression socks huh...

Looking forward to reading this thanks Jake.

Outstanding. Excellent post Jake. Nicely written and easy to follow. All made perfect sense.

Odd that my 'trade' is PT and yet I've never owned or used a stick or a roller - they became popular after I sold my business. I think I'll have to get me a cheeky little stick - for beating the kids:)More like they'll beat me with it.

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. They were very much appreciated.

Dad showed me the picture of all your running shoes. How many feet do you have:)? I like your trousers with the smiley faces.

Grace - that's not even half of the running shoes we have... but the area by the front door always looks like that... a huge pile. Good thing we don't have a dog or it would eat all of them. Then we hide the even bigger pile in the other room. It becomes hard to keep track of them all, even for me :-)

Joe - if you are sitting much during the day, you'll notice a difference with the socks.

Bam - they make a hundred iterations of the stick these days. I still have the original, so do my parents. We bought a couple before anyone knew what the heck they were. It has stood the test of time for me.

Jake,

Hi. Thanks. I read it. Saved the link. And will have to read it again. Hey that's what I do!

Hoping all is well with you and your family.

Excellent post Jake. Impressive number of pearls! A lot of truth written. Thanks for sharing. I've got a lot to work on. Especially with my sleep. My schedule can sometimes be unpredictable, which can affect my sleep, but that's life. I'm very thankful for the running I can do.

Jake, I REALLY appreciate all the information that you post and your blog too! A thousand Thank-You's!

Reiterating what everybody else has said about your recovery post: Thank you! In all seriousness, you should think about writing a running book!

Really very good piece on Recovery Jake. Thanks for posting. Enjoyed it as I sit on my "dad's chair" watching the FA Cup (practicing the Super Lazy part).

You guys really get after it. As always, great job!

Great run Jake! You looked so smooth and strong. You are in great shape and you are ready to spill some serious blood in Phoenix. Was an honor to be up there with you. Thanks for setting this run up and motivating me to do the entire 10 miles. That loop is a great one! We definitely need to do it again. And thanks again for the breakfast. Definitely hit the spot.

Impressive work this morning. Thank you again for the hospitality and breakfast this morning. I'm excited to see what you can do in Phoenix in couple weeks.

Great workout Jake! You make it look so easy. You are setting yourself up well for an awesome race in Phoenix. Thanks for having us over afterwards.

Nicely done yet again Jake. Keep it rolling.

Another great effort Jake especially in those conditions. I thought your recovery post was excellent and so did many others if you paid attention to Twitter. Keep up the great work with your training and being an excellent ambassador for the sport.

Derek I did notice that it got a good response... tons of hits on the blog - mostly thanks to you and Allison! Thanks!

Thanks for the blog post Jake. Rachelle got me pointed towards it. We were ironically just talking about recovery/compression sleeves/weight. Great post and answered a lot of questions!

And nice workout today! Strong finish.

Sounds like a blast! You are all very impressive!! I wish I could keep up :)

Great workout this morning Jake! I am beyond excited to see what you can do in AZ. You have worked your butt off and the combination of an awesome training cycle + sea level + great course + amazing AZ weather + increasing your icecream consumption by 9% to make up for the 2012 deficit = PR!

Fun, as always, running with you Jake. You're in incredible shape. Can't wait to see how Phoenix goes for you. You're going to tear it up!

Such an impressive workout! Heading over to the blog now to read all about recovery :)

I thought you only lived 2 miles from SHP..must have gotten lost. :) It's amazing how well you recover. I need to read your recovery post more closely.

You are amazing Jake. Nice work with the long run the day after an impressive tempo. Your recovery is astounding. My legs are thrashed from yesterday (not unexpected though; I'm not sure I've ever done a 10-mile tempo run quite like that). Strong work!

Fritz I took up a detour up to 2700 to make sure everything was good up in that part of the neighborhood.

Yeah I've got quite a few more of those 10 mile tempos under my belt, so I bounce back pretty quick from them. I should... I mean, when the time comes, I need to be able to hold that pace for 26 :-)

He also somehow manages a lot of 11.5 mile runs up to work when it's only 7.3. Obviously he needs to work on his directions.

I stay off the traffic corridors w/ the worst inversion/pollution.

Boom - can't argue w/ that! its all for my health!

Keep an eye on him Andrea - make sure he doesn't do too much. Great running over the weekend, Jake.

Yeah, Jake must be directionally challenged :) I look forward to more such tempo runs with you guys. Need to get my body used to that.

Jake, Thanks for giving me the heads up. Always like joining for the group runs when I can. Wish I could have stayed with you longer but didn't want to push my luck... Maybe next Sunday.

Hey Jake is that highland highschool in Arizona??

That is Highland HS in Salt Lake City

Make sure you read my comment on the post too!! :)

Yes, as always, Andrea provides some clarity to what I'm trying to say :-)

Who is that person in the picture with all of the hair? :-)

Another great write up Jake and again very informative and beneficial.

Another top post Jake. I remember reading the 'Champions Everywhere' thing. Is that where they said about the hiking etc?

All that hiking and skiing and running can't be beaten as a base. No wonder you can run so many miles with excellent and well thought out quality work.

Yes, its from the Champions Everywhere thingamajigger. I remember reading it at the time, and mentioned it to Andrea. And then last week when I re-read it and it was like a light bulb went off in my head - that's exactly what I did w/out realizing it. Kinda cool. Obviously not the approach everyone needs to take... but for me, I was in such a cycle that the only way I was coming out of it was the rebuild from scratch. And that's what happened.

Another awesome post Jake! Thanks again for sharing. A lot of amazing truths spoken. Thanks for teaching.

Ooooh exciting! I hope to be up and running by the Holladay Mile :)

Don't sell yourself short, this is a great workout!

Everyone needs to participate in the circuit this year!! Great races and lots of prize money for open, masters, and age division winners!

Nice work. I like the idea of a benchmark workout, too.

Shame on you for the 5:00.2.

That's a good session Jake. I think you've got to start doing some work that's dipping under 5 min pace but doesn't gobble up your base and today's session is perfect, especially as the efforts were at LT. Soon, 5:15 pace will be mp. Great session.

6 x Mile and a 10 mile tempo are usually good indicators for me. I've done them enough times that it tells me roughly where I'm at. I don't like to get into the business of repeating workouts too often and comparing splits too closely, but once in a while its fine. I don't really get competitive w/ myself when it comes to workouts anyways... mainly b/c I've realized that it doesn't really matter if you run a couple seconds faster. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll race faster... and races are the only thing that really count.

Awesome workout this morning Jake. I love the fact that you are running sub-5 min miles with a controlled effort. Something I do not think you could have said a year ago.

How many circuit races do you have to complete?

I've done this session before averaging about 4:54 right before Long Beach and 4:50 right before Boston... but that was @ Liberty Park and its easier to run fast there. I do agree I wouldn't have done this last January at this pace, that's for sure!

You need 4 races to score in the circuit, although it takes 5-7 usually to place high. 7 is the max # scored (or at least it was last year, it might go back to 8, that still needs to be decided, it will depend on whether any other races are added)

Nice workout Jake. I'm sure you could knock these out in sub 4:50, but you had control and kept them where you planned them to be. Great job.

I don't know... my target pace was 5:00.000, and like Joe said, I kinda blew it on #4. Guess I'll have to re-do the whole thing this afternoon :-)

'great' is all relative :)... I think this was an awesome workout! Do you base your recovery between each repeat on time or distance - does that really matter much?

Christie - It very much depends on the workout and can vary quite a bit. For this session, on the track I'd usually do 1600m reps w/ a lap jog in between, so when I do this on my road loop, it works out about the same. I don't loaf through the recovery section, I keep it brisk, and I think that's important.

Great Workout Jake! Your progression over the last month has been ideal. Priming for some great races. That workout would have been low 4:50s down here in balmy AZ.

Normally I'd say "it is what it is"... but I do agree w/ you that running in the daylight in warm Arizona does shave a few seconds off the 5am cold up here right now (although today was the warmest morning since I've been back, by far). As long as I get that extra boost next weekend, I'll be a happy camper. :-)

I hope I'm ready for that 10k on the 9th.

Nice workout, as always!!!

Awesome workout Jake! Your fitness is fantastic. Time for you to put some serious hurt on people in Phoenix for the R&R 1/2.

Nice improvement Jake! Great blog post on injuries, too. Very interesting.

I started a solid regimen of gellato today. I figure if ice cream works so well for you i may be able to drop some time off my splits.

Your workouts are just insane Jake.

The Alta Peruvian 8k sounds like a sweet race!

Thanks Jake. Another excellent post with great links. Like the Complexification stuff - total sense.

Poor old Andrea:( But she's on the mend:)

Vern Gambetta's blog is must read for me. Perfect combination of science and common sense.

I really look forward to my daily dose of wisdom from Vern. Its a good way to start every morning.

Congratulations on being 'almost' as famous as Lance and Oprah!

Without being Obese or Doped.

Oprah?!?!... Lance never ceases to amaze. When he admits using PEDs, will all the audience members be instructed to look under their seats for their complimentary 2000 IUs of EPO?

Although I guess she'll be tougher on him than Phil Liggett and Bob Roll would be :-) It was probably her or Matt Lauer.

My vote would have been for Charles Barkley to get the interview! If its going to be a circus, it might as well be an entertaining one.

Great links Jake. Especially the complexification one. So true. I agree -- Charles Barkley would have been better! EPO under Oprah's audience members' seats -- hilarious!

Another good-un Jake. I like the mix of the session and that you were able to keep it together in the wind, which we all know is a nightmare.

It's all about those pixies or is it pixels?

Nice work Jake. You're definitely ready for a good race at RnR!

Nice effort - you can call it your potpourri workout. I'm gonna say having the legs locked into 5-flat pace is perfect timing.

I like the tempo break up with the interval sandwich. I may have to streak this one. Great work as usual!

Joe - I really liked the potpourri term, but I think Brandon wins. From now on, this is called the interval sandwich!

That is a tough workout Jake, hitting the 2 mile tempo after the shorter repeats is not easy. Great job!

What is your goal for the race next Saturday?

Great interval sandwich!

Nice workout. Good thing about the wind is that you at least didn't have to chew the air this morning to breath.

I have several levels of goals. The course is honest - a loop w/ ~170 feet of elevation gain. So I think its probably very comparable to Long Beach and Duluth. I'd like to run under 1:06, and I'd like to run a PR. Those are my "A" goals.

I'd also like to win the race... that part I can't control as much, it depends on who Competitor brings in. Some years this race has been won in 61-62 minutes, other years 1:08 has taken it. I know of one guy (14:15/29:30) running... I'm guessing there will be some good competition.

In 2006 Haile Geb ran 58:55 at this race. Check this out - http://goo.gl/Fn005

He had to drop the 3 rabbits by 8K!

Don't worry Adam, its going to be like -5 degrees all of next week so the chewy air will be back soon (unless everyone starts running to work like you and I!)

next week go for the crayola shoes sandwich. it's one of meb's fav workouts.

58:55 is just mind-boggling fast! Holy crap.

I like your goals, it sounds like a good, fast course; it's not quite sea-level but nice, low elevation. Sub-1:06 would be fantastic and set you up for a great year.

58:55 is only #10 on the world list now

Crazy! It was a world-record at the time he ran it though right?

Yeah he was the first person to break 59 minutes.

Now its 58:23 :-0

Frank Shorter ran a 4:30 mile in high school. Don't know about the Alta Peruvian.

Well done Jake. You are ready. And most importantly, you know you are ready.

Nice work. You are ready for Ivan Drago.

You are hard core Jake.

Ha! I thought about you on my 89 minute bus commute this morning and didn't doubt once that you would be making the trek.

I hope Drago is on the starting line next weekend.

I also like how they pretend Rocky is training in Siberia, but its clearly Grand Teton National Park.

POWDER RUN!

Never again will I complain about the wind and rain in Ireland. Fair play to you guys.

I would probably still be in traffic if I tried to drive up here.

Bam - honestly, the snow is actually kind of fun to run in, and it doesn't chill you to the bone like cold rain. The downside is that when it comes down like this, you gotta get really creative w/ your faster workouts, b/c the roads are going to be a mess for several days.

I would have mistaken that for a big foot photo if it weren't for the orange jacket.

"I will break you"

It's "I MUST break you". Know your Rocky IV Rob or get off Jake's blog.

Oops! It's also Bigfoot, one word.

I know you've banned me from your blog before, now your banning me from Jake's too?

camera runner. runner that falls down a lot. good job.

that pic is awesome. it's sooo wintery out there.

This is pretty crazy... snow totals through 4–6 am this morning:

East Millcreek: 15 inches

Upper Avenues: 12 inches

Snowbird Base: 11 inches

Alta Base: 8 inches

Alta-Collins: 6 inches

Snowbird Gad-II Snow Cam: 4 inches

The best skiing is probably the hill by Rob's house at Sugar House Park!

Sledding party by Rob's house this afternoon?!

The orange jacket is bright! No wonder you two haven't been hit by a car yet. :)

Nice snow commuting Jake. I am positive you ran to work faster than most people drove to work today.

so freaking awesome!! love it.

Time to turn around and run home already. SNOW DAY!!!

Nah-say-byah......nah-say-byah! Drago speak. I'm certain I butchered the spelling of that. Rocky IV is definitely one of my fav's.

good job, jeep. i want mine back now.

I made Andrea watch the Rocky IV montage... somehow she had never seen it before. We agreed that we imagine the scene where Drago is on the stairclimber is what we imagine it looks like when Fritz is at 24 hour fitness.

If it took you 89 minutes to run to work, then it would have taken me about 180.

I bet you were running faster than most people were driving.

I am honored to be mentioned in the same sentence. Despite losing to Rocky I always thought Drago, minus the steroids and killing Apollo Creed, was cool. I will have to find one of those full body white jumpsuits so I can look like him running around the track. And you should try running in a leather jacket and boots like Rocky.

Great work Jake. I know Kramer really appreciated it.

See you guys at 2.

Looks like another fun Saturday, way to mix it up. Training Rocky style every day will only get you so far.

Very Cool. Something different but sounds like a lot of fun. Great workout though and I'll be out cheering next week. If you need anything while down here or an extra water bottle or GU let me know.

Nice workout Jake. A cheeky little sharpener. I think the 4x1's, on top of everything else you've done, will stand you in good stead for next weekend. I think it might be a blessing in disguise that you ended up doing that session. Well done Mr Murphy.

Kramer's got some talent - it'll be good to see how he develops. The schoolmaster's done a good job. Kramer looks like, from the pictures, that he's got True Grit. And talking of True Grit - Scott! Unbelievavle.

Great job today Jake! It looked effortless for you. I just stuck with my plan for tempo today, but next time I'll do the repeats with you. They looked like a lot of fun. I just didn't want to chance anything given next weekend.

Nicely done Jake. Sounds like fun.

Rob and Kramer are like Salazar and Rupp out there. I'm not sure how I fit into the group... maybe I'm Ritz, but less injury prone? They've got a great thing going. You can tell just by running alongside Kramer that he can shift to that next "gear" so nicely. His speed is going to be a great weapon for him, because it isn't even fine tuned yet.

Happy you had a guy like Kramer to push you :) Psyched to see what you can do next weekend! Are we going to be able to track you so I can root for you from your own couch?

Great job today, Jake! It looked like you could have kept running that pace all day long. It sure makes intervals easier when you're being pulled around the track by guys like you and Kramer. Event the crazy weaving we had to do on a crowded track will be a fun memory. Glad Kramer didn't get hurt when he couldn't shoot the gap between the podium in lane one and the slow joggers. You are ready for a great race next weekend.

Jake,

Hi. I always appreciate the pictures you post and the links. I enjoyed the article on Kramer Morton. That guy does a lot of work during the race - and especially the last quarter mile!! I am sure all forty people who went to the Nationals do a lot of work though. Sounds like a nice guy with the shirt and note gesture. Awesome that you get to meet and train with Stars! I was telling Conner the other day that they should do more to publicize what these guys who go to the Nationals are doing - film their races, etc. Be well.

Oh, and by the way. Who is the clydesdale behind you and Kramer in those pictures? :-)

Wow, it'll be exciting to see what he does this coming track season. It'll be fun to race him in the 2 mile.

Nice work with the camera, Andrea. The first one has the Jake and Kramer perfectly matched (arms, legs, point in gait cycle. Oh, and nice job out front fellas :)

Scott: if that is a clydesdale, he sure is moving, especially after being a sick horse.

Conner - I'd love to see you and Kramer race the 2 mile... heck, I'd like to be in that race! :-)

Oh! lucky kramer :) haha i'd want to see you race all out against him too!

Salazar and Rupp?

You just made me blush!

Man, cool workout with a great group. That you can feel good at that pace (with the bonus mileage) definitely speaks to your readiness for this next weekend.

Great to run with you again Jake. You looked effortless out there. I can't wait to see how you do on Saturday!

Haha. We clearly had different experiences with soreness today.

Good recovery run to start the week. My legs feel great also in spite of yesterday, which is a good sign. What is your goal mileage this week given your race?

I need to figure that out... I think I'll probably try to keep it ~70-75 miles in the next 6 days, w/ Thur-Fri-Sat being pretty light days. I want to stay in my routine, but I'll drop the length of the afternoon runs the next couple days, and my workouts will be just enough to stay sharp.

Good plan Jake. You need to be as fresh as possible. And, with your ability to recover, you can be "fresh" after doing almost anything. You are going to do some serious blood letting in Phoenix.

I'm going to recommend a day completely off early this week. Like Tuesday.

Amazing. I don't know how you do it.

I agree with Kassi! Your ability to recover so quickly from a hard workout is just amazing.

You've made keeping up with what's happing on the circuit easy. Thank you!

I'm not liking the super inversion forecast. With your strong aversion to treadmill running, you might need to invest in a nice gas mask. I'd like to see the looks on peoples faces if you were to wear this on your commute back and forth from work:

http://www.amazon.com/Israeli-Civilian-Mask-Nato-Filter/dp/B0002XJ2OU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358184062&sr=8-1&keywords=gas+mask

That would be great on a hard workout. I should wear it to the airport too, that won't get me any additional screening

The inversion stinks. Its our own fault, though, for driving so many cars around. If everyone that hates it even cut back their driving a little bit, it would make a huge difference in the air quality.

I've actually looked into the topic quite a bit. Alex Hutchinson has also done some interesting summaries of pollution and exercise. From what I gather, obviously running in clean air is better than running in polluted air. But running in polluted air is still better than not running. So I'll train though it, like I always do, and lay off the cigarettes for the time being to compensate :-)

At least we don't live in Beijing... check this out... http://goo.gl/XNkAU

Glad to not be training in Beijing. Question: Is treadmill training in "cleanish" air (if you don't count gym BO), better than training outside in the inversion?

That's a very good question. I guess it depends on how well they filter the air.

In terms of running outdoors, if you go early and stay away from higher traffic corridors, you are much better off.

I would assume the air quality indoors is still better.

They made a big deal last week on the news that Salt Lake was actually worse than Beijing. I get to go straight from Beijing to Boston. I look at it like Elevation training, Boston is going to feel like sea level on a clear day.

http://fox13now.com/2013/01/08/bad-air-quality-worsens-breathing-problems/

Jake, Thanks for the link. I'm so tempted to sign up for it even with my ambitions of taking maternity leave later this year. Too bad they don't give you a handicap for running with a baby :)

Rob- my brother lives in Beijing. It's a good day when they can see more than 20 feet out the window from the 15th floor they live on. You will not only get the third lung effect from sea level, but perhaps a fourth lung from being able to breathe clean air.

Just don't take maternity leave until after Des News 10K. You can get in 6-7 races by that point :-)

Good idea...!

Here's some good info on the indoor/outdoor air quality questions - Andrea just sent this to me:

---------------------------------

Inside vs. Outside

The deal with our particulate is that so much of it is ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3). Ammonium nitrate happens to be volatile at warmer temperatures and stable at cold temperatures. In our case, the cold temperatures help to keep NH4NO3 as a particle, but once you go indoors the particulate tends to volatilize into it gas phase components. Therefore, indoor air quality is a whole lot better than outdoors. DAQ has done a fair bit of work on this very issue. They conducted numerous studies inside/outside schools. I think they may have worked at Hawthorne among others. Dr. Steve Packham at DAQ would be the contact on that.

I love that I can just throw a question out there and leave it to Jake and Andrea to knock it out of the park :-)

I'm just happy that now I don't have to feel guilty that I don't have any pictures of myself running through 3' of snow with a frost bitten face.

^hahaha.

Intense hot tub workout eh? (wink wink)

^hahahaha.

Not THAT kind of workout! You should see some of the weirdos at that gym (minus Fritz and Rob, of course)

If it were possible to "Like" a comment on this blog, Lily would have received one from me.

Ha ha! I'm kidding. My gym has a few fruit cakes in it too.

Where's the Like button?!! @scottkeate he he!

The people at this gym must think we are the laziest people ever. Go in, stretch and hot tub for 30 minutes, leave. They must think we don't even exercise!

Eventually we'll re-start pool running, its just too cold right now to even think about that.

nothing like doing some intervals in a hot tub... also, I love telling cars to stop when I am running through intersections...or whereever

Hot tub intervals... It's the new elliptical heaven!

This guy had a red light and was obviously planning to turn right at the intersection. He was about 100 feet away and approaching. I had the "go" sign for the crosswalk, but I had a bad feeling, so I hesitated. I looked him in the eye, waved at him, pointed to the crosswalk sign as I started to step off the sidewalk... and then he just accelerated into the turn and right at me. I jumped back. Jack@ss. If I had just run across on green, he would have nailed me. He had to slow a bit as he rounded the turn and I punched his side window as hard as I could. Luckily I had my super-mittens on, which are sort of similar to boxing gloves, so my knuckles weren't damaged. Then again, my lack of upper body and arm strength also contributed to the reduced chance of injury from the punch.

Jake, nice workout. It looks like we had very similar ideas for a workout (both type and pace) today with our upcoming races at the end of the week.

Yeah and our thoughts about driving in cold cars were exactly the same too :-)

You can't do any workouts that are going to make you faster in the week before a half marathon, so I think its good to just stay in the normal routine, w/ intensity and duration scaled back a bit. Later in the week I'll probably do a light session with some short reps at HM pace just to stay sharp.

I agree. I was thinking I may do a few light mile repeats Thursday at HM pace.

Awesome last chance workout Jake. As someone incredibly wise once told me "The hay is in the barn." :-)

cool data. deena k rules all.

Your tempo makes mine look like a wet noodle :-)

Nice little workout there Jake. Looking forward to the weekend. Should be some top race reports with disturbingly fast times from the plethora of Beasts who pound the roads of Utah:)

Nice workout Jake! Looking good and ready for the weekend.

It's amazing that Hall can run 2:04:58 and not make the podium.

When I was running today I was thinking god.. my all out, I want to kill myself pace is your tempo pace! You crush it every workout... nice job, excited to see what you do this weekend.

Nice work Jake. Great way to stay sharp this week.

It is time Jake. Go win this one. You are ready.

Great stuff from Webb. He's got a great perspective right now.

Someone on Letsrun called Webb the "People's Champ." I like that, and I think its true. He's had so many ups and downs, and I think most of us can relate to that in some way.

But what sets him apart is that he retains this amazing amount of self-belief. Most guys in his shoes would have retired a few years ago. Everyone keeps telling him to give it up.

He keeps trying, though, and I have so much respect for him because of that.

Great interview! I have similar thoughts about the training group, it's such a good environment :). Something very special about a group of people that all want to be better individually, but also want the group as a whole to get better as well. The support net is so critical for anyone.

Enjoyed the interview with your mate, Scott. I like how he's slowly introducing new aspects to his training, rather than trying to do everything at once. Reminds me a bit of yourself. I think now that he's easing off on the beer and other nasties, he'll see more improvements. Thanks for posting, it was an interesting read.

Scott W and I have a lot of similarities. We were both sort of "underachievers" (relative to what we are capable of) during our mid-20s, but are back in the game and improving now. I'm hoping to follow the kind of breakthrough he had last year (get the half down to 1:04 and be shooting for the top 15 in some national championship races). His training is interesting to follow, similar to mine, but w/ more of an obvious Canova influence:

http://runwietecha.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the link to Scott's blog. Great read. I was reading away and it suddely dawned on me when I saw the mad clips etc that I often read his blog and have it in my FAV'S. Just didn't recognise the name.

Jake or Andrea,

Sorry... not related to this post at all, but I have a $50 e-gift card to runners warehouse and I was wondering what Saucony shoe you considered a great overall trainer. I have a neutral gait, but noticed that there were some nicely priced liquidation shoes on sale.... (Fastwitch)? I'm not afraid to poney up some dinero, but the deals always catch my eye :) What about the Kinvara 3? What do you recommend? I'm open to all shoe suggestions.

Thanks,

Deron

The Fastwitch is more of a workout/race shoe. It great for that purpose, but most people probably wouldn't use it as an everyday trainer.

I think the best 3 options would be the Kinvara, Mirage, and Ride. The Kinvara is pretty light and flexible... the Mirage is also a very "natural" shoe but with just a touch more support/cushion, and the Ride is a neutral cushion shoe (the newer version (5) is significantly lighter than previous models). I would say the ride is probably most similar to the Wave Riders that you've been wearing. You really can't go wrong w/ any of those three - Andrea and I both wear (and like) all of them. It depends on how much shoe you are looking for.

The FT5 is a steal on RW right now. You can get an extra 15% off with FB15D code making it about $50.

Jake - what is your opinion of the A5 as a marathon racing shoe? Is it too lightweight? I've always used a Kinvara or Fast Twitch.

I've worn the FT 5/6 for my last 3 marathons, and that's what I'm going w/ this spring as well. I think even though its a tad heavier than the Type A 4/5, its a little more forgiving, and that can make a difference in terms of not wanting to hate your feet late in the marathon.

I know some people get away w/ the Type A for the marathon. Scott, mentioned in my post today, wore them for Houston... I think I'd consider it on a really flat Chicago/Houston style course, but I like to have a little more cushion on a course with hills (esp downhills).

The FT6s are coming out in a couple weeks, so now is a great time to get the 5s b/c they're clearing them out.

For the half-marathon, its Type As all the way for me.

Exactly my thoughts regarding Alan Webb's last paragraph. These group runs have been truly amazing. I'm honored to be a part of them. Looking forward to many more to come. Thanks for the links.

Thanks for the input!

Great primer! You are in a great spot for Sunday. Super excited for you.

Great job Jake! Super excited for you to race Sunday.

Good luck Jake, I'm pumped to see how this one goes for you!

All the best on Sunday, Jake. Give it some root-toot. Looking forward to the report.

Thanks guys!

Excited and sending lots of energy your way Jake.

I feel the same way about LA. I was one of the last hold-outs, I stood up for him until the bitter end! I got called all kinds of things on LetsRun (not the first time) for not believing he would cheat years ago, even though all the evidence said that he did. All that said, I still believe there are huge issues with the drug tests (lots of false positives).

Jake, I appreciate your comments about Lance. He has sold out his integrity so many times that the road back is paved with some nasty mountains much bigger than any of the Alps he might have climbed on his bike. This story is another good example that we simply cannot outsmart karma--the old sayings are true "What goes around, comes around." and "You reap what you sow." Being out of integrity at any level results in pain--period! This is a perfect example of how one lie has led to another--the snow ball became an avalanche.

I do not envy the spot in which Lance finds himself. For Lance's sake, and for the sake of all those he has hurt, I hope that he takes the accountability that he has been forfeiting for too long and that everybody can begin the healing process.

Nice post Scott. Well said...

dear lance: "guess what? you're gettin' old. still gotta grow up." -BoH

Great thoughts, Bonnie and Scott.

I'm sure this isn't what Lance envisioned when he cheated the first time. It got a lot bigger than anyone could have ever imagined. But in any case, he's responsible for what he did. I believe in second chances, and he has the opportunity now for some redemption... just hopefully not in athletics anymore. He can find other ways to be a decent person, promote and build Livestrong.

He F'ed with a lot of people, and he deserves all of the backlash he is getting now.

Bonnie, I agree that the testing is way behind the athletes. And its especially problematic when you can pay $$$ to get positive tests erased.

The sad part is that his actions make everyone look at athletics with a somewhat jaded view, and that's not fair to the ones who are doing things the right way.

This blog needs a like button. Nice post Jake. I agree 100%.

I whole heartily agree!

Ashley.

And now we know. Thanks Matty.

I'm going to switch subjects real quick, but you can get right back on subject after this. I met Hyrum tonight at the Phoenix Marathon booth at the Adventure Run. They were telling me how the marathon was sold out, and that the half would be sold out tonight. I told them I was trying to recruit people from the FastRunningBlog to run it (right AngieB?) Then Hyrum said, "The FastRunningBlog? I know what that is. It's out of Utah, right?" I said, "Yes. Are you Hyrum?" He said, "Yes. How do you know me?" I said, "Uh, Jake Krong?" He said, "We were just talking about Jake Krong. He's fast!" Anyway, that's my story.

Now back to whatever you were talking about before.

OPRAH'S UCKS!

Many moons ago I read one of Lance's books and was left thinking, what a 'man'. Like most of the world, I too was duped.

But the more I thought about it, like many others, I began to doubt the veracity of his claims. Eventually, it just seemed mad to believe he was clean.

Now he's busted and facing the wrath of the world, his 'manliness' will be tested more than the tour ever tested him - I suspect more than cancer ever tested him. For many cancer survivours, life becomes a gift to be cherished not something to be sullied.

I listened to him and actually pitied him. I know that there has been no genuine epiphany, no moment when it twigged to come clean, that he's been dragged to this point kicking and screaming, but he's only starting the journey into hell - he's nowhere near rock bottom yet. Worse still, I don't think the penny's dropped yet. I doubt he fully realises what's ahead. I also doubt that his public shriving will grant him absolution.

When you get caught up in 'naughtiness' it's difficult to get out. Unless you've been there, it's hard to understand. Because it's hard to sort yourself out, however, it doesn't make it right that you be forgiven.

Somehow, Lance has to dig deep and have a good hard look at himself and fight to find a way out of this mess.

Time will tell what sort of man Lance really is; me, I fear for him...

Burt - Hyrum is a nice guy... and I was kind of surprised by Oprah. I was expecting for her to UCK, as you would say, but I thought she did a good job w/ the interview. When Lance tried to sneak in his disease as an excuse for what he did, she quickly caught him and reminded him that he doped before cancer. That was sharp.

Bam - excellent thoughts. I agree, I would not want to be in Lance's shoes. He got himself in a big hole. We all screw up and do things of questionable merit. Those are the situations that show your true character, how you respond when your back is against the wall (esp by your own doing). From watching him last night, I don't get the sense that he really thinks what he did was wrong at all.

I've just watched the interview again. It's clear that he doesn't think what he did was wrong. His spin doctors are all over his answers: he uses the word 'flaw' several times - this universalises what he's done; we think I've done things wrong ergo I understand what Lance did, maybe I should forgive him, he's only human.

He also talks about himself in the third person - this distances his emotions and sensiblities from the problem. It also universalises it. And so, we begin to soften our opinions...

Lance hasn't even begun to comprehend that he's eyebrow deep in manure. As he states in the interview: when he's threatened, he comes out fighting - albeit in a different manner.

The guy isn't sorry; he's worried that he might lose some wonga and will not be able to compete again. I suspect he's 'fibbing' about not having doped since 2005 - this is so that he'll be able to 'prove' he's clean and compete again.

Lance has a certain attitude that may be difficult for many to understand: he knows that one day he'll be dead and that, in the grand scheme of things, none of this will matter a jot. He's right. But, for now, it's all about self-preservation.

The lad's in for a torrid time. If I were him, I'd juice up, empty my bank account, get on my bike and do one...

Mike and Mike on espn said today that Lance is basically a mean, bad person who happened to do some good with his cancer stuff.

The higher in any big, competitive organization someone is, the more likely they are to be ruthless.

I figure it's really not worth idolizing anyone, at least well paid people. Especially those I've never met.

Probably not worth idolizing anyone, I agree. A folly of youth I suppose.

But I think the hope that some people can hold the qualities of true heroes, and provide inspiration and set a positive example, is worth holding on to. Lance can't ruin that for me.

You could have left yesterday. Good Luck!

Seriously jealous! Enjoy the sunshine and best of luck Sunday. Is there stalking...I mean tracking available?

Good luck on Sunday! Enjoy the weather and clean air.

Competitor charges for runner tracking (big surprise)... and the don't put their elite field in the general entry list, so there would be no way to look me up anyways. Kinda strange.

The results will be here...

http://running.competitor.com/cgiresults?eId=44

It's all you Jake. Go get em! Best of luck on Sunday!

breathe in as much clean air as you can.

Thanks for the link Jake!

Good luck on Sunday Jake!

All the best to you Sunday Jake!

Good luck Jake! Lookin' good!

Good luck tomorrow Jake. Excited to see how it all pans out. I'm sure you're gonna great run. Have fun.

You're slacking man, didn't even hit 100

Good luck!

Jake,

I probably should know what race you are doing. I do come to your site often although I do not comment a lot of the time. But I see the race is tomorrow so I will be sure to check out the results. Hope of course that you do well and get the time you are looking for.

Have fun tomorrow, Jake.

PRE - I'm running the Rock and Roll Arizona 1/2 marathon.

I wanted to give everyone a chance to lead the mileage board, Kevin. Any takers?

Best of luck, Jake. Looking forward to the results. Enjoy the sun.

Wow - can't wait to see this race report! Great job, Jake!!

Full report later... Felt good about this. 8th at the mile, worked my way up. Moved into 2nd at 10 miles and threw down a 4:53 11th mile to seal the deal. Road to 2016 begins... I beat some accomplished guys today.

I was watching the live results. Way to reel those guys in! Amazing.

Freakin' blazing! Congrats Jake you earned it!

Sweet! Awesome job Jake! Looking forward to your race report. The sky's the limit Jake.

Unreal...very nice Jake!

You're going to have twenty comments before writing a word! Good job, Jake.

Ha! Love it. Congrats on a big race...65:55!

Wow Congrats Jake! Along with everyone else, looking forward to the report! Awesome finish!

Wow! Very impressive, it will be a very good year for you.

Very nice work Jake!

Awesome race today! Great Finish!

Great Jake! Congratulations!

Great job Jake! Looks like you ran a really smart race and finished with the fastest 5k split by 15 seconds (4:57 pace). Wow.

Congrats on a smart well executed race!

Awesome work Jake, you definitely deserved this one.

Looks like the seeders didn't know what they were doing :) awesome race!

Man, I want to hear about this one....weren't you seeded 7th? Big congrats!!

Wow!

Nice job Jake!!!

Fantastic and well deserved, can't wait to hear the details.

Thank you friends! I have put up my full report and some photos, and will now retire to the couch to watch football and eat ice cream...

Incredible race Jake! You are definitely on the right track. Your time is very impressive, but your finishing in second is even more so with that field. Congrats.

Once again, really nice race Jake.

Great to meet Frank Shorter. I'm sure you invited him over to your folks house for dinner right?

I was so excited to hear your name on the loud speaker this morning after the race! I was with a friend also from Ftn. Hills and I said Hey, that's the guy who won Mountain to Fountain last year. Hopefully you'll come back to our beautiful town for that race again Jake, congrats!

Way to go! See you in 6 weeks.

flowers from frank -- so awesome.

congrats, jake.

Wow. Sounds like a perfectly executed race. Well done!

Way to go Jake!!!! Awesome time, great place (especially considering the competition), and you cannot beat receiving flowers from an Olympic gold medalist!

Great report. Excellent race! Well-deserved.

Amazing how well you stuck to your plan, within a couple seconds like that. The sub 1:06 on a course that appears to have 10 miles of uphill is one thing, but beating all those great runners...it's going to be a great year for you!

Nice job. 10 Miles at 50:30 is insane to me! Wohooo

Sick run Jake! 1:05:50 on a course like that has to be the best performance you've cranked out yet. It will be exciting to see how you do in the marathon.

Congrats on a great, very smart race, Jake. Nothing like coming "out of nowhere" (which really isn't accurate, obviously) to take second.

I think your long hair cost you a few seconds though.

INCREDIBLE!!!! :)

Congrats. :)

You are in a great place right now...6 weeks out from the marathon in arguably the best shape you've ever been in. You had a pretty minimal taper (still 100 miles this week) and this definitely had some elevation gain, so 1:05 is well within reach once you decide to go for it in the fall :)

Question - why did you decide to run 3.5 miles before the race? In the past you've only done 1 mile + strides. I like the half mile pick-up but was just curious.

You should take a couple days EASY now!!

Awesome job, especially throwing the announcer for a loo at the awards! Shorter is probably my favorite distances, jealous you to meet him

Andrea - I don't think I've ever only warmed up 1 mile for a half. I've always done 2-3 mi before a serious race. But in any case, I'm finding that a longer warmup really helps me get into rhythm faster, and that 1/2 mile effort @ MP about 20 minutes before the gun gets me in "race mode"... Helps mentally focus and gets the legs primed way more than strides do. Half Marathon warmup should be the same as what I'd do before a 5K/10K... It's not like the paces are that much different :-)

Wow outstanding performance Jake! Such a smartly executed race and you absolutely deserved this. I am just so incredibly happy for you and am so thankful you let us all enjoy this journey with you.

Awesome write up! Way to race like you practice... All to the wall! (In a smart way!)

Awesome jake!! You are a rock star, or maybe a

Run star. Actually both!!! :)

wow! good job Jake! you really ran that smart waiting for the right moment to bite the danny guy and not look back. you weren't that far off the first guy either! You're going to do amazing on the Marathon.

congratulations Jake - awesome racing!

Thanks for the love everyone!

(hopefully my explanation about the warmup didn't come off as a lecture, I was just trying to thorough... the 2-3 minute sustained effort @ MP is something worth trying if you ever feel like you aren't warmed up good enough when the gun goes off)

Congratulations! Palindromic 10K split, 2nd place, break 66:00, and flowers from Shorter. Killer day.

Jake,

Hi. Congratulations on a great race - and sticking with your plan. I enjoyed reading the report and all the thinking that goes along with running the race. Ranked 8th and took 2nd - awesome. So those announcers need to really apply themselves to researching the top ten players in the field! Because the 8th place player might just surprise you!!!!!

Pretty awesome Jake. It's so amazing that you are so confident in your training and stratagy that you can go head to head with these guys and it doesnt even phase you. You just stuck to the plan and it paid off.

Wow jake second is sweet!! Wish i could have joined you for yoir shakeout run....since your pace was turtle-like that i could have kept up with you. Excited for your big year!!

Great report Jake! The detail is much appreciated. :) Very inspiring to read, and your result today just reiterates the importance of sticking to your plan. Once again, congrats on a great race!!

Yay Jake! Incredible. Way to close the last 5k so strong.

Congrats on a great race Jake. Beautifully executed. The school master's cheeky little session of 4x1 mile probably gave you that little bit of fuel injection you needed for that final 5k:-) Blessing in disguise and all that:-)

Great way to start what will be a brilliant year for you. And so it begins...

Absolutely incredible Jake. Great way to kick of 2013. Congrats

Jake, Congratulations on a well run race and awesome finish. Really glad to see your consistent hard work paying off!

Awesome performance, Jake! I knew you had a good one in you and I so happy to see your hard work pay off. I appreciate the detail you share in your reports--huge value for me.

Now let's practice taking some liquids and food on a few of these long runs so you can knock the socks of the marathon in six weeks :-)

I'm still beaming for you this morning. Proud of you Jake!

Way to tear it up, man!

very impressive race! and great write up. Congrats.

Great race! So fun to read an amazing runners report!

Seeing you get the rewards of the massive effort gets me stoked on my own training. Totally inspiring and impressive !

Congratulations! I think it is wonderful you were able to stick to your race plan and be patient for the right time to go! It definitely worked well for you :) awesome race

Well done. Do you feel like this was a better effort than your long beach race?

That's a good question Paul. I would say in terms of the time, they're essentially equal. The courses have about the same amount of elevation gain. Long Beach is truly at sea level, which does make a little difference in my opinion. Weather and competition were excellent for both.

In terms of which performance I feel better about, definitely this one. Long Beach was a wild race... I ran the first 10K under 30:30 and then just hung on for dear life after that. This time, it was a well-executed effort, and the way I finished gives me confidence that maybe I can make my "move" further out in the future. Or just focus on the 25K, because that is probably my ideal race distance :-)

PR or not, that is an incredible time! Nice work Jake.

Super job. Way to execute an awesome race.

I hope that 12 miler took you 2 hours today. :) Recover, recover, recover! I'm sure you feel great but remember that you put your body through a lot yesterday. I know that you already know all of this but it never hurts to hear it a couple million times!

So hard to not want to run all day long when your in nice weather.

Thanks Rachelle! Jake just rolls his eyes every time I say anything about recovering :)

I'm definitely very serious about making sure I fully bounce back from this... In 12 days ill be doing my 16 mile simulator, so there can't be any residual fatigue. My main priority today was getting all the aches and tight spots to go away. several days of 8-9 minute pace jogging, and I'll be back to 100%. Obviously, only one more day between now and May really matters, and that is march 2 :-)

Nicely put, Jake. You have the self control to hold back enough until you have fully recovered. That is the main reason I chose not to race on Sat. I have zero self control and would probably dig myself into a hole.

March 2 will be a great day for you! Arizona has always been GOOD to you- or maybe it's the other way around! Are you putting bottles/nutrition out?

I need to talk to Hyrum... I don't think they have the resources to put bottles out there for me, but as long as its OK w/ him, Andrea is going to hit a few spots on the course for me... and maybe I'd even have her leave some bottles at the early aid stations. That's one of the logistics left to figure out.

The timing of this one was really good... mentally, it broke up the training into almost 2 equal cycles. And even though I knew I was fit, its nice to get a very tangible reminder of that :-)

They told me I could put stuff out, but they were not responsible getting it there or for other people stealing it. LOL - would someone actually do that? I've never done that before, so maybe I'll just stick to the awkward grab a cup and go method.

That's good to know - I hadn't asked him yet. Honestly I can't imagine it would be an issue for the station people... if they just let my bottle sit on the first table, I promise I'll be the first one by to grab it and get it out of their way :-)

I think that is probably what I'll do (and by "I"... I mean my lovely Andrea will help me get those bottles out there)

It's nice to know you will have the luxury of coming through first - and you have a first class assistant too. I wouldn't expect it any other way.

I should have said "near the front" :-)

You never know who might show up!

Nice Kenyan pacing. I'm impressed that you could run that slowly. Time to work on your math. In that extra hour you clearly could have run 4.3 more miles at that pace. Maybe 4.35.

Oh I do it all the time... after efforts like Sunday, its good to have a few days of VERY low intensity. Otherwise, you're just letting some residual fatigue hang around for no reason.

Good job Jake! I LOVE jogging.

It is refreshing knowing elites run at jogging paces sometimes too :) Hope your legs are recovering

You didn't even beat the 9-minute guy today!

Slooooooooowww it down. I like! You needed it any way

the only thing worse than a last-minute cancellation of a meeting is a meeting.

really though, it's annoying when you make the effort to get to work early if it turns out it's unnecessary -- giving up any amount of extra time in the morning is such a sacrifice for runners!

i guess that means you get to be more productive at work -- just like i'm doing right now.

Serious question - So even for you, I guess 9:10 pace is still more beneficial than not running at all? Sometimes I wonder this on my own superslow days...I guess just the process of running on tired legs is helping you out?

Serious answer - the pace wasn't necessarily so slow because I was tired... I feel OK but realize there is no point in really running any faster on days like today. I just went as slow as I possibly could while not running with weird form.

Everyone responds differently, but I find that really easy jogging does me a lot more good than complete rest. I definitely have a couple areas where is feels like someone took a couple swings at me with a baseball (maybe tee ball) bat (as should be expected when running that hard for an hour), so getting the blood flowing to those areas is what I really need to accelerate the recovery process. I'm probably not getting any aerobic benefit from it, but its allowing me to absorb and hopefully make some adaptations from the work I put in over the weekend.

Plus, I can't drive to work when the pollution is this bad!

Ok, so mostly a blood flow thing. I have noticed the same thing, about feeling better with a short easy run instead of a day off. I've heard/read a bunch of reasons for recovery runs just curious what your take was, thanks.

Yep, range of motion, blood flow, convenient transportation... and I like it. Those are my main reasons.

I think it is worth noting that you showed up on my sidebar under "Lone Faithfuls: (Need a comment)." I'm guessing the method of selection is more random than I thought. I tried to post the screen capture for a visual, but I am unable to do so.

haha, i think you go to that list when you update your "sidebar"... and I added some races to that :-)

Good that you're taking it easy and letting your body recover.

I noticed the plan to do both the USA 25k and Half Marathon Champs - wise decision. I think you'll benefit more from mixing it up in big races rather than winning lower key local races. That's not to undermine local races. But I think, in terms of racing, it's time for you to leave the comfort and security of the nest and get stuck in there with the big boys...

That's my plan for the most part. I'll have a balance between the two. My "peak / target" races will definitely be the national championship races. I'd love to run more of the national circuit, but the 5K-10K-15K-20K championships are all at inconvenient (ie. expensive/difficult travel) locations on the east coast. The 25K and HM champs will pretty much cover all of my travel/lodging, so its a no-brainer to get out to those and mix it up w/ the thoroughbreds. And then some good performances will hopefully open up some more doors for me. I'm really excited about the 25K - I think that is a distance that really suits me well and I could maybe sneak up on some people in that one.

And we are very fortunate to have a good local racing scene. I think our local USATF circuit will be strong and competitive this year, so it'll be fun to have some good races close to home as well.

Congrats on your race. That is pretty awesome.

Very cool.

I'm sure you're going to keep that nice 4 minute gap. You don't go backwards...

Jake,

Hi. I am sure you know this...It is much easier to go from 1:10 to 1:06 than it is to go from 1:06 to 1:02!!!!! Lucky for me, I believe I can knock a whopping nine seconds per mile off my Half Marathon time...and not with too much effort. I'm that slow! BUT, you Elites - I think you have some serious pressure to deal with. I have 100s of runners to pick from throughout a race to pick off. You have like two and sometimes NONE. Hope all well.

Yes 1:06 to 1:02 is not quite the same as dropping 4 minutes from a slower time :-)

The times there weren't in order of when I ran them... if I put them in order, they bounce around back and forth... the half marathons that I have made my bigger target races have all been around 1:06, while the ones I have just been using as harder workouts tend to fall in the 1:10+ range. Not much in between.

Your statistics are always fun to read. Awesome times btw! Excel is my favorite program. Especially with logging runs and such. I'm guessing it might be yours, too........

Matt - I'm a Google Docs guy :-)

That sounds dreamy!!

So jealous, soak up some vitamin D for me.

Have fun in San Diego, one of my favorite places.

It's actually supposed to be rainy (the ONE time a year it's rains there!), and currently I'm indefinitely stuck at the airport b/c all the runways are closed... But once I finally get there, it will definitely still be a nice change from single digits :-)

Totally bogus

At least SLC has free Wifi.

Smart easy running so far this week. Have fun in San Diego!

The way things are going, I might be seeing you for a run this weekend Matt. So far my first and second flights have been cancelled, and I have no idea if I'm even getting out of here!

What?!? Weird. Is weather bad somewhere? Hopefully you will get free flights out of it or something :)

As much fun as it would be to run with you this weekend, for your sake I sure hope you make it to San Diego! :) Be safe and have fun running in warm weather.

There are islands in South Dakota? :)

Ughhh you finally get there and RAIN. Well at least it wasn't freezing rain. Nice workout per usual. Glad to see you running fast again after those easy days!

Great job "hanging in there" and knocking out 10 @ 5:21 pace. Amazing. Harbor island is a great place to run. Enjoy your trip.

55 deg and pouring rain beats 20 degrees and freezing rain! :-)

Derek - "robot mode"... Marathon pace becomes automatic after a while

sorry about your travel troubles, but i'm glad you finally made it.

i hope you got a cool lanyard to wear at your conference.

You are crazy for doing a hard workout like this on no sleep. Very impressive Jake! I hope you get to sleep during the conference. :-)

My lanyard says "Jake Krong , MD"

I'm trying to figure out what the MD stands for. Marathon... ?

I'll definitely make up for the lost sleep :-) the good thing about getting a good amount of sleep consistently is that one or two nights doesn't put you in a hole.

Ha ha! Marathon Dominator for sure!

Another deposit that's sure to reward you with some healthy interest. Well done for sticking in there when it would've been easy to knock it on the head - they're the sessions that count double.

This one is from Paul's interview. The last part is always good, but the first part fits very well in this case: ". . . it’s good and it’s eight to 10 mile tempo, at marathon pace or maybe a bit slower some days due to not feeling it. You have to back off and train to what your body’s giving you".

Great job Jake. And especially a great job forcing yourself to do it when all you wanted to do was give it up. That kind of workout builds character, confidence, and mental toughness. Remember Bob Kennedy's quote about where all the 2nd place guys train? Well done.

Everyone has these days when for whatever reason, it's just mentally tougher to get going. Nobody can maintain 100% motivation all the time. But it feels good when you get it done on a day when you easily could have thrown in the towel and no one would have known.

Jason - that's a great point. A lot of workouts, especially tempos, really need to be run on feel.

My parents are down there this weekend, they are pretty disappointed in the weather . . .

Glad you made it. I guess 10 mile tempos aren't hard enough, so you added in the rain and lack of sleep!

Eek I hope it loosens up! I know you hate to not run, but try to enjoy a little rest and now you can focus on the mind blowing conference. Here's to hoping it was just some weird tweak that will disappear by tomorrow!

I'd take fish smell about now over stale exhaust smell. Enjoy.

Great job listening to your body. Very smart to immediately stop and walk home. Not worth taking the risk of making it worse.

Good job at pulling the plug jake. Remember to keep the big picture (march 2nd) in mind. If you have to take a couple of days off now you will be okay. The ultimate goal is to get to the marathon starting line 100 percent healthy so resist the urge to do anything to jeopardize that.

Quad strain? Sounds like it. It's happened to me twice now during a run. Rest friend. You're still awesome :)

Sorry to hear about the quad. I hope it turns out to be nothing serious. At least you got to take in some sights like the other pedestrian folk.

Sorry about the quad. I'm nowhere near the runner you are, but I still have a relevant situation. In early 2010, I tried to push my body through something that should've required just a brief (comparatively) bit of time off and I ended up running extremely poorly through mid-2010 and then needing to take a full year off after that to recover (other than a few miles here and there when I attempted a comeback too early). If I had listened to my body and simply stopped running briefly (say 6 weeks), I would've been totally fine. I can't even begin to describe how much I regret pushing through things as my body got so trashed that I wouldn't say I was back at 2009 fitness again until very recently, ie it was a 3 1/2 year setback, all said and done. Based on how well your training has gone, there's no doubt in my mind you could take 4-5 days entirely off, if necessary, and still throw down a 2:18 5 weeks from now. I'm not the same calibre runner that you are, but I do know that listening to your body is the single most important thing you can do in your training.

Hopefully it will settle down. Maybe just keep it easy for a day or two and then put the foot down.

I think the fact that it popped up so quick might work in your favor, because it doesn't sound like an overuse thing. Hoping for the best...

How could I get an overuse injury with my ultra conservative approach? :-)

I was doing a lot of puddle jumping on my run Friday night... I might have tweaked it then. Still, I need to be really cautious about not pushing it too hard... One hard workout could easily take it from mild strain to full blown injury. So it will be a delicate balance this week. I might just have to scrap a few things I have planned. We'll see...

I think that's how my foot thing happened too - puddle jumping or potholes. Admittedly it's hanging around juuust a bit, but I think I was saved by a week of slogging while it healed. I'm sure you'll be able to find the right balance of what it can take.

Perspicacity is better than hindsight - oh, I like that cheeky little saying. Seriously Jake, I know what you mean about the next 3 weeks being the most important, but if you push it, you might be out for longer than 3 weeks; take a couple of days to let it settle down and then carry on as normal. This old fella's suggesting you quell the exuberance and follies of youth:) Don't make come over there and hold you down...:)

This is why you have to be nuts to run the steeplechase.

Totally agree Bam. I'd rather miss a few workouts... Or even miss the marathon... Than try to stick to my schedule and end up missing a huge chunk of time.

I'm not going to force the issue on this one. I might feel fine in 2 days, I might not. I'm just going to play it day by day.

Sorry you're hurting Jake. Let me offer some brief advice. And, as always, you can take or leave any of my suggestions. It sounds like a quad strain, and I've had that 4-5 times throughout my running years. For all but one of those times, it completely resolved with a couple days of no running. The exception was actually just recently -- around Thanksgiving time. I developed a quad strain, took a couple days off from running, tried to run a gain -- and it was still bad. So, I took another 4-5 days off, tried running again, and it was still there. So, I took a few more days off and it was finally gone. I've been consistent ever since. I missed almost 2 weeks of running, but I did die-hard cross training during that time, so I didn't skip a beat. Had I really pushed it when it was bad, I'd probably still be out.

Even if it took you 1-2 weeks to get over this, you have such an unbelievable base that it will not phase you in the least -- even for your upcoming marathon. I know how hard to believe that is when you are in the moment, but it's absolutely true. In college, I had a track season where I was in incredible shape. I then got a very annoying injury and wasn't able to run at all for 2 months. But I cross-trained like a maniac to keep my fitness. And I still won the conference 5K championship -- off no running for 2 months. Now I'm not comparing a 5k to a marathon, but the base can be maintained.

Now for my advice (sorry it took me so long to get there). I think you should take 2-3 days off completely from running. I've learned with quad strains that even easy running really prolongs healing. And I would also be diligent with quad stretching, massage, and icing. And I'd even take either naproxen or ibuprofen (I think it's smart for elite runners to use the shotgun approach and do as many things as possible to get over injuries). If there is still pain after 2-3 days off, then you may need a few more days off. And you can cross train to keep your sanity. I despise cross training, but sometimes it has a vital role.

This won't phase you a bit Jake! Just continue to be wise and be careful. You have been very smart to listen to your body. And your wisdom is even more obvious since you are remaining flexible and changing your workout plans for this week.

That's great advice Matt. I appreciate your insight. I'm probably going to end up having to take a few days. Right now the pain spot is very isolated - medial side of the distal femur - about 2 inches above the knee and 2 inches medial from midline. Guessing vastus medialis. I can feel it mostly when I palpate it, or try to contract / hyperextend.

I know fitness can be maintained. I need to wrap my head around the idea of x-training... Because I hate it!

I always (probably) have the option of dropping down to the half if this takes some time to resolve. The thing about the marathon is that you can't fake it. Any weakness / deficiency in training will be multiplied x 100 over 26.2. I'm not hitting the panic button yet... But at the same time I'm not going to "force" the marathon. Whatever happens, happens, and I'll adapt. In an ideal world, I'll be back hitting some tempo next weekend.

That's great advice from Matt. Of course you probably already know what I would say about the value of cross training. I am sure you will take the wise approach and only run the race you feel prepared to run or possibly not run at all. It never makes sense to suffer through a race only to achieve a subpar performance and then not be able to race well for several months. That was my story in 2010 and I was out 6 months. With that said, let's hope it does go away in a few days so you don't have to make a tough decision in a few weeks.

Excellent advice from Fritz! Well spoken.

I agree Jake -- sounds like vastus medialis, which is a common quad strain location. I've had vastus medialis strains, and also vastus lateralis strains. Generally speaking, these do not usually become serious injuries if you "nip them in the rear end" immediately and get rid of them. And good point, any minor weakness can be amplified big time in the marathon. But I totally agree there is no reason to panic yet. Chances are this will shortly be a thing of the past. But you need to be very careful during the next few days.

I'm impressed with your knowledge and description of anatomy. I was equally impressed with Andrea for the same reason when I spoke with her about her injury. Good stuff.

We both worked for Dr. Steadman! We better know at least a couple muscle names! Andrea has really become an expert in hip anatomy. I think she could go toe to toe with anyone in that category... It's quite impressive.

And I still think any cross training that doesn't involve getting to the top of a mountain is worthless :-)

Good point on all accounts. I love it!

I'm in a plane an average of once every 2 weeks for the last 10 years of my life and seriously have never had as many flight delays and problems as you had for this one trip to San Diego. Crazy, I flew out of SLC yesterday no problems. Very strange. Hope you start feeling better.

I've had more delay time in the past 4 days than the past 4 years. I just timed both flights perfectly wrong... had I left Wednesday night and come back earlier on Sunday, it would have been no big deal. I just picked flights that directly coincided w/ the 2 times the airport completely shut down!

No offense, but you're really bad at picking flights and marathons.

Taking days off - especially during this phase of training is mentally hard, but I know it won't affect you in the least. You still have almost 5 weeks to rebound. You know yourself and your body and I'm sure you will make the right decision, as hard as it is. You always have the bigger picture in mind.

At least it was Provo and not Pocatello or Boise! Our gymnastics team couldn't land on Sunday and had to go to Pocatello, Natalie's team had to go to Boise!

Such an awesome weekend for runners! I agree! :)

This morning was pretty havoc-ey. I tried to run outside when I woke up, but it was a slip mode slog fest. Turned around and got in the car for dreadmill prison sentence :(

8 seconds = $188,000? Wow! That is really crazy!

Yes, very impressive weekend of running. Glad you got home safely. Sounds like you had major travel issues. Sorry to hear that. Back to the routine.....

Glad you made it home safely Jake and I hope you are feeling better today.

Simply insane what happened over the weekend. Not even sure which statistic is most impressive but Mary Cain's 4:32 is pretty unreal!

one of your links takes me to the carl sagan portal.

And they did not even include me in the story on the greatest London men's field ever??? :)

Hope your leg is feeling better - back in the snow.

I guess they are waiting to preview the master's field. Dave Bedford is still working hard to recruit Rob Murphy before he makes the final announcement.

Can you find a video of the Dubai finish? I haven't found one. 5 guys were under 2:05 and all were within 15 seconds. The winner finished with a 25.6 second 200!!!

the only ones I can find on youtube are just of hobby joggers. you would think this video would be everywhere!

the pack at halfway (which they hit around 1:02:30) was 22 guys. that's almost more impressive than the finish... to have that many guys still in the race at that point, off of such a quick pace.

http://youtu.be/iIY3rXxRZ3k

Good enough? skip to 4:37.

I can't stop saying "Lelisa Desisa." This is going to be a problem for me.

Can we get some billionaire from Dubai to join this blog, and then fly us over there to run the marathon as a tax write off or something? I want to run that course. Perfectly flat, wide roads that aren't crowned at all. That's my style.

Good find on that video Tom. Thanks.

Less than 6" of rain per year = roads with no crowns.

I could deal with roads without crowns. I always feel like one leg is much shorter than the other.

Thanks for that link Tom. That is crazy to have 5 guys under 2:05.

The world just isn't quite right when Jake runs only 8 miles a day.

Tom - I had that same problem with Obafemi Ayanbadejo. Once you know how to say it you can't stop.

The Rupp mile video on flotrack was awesome. Great weekend. Hope you're feeling better!

Sounds like a great plan to me. I'm sure you'll be back to 100% in no time at all.

Makes perfect sense. It's past the acute stage now, so some very gentle static stretching will help the new fibres align properly and if you're running slowly with no discomfort then you should be ok.

Be very careful of running downhill - eccentric contractions aren't a good idea in the early stages of recovery from strains.

Isometric contractions, on the other hand, are good. With a straight leg, tense your quads and hold for 2-3 secs and repeat 5 times - don't overdo it.

All being well, you can recover quickly from a slight strain.

That's why I'm running UP to work, and taking the bus down the hill. No downhill running at all for a while until I'm 100% sure.

I'm definitely past the acute stage. The problem is that means any discomfort is gone... no immediate "stop" feedback... the old me would be planning a tempo run tomorrow. The wiser version is not doing anything faster than jogging this week and playing it much safer.

I was reading your back and forth w/ Andrea about cross-training yesterday. Your thoughts really matched my own...

Look at the two dominant groups right now: Africa (yes I'm just going to lump the whole continent together) and the Oregon Project.

In Africa they run, stretch, and massage. That's it. If they are hurt, they rest.

And then look at Salazar's group. They have access to every possible device in the world. If there was a benefit to elliptical/bike/other machine, they'd be using it. Instead - all they use for supplemental work is the Alter-G and water treadmill... very running motion specific.

My thought is that especially during the marathon specific phase of training, when you are trying to become very efficient at a certain pace / cadence, you don't want to be re-wiring your brain to be learning different movement patterns.

During a prolonged time off from running or during a base phase, however, I would say cross training to maintain fitness or build some additional aerobic endurance has its place.

Sounds like a well thought out plan (not that I'd expect anything else). Good luck and I hope it goes quickly.

I definitely agree with you regarding specificity of training.

With that said, in my opinion cross-training has more of a place than simply maintaing aerobic fitness in runners. All too often runners have super strong hamstrings and calves and somewhat weaker glute, hip and quad muscles that often can be addressed through proper crosstraining. For example, for me, uphill biking strengthes all of these considerably.

However, like you have said over and over, the best way to improve your running condition is to run. :)

Love reading your thoughts.

Very smart plan Jake!

Makes sense to me. I hope it heals.

Happy to hear you are behaving semi-conservatively :)

I agree with you Teena, that's kind of what I was trying to get at when I said "base phase"... that's when your trying to build from the ground up, work on weaknesses, etc. Any supplementary work you can do to prevent injuries down the road and find balance is great. I was talking more specifically about the 4-6 weeks before a marathon. I think we've learned that to really optimize performance, you can't just treat that block of time like you are preparing for any other race. The things you do need to be really specifically tailored to dialing in your goal pace and becoming very efficient in that zone. Part of that is neuromuscular, and that's where a uncoordinated joker like me would potentially get in trouble by learning new movement patterns. If I was running Boston, for instance, I'd approach this differently. But w/ a much shorter timetable, I feel like I have to do things a little differently.

And I completely will agree with anyone who says I have no idea what I'm talking about, because I'm basing everything off my intuition :-)

You crack me up ... you definitely know what you are talking about. :)

I LOVE reading your stuff.

Jake - you do have a masters in biomechanics, ya know.

Yeah but the main thing I learned from research is those years is that "everyone is different"

I find the n=1 case studies a lot more interesting and meaningful :-)

I aqua jogged once or twice a week in college for my recovery runs in college I love it and it really does keep your fitness. The main thing about it is to concentrate on running form and not swim and you will get a great workout in. I used the belts for awhile til I got the form down. Do timed pick ups all out running in the pool it really is a total body workout. Hope it heals quick.

Maybe I am weird but I rather enjoyed reading all this commentary.

If you learn to run AND elliptical like me, there is no learning or switching to a new movement pattern. So when you are a little hurt, or semi injured, you just continue with your elliptical fun Jake. Only till your better of course :)

I'm kidding. Ok so, I have strained my quad two different times now. I just elliptical helled my life away for 6 days and didn't run. Aaaaaand then it went away. Both times. And the 2nd time seemed worse than the first. I feel really confident that it will resolve. This is easy compared to some other things that happen to people in training.

I'm not saying you should not run for 6 days. I went with my intuition and it worked :)

Does a day or two count as "a bunch of time off??

I don't have all the biomechanics lingo of cross training to back up my belief in it... but I do know I was a huge ball of injuries until I introduced cross training into my routine. Reading all the other thoughts on it is very interesting though.

Hope this works itself out soon!

A day or 2 off when in the mix of marathon training always feels like a bunch of time off to me Rob. Ha!

Christie - hopefully I'm not coming across w/ a "cross training is bad" message. That's not my intention at all. I think its the smartest, safest way for most people to build up their aerobic volume. In fact, just a couple weeks ago I wrote a way too long blog post about how I believe my non-running activities while I was living in CO is what made me able to handle high volume running training now.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that right now, I'm not worried about aerobic fitness. In this VERY SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCE (not yelling just trying to emphasize that point), I'm trying to make sure I can run the race well in 4+ weeks and not be putting myself at risk by doing so. This probably sounds weird, but I'd rather take a little longer to heal, but know I healed the right way and feel confident that my leg is ready to handle the race... than heal quicker but not be completely sure of that fact. It makes sense when I say it explain it out loud, maybe not so much typing. Even Andrea agrees w/ me, so I know I'm on to something :-)

In any case, I'm 99.9% certain the quad strain was a compensation for my achilles. I'm focusing my efforts there, and the quad is already back to the point where I can't even make it hurt, no matter how hard I try.

Very well thought-out plan, Jake. Makes great sense.

Too funny! I was totally thinking about how jealous I am of your run commuting this morning as I made the 20 mile 12 hour trek to work. At least you will have clean clothes & food. :-)

And now I'm well stocked so I don't have to drive again until its time to do a real workout in the morning again (which hopefully will be next week!) :-)

Jake, I am also amazed at the lack of drivers' ability to adapt to the snow. My commute downtown took over an hour today. Normally takes 15 min!

I wonder how my friend's would rate my driving skills.

http://www.allstatenewsroom.com/channels/News-Releases/releases/new-allstate-survey-shows-americans-think-they-are-great-drivers-habits-tell-a-different-story

"American drivers believe their own driving knowledge, ability and safe driving habits are well above other drivers on the road. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of American drivers rate themselves as "excellent" or "very good" drivers. American drivers' positive self-rating is more than twice as high as the rating they give to their own close friends (29 percent "excellent" or "very good") and also other people their age (22 percent)....

Among all drivers surveyed, men are more likely to rate themselves as "excellent" than women (36 percent versus 26 percent), as are college-educated drivers (35 percent) compared to those with no degree (28 percent). Republicans also rate themselves higher (70 percent) than Democrats (61 percent) or Independents (61 percent)."

I'm sure the follow up data showed that at least 2/3 of American drivers feel that wherever THEY are going is a lot more important than whatever everyone else is doing and they need to get there FASTER!

Unfortunately I already know how my friends / peers rate my driving: "Too slow!!" and And - "why doesn't this jeep have heat?" I can live with that.

And Fritz I would definitely give you a high rating being that I've never been afraid while in a car you were driving.

No comment :)

I learned to drive on the bumper cars at lagoon.

I'm actually a really good driver. Never been in a wreck, my last ticket was on my way to the St. George Marathon in 1999. I have sent text messages while driving, but that was before Siri.

You let Siri drive your car while you text? What version iPhone do you have - 8?

:) Funny. In think Android will come out with that app first.

ha ha ha ... Hear Hear Rob, Android apps rule!

Here, we have something more dangerous than snow ... snowbirds. Add to that, our DLs are good for 30 years - my current one doesn't expire until I am 70 years old some of these drivers will easily hit 100 before they expire!

Hey now, back up a second. I didn't say the Google app would actually work.

ha ha ha ... true, you did not.

Careful, you'll be cross training next...:)

Don't worry Bam, I'm not about to wear the scarlet "C" across my chest just yet :-)

I was reading Running with Joy last night, and got to the part where Ryan says the best cross training for running is running. I thought of you.

See my rant about the drivers. They are crashing into everything because people can't put down their phones for 3 seconds much less a 15 minute commute. Almost half the people I passed while running into work where busily texting instead of paying attention to the hazardous conditions, its no wonder they are crashing into things and sliding off the road...

If that's the case Rob, I might have to re-think my theory. Hall's last couple races were a 1:05 HM, a 31 min 10K, and a third of a marathon! :-)

Hopefully I haven't branded myself as the "ANTI CROSS TRAINING" guy on the blog now. Some of my comments were tongue in cheek, but most of them were to challenge the "if something hurts, just cross train" standard... without first thinking of WHY you're doing what you are doing. Everyone is unique and is going to respond differently (the same reason you can't legalize PEDs and assume a level playing field!... off topic...).

I will also freely admit that I feel very uncomfortable in gyms. I'm not sure exactly why, or whether its some sort of social anxiety disorder, but I hurry from the door back to the pool as fast as possible. I don't like being in that environment... the area w/ all the people on the machines freaks me out. I'm sure this plays a bit of a role in shaping my theories, or at least justifying them to myself.

I am with you Jake, the only time I cross-train is if I am injured enough not to be able to run. I would rather run 4 miles really slow than do 2 hours in a gym ;-). That said, I really do think that pool running is a good cross-training compromise. It is easy to zone out (if you have a good water-proof mp3 player) and many of the running specific muscles keep in shape (even though the cardio is not usually quite the same).

Keep up the faith ... you are in great shape a little "down" week isn't going to hurt much. Good luck.

Jak I'm not comfortable in The gym, either. All the free weights are in front of all the treadmills ANd elliptical machines. I don't dare go up there to lift and I'm very uncomfortable on the ellipticals in front of the treadmills. So I either go to the side of the gym and do the thirty minute workout or I'll hang in The back and use the weight machines. Even though they have signs posted all over the gym that say "no judgement zone" I still feel like I'm being judged. Not fun.

Yes Jake, but he did it with joy in his heart. Isn't that really what matters?

The trick is to just walk around the gym and think to yourself "I can run faster than him, I can run faster than him". There problem solved.

That's what races are for :-)

I called you Jak in my last post. Lol. Last week, while at the gym, I was on an elliptical and there were two women behind me on the treadmill. They kept giggling and laughing the entire time. That gave me a complex, so I had to leave the area. Lol

stupid women! they are the worst! :-)

I go by jak for short sometimes.

What's really stupid is I have everything I need to do the thirty minute workout at home. What was I thinking signing up for a gym membership?

Jak are you doing the 10k on the 9th?

i'll be there, but its unlikely that i'll really "race" it. that would probably be about the worst thing i could do for my quad, other than hammer a downhill run. the more likely option is that i'll use it as part of a workout.

Good idea. I'll be there, chugging along. So, since I am a USATF member, once the results are up, I'll be included in The standings for the circuit?

Yes, but the standings probably won't even be calculated and posted until multiple races are in the books (June/July).

Cool.

Which 10k is on the 9th? Do one of you have a good resource to look at the local race schedule? Thanks.

Check out that goatee! AND that shirt!!

that was like 2007 i think!

Why are you wearing ridiculously oversized clothing? Grunge look?

What is your dad planning on for celebration? 10 different meat platter?

Umm, wow! Pretty sure that is not really Jake.

Sean and Sara (Curran) bought me that shirt. They don't make those shirts in anything under size XL I think.

Remind me later to call home tonight. My parents will probably be sad if I don't call to wish Jesse a happy birthday. I wish I was kidding.

I'm sure Jesse will be catered to the entire weekend :-)

HA HA HA! The top picture is a keeper!

it looks like those turkey feathers have been sewn. FYI it's easier and faster to use glue.

cool shirt.

Jake- Kinvara 4 with Gore-tex?!

Allie has had those since like 2010

Ahh, hope it's one of those short-lived bugs. Hopefully you'll be rid of the virus and the quad thing by the start of next week and can get in a good block of workouts before taper time.

My theory is that my body knows it can't get sick when I'm really training... but since I've only run faster than 8 minute pace once in the past 2 weeks, now it think we're in the off-season and its allowed to let my immune system take a break. I'm sure it won't affect me much... I'll sleep it off this weekend :-)

It's like when I hurt my foot on my one day off.

The lesson is, never take days off, and never take it easy, or you'll just get hurt/sick.

Excellent lesson. I'm going to print this out and frame it.

Joe! Don't encourage him!!!

Andrea, you were quoted just a few days ago saying that Mr. Joe himself was training smarter than any other person on the blog. Isn't he someone I should therefore be taking advice from? :-)

I woke up with a cold this morning too and kind of felt the same way about it. Might as well just get it out of the way now. :)

Rest & extra ice cream (for the sore throat of course) will hopefully do the trick.

Jake, just mentioned on Riley's blog about the British Miler's Club site. If you've got nothing to do - there's weeks of quality reading going back to the Coe era: 40 page booklets every quarter or so - full of top quality stuff from 800m - marathon. Interviews, training, graphs. Must read stuff. Best stuff I've read in years. Makes LetsRun look like a hobby jogger site.

When you go to the site , the booklets are in the BMC NEWS Section.

Spring 2009 issue has a great article on rest and recovery. Hope you feel better soon.

Get well soon.

Wow, that is a goldmine. This is seriously like Christmas for me. I love reading this kind of stuff. Occasionally I'll peruse the old Sports Illustrated Vault, from the days when they used to cover distance running. But these BMC archives blow everything else away. I'm never going to have to buy a book for my kindle again.

The first article I pulled up was "Have we gone soft?" (Spring 1989) where Derek Parker rips UK runners for wearing waterproof rain gear!!!

Andrea is going to Brazil in 2 weeks. I'm going to read every single issue while she's out of the country!

We better tell Rob Murphy about this. His wife and kids might not be happy about it, though :-)

I was going to email him but I thought as it was on your blog he'd see it. There's great stuff about coaching school kids. I've been reading it all day. I don't know who the other coaches are on the site but perhaps you should give them the nod. It really is, as you say, a goldmine.

Looking good from my virtual vantage point, Jake. Hope things continue this way.

Nice workout. hopefully a good sign.

That's great news and I like that the AP was 5:13 - that's quicker than your usual 5:20/5:21 pace. Given that you're feeling under the weather that's a great run.

Very happy to see this Jake. Great run, and great restraint at pulling it in a bit when you realized you started so fast. It would have been tempting to grind and push faster but you were very smart.

It wouldn't have been aerobic much longer if I dropped the pace from 5:08. I was happy to ease off the pedal for the rest of the run :-)

That's tempo, huh? You live in a different world :)

Looks to me like you haven't skipped a beat. The world is back in order.

That's a great sign, Jake!

Nice run Jake! Glad to hear your body is cooperating... sounds like a couple easy days were needed. Tomorrow will definitely tell!!

Yep, your legs were definitely itching to go. Nice to see those speedy miles again, great run.

Nice! Glad to see you coming back with only a little downtime. Wasn't that a great meet?

Cautiously optimistic.. Good place to be. Great tempo today!

Great workout Jake. Nicely done! And you approached it very wisely. You haven't lost a bit of fitness. In fact, this really may have been a blessing in disguise. It may sharpen you up. It appears you've won the battle with the quad. Nice job! (I know it's a bit premature to say that, but I'll be surprised if it bothers you again).

Bonnie - a great meet indeed! I was very impressed w/ Mary Cain. She isn't just breaking records, she's taking them to a whole new level.

I think the quad is on the upswing, but the root cause is my achilles, which is not nearly 100% yet... So that's what I have to be very careful with.

I think you are spot on Jake: your achilles likely caused the quad strain because of compensating. I've had achilles tendinitis many times, and I diligently stretch and strengthen my calves every week because of my history of that. When I started running from scratch recently, I developed achilles tendonities that last over a year, but now it is gone, and I'm convinced it finally resolved with stretching and strengthening (and because my tendons/ligaments finally got used to running again).

You are probably already doing rehab for your achilles, but here is what works for me. I stretch my achilles after every run. There are many ways to do this, but I feel the best way is (with running shoes on) to stand with your forefeet on the edge of a stair (both feet at the same time) and stretch your calves with your body weight. Hold for one minute, and bend your knees occasionally, which will stretch more distally. I would work up to doing 10 x 1 min stretching repeats twice per day until it is resolved. Then, just do it for maintenance as a preventative measure (but you don't need to do that many stretching repetitions when you are only doing it in preventative fashion).

Also, every other day, I would do single leg calf raises with the forefoot on a stair (3 sets of 20-30). I still do this as a preventative measure.

Icing and anti-inflammatories may help also.

I'm guessing you are already doing all this, Jake. Just wanted to share with you what works for me, and what I've seen work for countless others.

Good stuff Matt. That's a very similar regimen to what I've been doing. I'm doing the stretching several times a day, and I started doing the raises while in the pool, and I'm going to start doing them "dry" as well.

I definitely caused the quad strain from compensating. I never said anything (mainly b/c I actually only told Andrea about this a few days ago)... but I almost didn't start the 1/2 marathon 2 weeks ago. 30 minutes before the race, my achilles tightened up bad. I was able to work it out but actually contemplated not running the race for about 15 minutes. Then it didn't bother me during the race, but surely I was compensating somehow, and while I'm not exactly sure of the mechanical chain, I'm guessing that's how I compromised the quad. So now I'm really, really focused on NOT compensating at all. During the tempo workout I was just thinking "balance, symmetry, balance" the whole 42 minutes. I'm sick of those words now, but they're important!

Very nice, especially considering you are a bit under the weather. I'm glad your quad is rebounding.

Excellent approach Jake. And well thought out etiology -- I'm certain you are correct. You are doing all the right stuff. Make sure you're massaging that calf regularly as well (I'm sure you already are). Just continue to be careful, and you are in for a serious PR in Phoenix.

Or that 18 year old Ethiopian dude who's name I will never remember but crushed Galen Rupp.

Nice job on the PM activities.

That guy was very impressive. Takes some balls to make a move like that off an already fast pace.

But Cain still wins... Chopping 17 seconds off the national record... Wow

Nice 16.5 miler Jake! It was great to run 10.3 of them with you .

I never even questioned if NFL players took PED's. It's kind of obvious, I just figured it was the 'norm'.

Nice ten mile run to work. How's the quad?

i think justin tucker is clean.

interesting article -- as you have already mentioned, the governing bodies need to do a lot more to enforce the rules and prevent athletes from having any sort of opportunity or temptation to cheat. the NBA's method of testing is clearly flawed and everyone is aware of it -- as the article states, it's an ongoing joke among players. this widespread problem has been 'hushed' because these athletes are creating entertainment that sells.

i hope you saw the halftime show last night -- our standards for entertainment are pretty low. if it's super-human, it's awesome. if it's sexy, it's awesome. it doesn't matter if it's obtained through cheating or just general ridiculousness (winking, lip biting, clomping), we love it. god bless america.

I couldn't even watch the halftime show...I'm surprised that Utah allowed it to show on TV! It was truly awful...I just don't get it, apparently.

I love football, a lot, but with all the hype and ridiculous halftime shows, it almost seems like the whole thing is a joke. I might not watch it anymore.

I agree with allie on the whole NBA thing. They'll never do anything about it.

Andrea's real-time review of the halftime show was pretty spectacular. Some highlights...

"Isn't this a really old song?... couldn't she come up with something new?"

"She's just acting like a stripper!"

I think the lesson we all learned is that the Superbowl halftime show is only worth watching if BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN is crotch-sliding right into the cameras. Those were the good old days...

Bring back “Up With People”! (Super bowl Halftime act – 1971, 1976, 1980, 1982, and 1986.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Super_Bowl_halftime_shows

Oh, I just thought the half time show was a 30 minute long wardrobe malfunction.

Outstanding article Jake - thanks for posting. How is Andrea liking the Hamilton book?

They certainly would have censored it if it were on KSL.

She's both captivated and incredibly disturbed by it, the same as me.

I thought Hamilton's book was a good read. I certainly don't condone what he or the others were doing, but he seems to have made an honest repentance effort. I kind of like the guy. With so many hands in the game and how seemingly unsophisticated it really was, its interesting how they were able to get away with it for so long.

Just finished Tyler Hamilton's book, it just makes you wonder even more how many top marathoners are using. It lays out pretty good the benefits and widespread corruption and cover up.

I got through about 1/2 the book on my flight. Nothing surprised me at all except one thing. I thought its interesting how at that level they are like Wolves, with a pecking order, In their minds it was a level playing field because they knew how hard everyone else worked, and where they were "un-juiced". It wasn't until someone like Floyd came along and went outside the order that there were problems.

I'd consider your sick day a success. Very nice workout. Now get back in bed!

Impressive workout! Effort level is really important during sickness, so that 2-3% kept you from pushing too hard but still got you the workout you were looking for. Now it's time to relax, MAYBE even nap!!

a 20 miler with a long tempo is my favorite thing to do when i'm sick.

excellent run. i hope you get to feeling better soon. the magic cure for james was spicy curry and gypsy cold care tea.

Jake that is a solid workout for sure, especially when you are feeling sick. I have been fighting something for months now and am finally feeling on the up and up.

haha Allie's comment made me laugh. Leave it to Jake to do a workout like this on a sick day.

Great workout Jake and your ability to pace so consistently is something I always admire. I hope you enjoyed daytime television the rest of the day. :)

Friends is on ALL day. You don't even need an iPad to stay entertained.

I also did vacuuming and sweeping as my PM workout in between hours of laying and not moving. A pretty productive day, all things considered.

You should check out Sprouts network if your sick again tomorrow. I think you'd really like Jake & the Neverland Pirates! :) My nephew probably watched 85 episodes today and I bragged the entire time about how I'm friends with Jake the pirate in real life.

Just binge watch House of Cards you won't be disappointed. Also stem cells are the cure for everything. Just ask Christopher Reeve about that time he fought Hackman.

Hopefully your boss doesn't read your blog!

Looks like you made a wise decision on cutting back on the pace. Amazing you can still run that well. Feel better soon.

Awesome workout Jake! I laughed at Allies comment too. Anything over 10 mile tempo is daunting enough, let alone sick! Hope you get feeling better soon.

Very impressive Jake. The mental toughness you will gain from this workout will help you for a long time to come. Very smart pacing and holding yourself back. And you definitely made an excellent deposit. Strong work, especially while being sick.

Considering that you're sick (as in man flu)that's some session. Imagine how well you would've run without the sniffles...

Your attitude with the quad and achilles and man flu evinces the true character of the Orange Man:) - you adapt and get on with it without griping. Inspirational.

Wow, and sick to boot! Great session. I hope you feel better for Saturday. Should be a great race.

I'll just add a couple quick thoughts mainly for anyone considering doing a workout of this length.

I've done this twice (last March being the other time, about 2 minutes faster, 3 weeks out from Boston). That time, I felt like it took a little too much out of me mentally. Its a long time to stay focused if you're running solo. So backing off the pace just a bit this time made it considerably easier, and that's what I'd recommend for most mortals, unless you're doing it about 5 weeks out from the marathon. And even in that case, finding someone to run some of it with you will make it a little less daunting.

That being said, I think this is one of the more honest indicator workouts you can do. When done right, its definitely a confidence booster.

Glad you're feeling better!

By telling everybody that the course is honest, you've scared the jakers out of them - nobody will turn up:)

Its FLAT as can be. A perfect course (other than the 180 turnaround... but you can't have it all).

Glad you've figured out the secret to getting over illness. Next time I'm sick I'll be sure to try the 20 miles with 16 at tempo prescription. :-)

I actually prefer flat to downhill.

Glad you're feeling better.

I like the image of all the the "dishonest" 10k courses, sinisterly lurking in the shadows.

Very glad your health is improving!

I've always thought the term "honest" was a very strange term for a running course. If everyone is doing it then it's honest, Right!!!? That's what I read somewhere.

Looks like that deer antler spray is working wonders for you.

Despite your endless promoting, I have no plans to run any of the Utah circuit. Sorry.

Think of all the extract you could have gotten from the elk you saw on the Saturday run, Kevin!

We actually have a no deer antler spray rule in our house. Surprisingly, neither of us are big fans of Ray Lewis.

And Jon, its understandable. I'm pretty sure that even if you won every single race, it wouldn't come close to covering your travel expenses. You could run the North Carolina USATF circuit. Doesn't look like SC has one.

Of course South Carolina doesn't have a UAATF Circuit. It's the CSATF Circuit.

Check out the picture I just posted on my blog. It's of the finish of the 2013 Dubai Marathon. You may have already seen it. Impressive.

Nice pick up today Jake. BRIGHT clothing is a necessity this time of year with snow covered shoulders and terrible drivers. I think my fluorescent yellow jacket has saved my life more than once.

I so loved watching Adam Goucher run cross-country - what an animal!! He always seemed, to me, to epitomize the distance version of once a runner -- unfortunately, similar to Ritz, highly injury prone.

Hey Jake, just curious if you have any experience with (or opinion on) the Virrata yet?

I haven't worn them yet Justin. Runblogger put up a very thorough review the other day. Its seems like they are pretty similar to the Kinvara 3, but a little bit lighter (10%), and supposedly they have a little extra room in the forefoot (which sounds great). My hesitation in trying them right now is that w/ my achilles, I need to wear shoes that have a little more heel lift until I get it back to normal.

A lot of people seem pretty excited about them. I get the sense that anyone who likes the Kinvara will probably end up liking these as well.

This is going to sound daft but what does it mean when you sign with a university/college? Don't you just run for the college where you go to study? Does Mike get his fees paid and a grant? How do you get signed etc?

"Signing" means a scholarship, so the athletic department is covering the costs of attending the university (tuition, etc). I'm not sure of the specifics of Mike's deal.

In the NCAA, track/XC teams are allowed 12.6 (wacky number) full scholarships. Often times bright kids who have their acts together can get a partial athletic and partial academic scholarship to cover pretty much all of their expenses.

So, does that mean if somebody signs for a college they have to meet certain criteria once they are there? Do they have to run so many races in certain times etc? Or, can the student do what they want?

Basically, you are at their mercy!

Mike's deal... pretty dang good by the way!

You know I'm not really sure whether its guaranteed or not. I think each program / scholarship has different requirements in terms of staying in good standing w/ the team. I've definitely heard stories of athletes coming down w/ injuries and having to give up athletics, and their coaches still honored their scholarships. But if you just decide, for instance, you don't want to run anymore, I don't know how that works.

Ah glad to get someone who isn't just speculating to chime in - thanks Dave!

Thanks, I think I get it now.

Congrats Holt, you've done a great job with your lads.

Really it does depend on the program and coach. A scholarship (signing) doesn't guarantee $ throughout college. Obviously a coach would probably pull the scholarship if you don't run (I've had an athlete that didn't meet the academic requirements of the school and lost his scholarship, bummer). Most scholarship are year to year and are contingent on your participation and meeting the standards (academic, athletic, and other) of the program.

thanks for the shout out jake! it made my whole week!

Ya, i'm pretty happy i was able to get a good scholarship because i never got a job to save up for college because running took up a lot of time (yes coach, i know tyson did it with a job just fine) but it really helps so i can just concentrate on running when i'm in college...and school work of course :)

Nice race! I was hoping to do this one.

What are you going to put for your caption in 2043 when I'm dominating the 75-98 age group?

It was a good day today. We're lucky to have this sport.

Rob I think you should start cutting back and save your legs for when you hit the 99-113 age group.

They'll be saying, "113 is the new 90".

Love the start photo - I feel like it really captures the conditions of the race.

You ran this race perfectly today...don't second guess yourself. A solid effort while still being a little cautious with the achilles. It's good to be a little mad - save up all that energy for three weeks from now!

nice job, jake. i'm glad the promise of a coaster didn't lure you into overdoing it today. you ran great and your approach was smart. plus, circuit points in february!

i think your ankle contraption is really cool. you should spray paint it orange.

Nice run - your focus has been on the marathon anyway, but still a solid result in rotten conditions, and a great workout.

Awesome race Jake and more importantly it is great to hear that your Achilles is feeling good. Great pictures, thanks for sharing!

The report is an excellent example of the runner mind (the constant back and forth of scenarios, partial regrets, and yet solid and smart perspective).

Solid race Jake! We all know you have a lot more in the tank, but you were smart today. You looked as strong and smooth as ever. Nice achilles brace -- it makes sense. Glad it's helping.

Nice race Jake. I agree with Jason. You did the right thing to hold back a touch. It's a long old life and the longer you can stay healthy, the better you will race in the long run.

Also, I haven't seen the magnificient achilles contraption (this whole Terminator thing is contagious, although I think you're more of a Steve Austin type of guy - so long as you ignore the compression sleeves)but I'm with allie - spray it orange:)

Very nice race race Jake (i.e., not fast conditions and your Achilles held up)!

Jake, nice work. You are primed and ready for a fast marathon in three weeks.

What Steve Austin are you talking about? The Six Million Dollar Man... or Stone Cold Steve Austin from WWF fame? :-)

Jason, what you said about the back and forth scenarios is so true... even when you have really good races that you can't really pick apart, there is still a tendency to think about "what it means going forward" etc etc. That's why I think its important to really let yourself soak in the great days and not over-think them... just enjoy them.

Great race Jake. Watching your grimace as you fought the wind when you passed after the turn around was a memorable moment.

We have the technology to rebuild him...slow motion shot of Jake leaping puddle and crumbling as quad and achilles explode...

Dressed in achilles brace, hamstring strapping and sleeves, we see him striding out in the snow as he begins his come-back. Jamie Sommers (aka Andrea) watches on clasping her new bionic hip:)

Don't know who the other fella is:)

doesn't look fun... at all. But good job!

Nice race. I would have hated those condtitions.

I am always impressed by your willingness to stick to your game plan. Everybody knows how much you would have liked to battle for the win yesterday, but having the self control to keep your bigger goals in mind is very commendable. Just get that quad and achilles all healed up and be ready to let 'er rip in Phoenix!

I totally understand your sentiment but I think you did the right thing and got a great workout in. The big thing is that you didn't get hurt. You guys up there are awesome. Brutal conditions but everyone still comes out in force!

Great race. Love these photos too... that first photo looks absolutely awful to run in, let alone race:) Utah racers are hard core!

As always, nIce run Jake and I second the looking forward to some sunshine (or just some dry roads). Have a nice Sunday!

Was the water bottle not frozen?

Nope she drizzled in a little anti-freeze (leaking from the jeep) to keep it from turning to ice... and toughen up my stomach. Its the little things...

Of course the highlight of the story is my pre-planned escape which negates the tough dude part.

Good call on the antifreeze. Might have to try that.

Nice run today despite the slush. Makes for a somewhat miserable experience.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5039696 See post #13. :)

Let it die!

Oh, and of course, me calling him a troll doesn't mean that he shouldn't have posted you, just that everyone on LRC is a troll. Hah.

great race Sat. Jake. Considering the health and injuries that you and a lot of other great guys/gals have had lately, this winter has been pretty decent thus far. Worst winter for training I have seen in a very long time. Hopefully leads to a great "real racing season"...

I thought you had a great race on Sat. I'm sure under the right conditions you surely would have met your goal - but the effort was solid and you're right on track for a big marathon breakthrough!

I like the shout out to you by Rob on letsrun

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5039696

Sorry if this is causing you any embarrassment Jake.

!

Dave - Jake's lack of interest in engaging on this particular topic makes me wonder if I should have posted that comment. But I made it in all seriousness.

Jake's approach to this sport is inspiring to me as a runner and as a coach and he deserves any reward and recognition that comes to him as a result.

Not embarrassed... I do appreciate how highly you think of me! The problem with that website is thy those knuckleheads will probably think I posted that myself to draw attention to myself! Obviously not the case, but I still need to actually walk the walk and prove that I can compete with the big boys. Hopefully, this will be the year I make that jump...

You already have the credentials. I would bet that after you jump into some USATF races (this Spring?) that you can make a national team. I can't wait to see the LR thread "who is Jake Krong", or "deer Jake Krong". :-)

Here's another one for you: Marathon Talk - worth a look and listen.

Elk Bonnie LaFleur!

I was being a bit unnecessarily hard on myself yesterday after my 97 minute 10K over the weekend, and didn't feel like reading what the armchair QBs on Letsrun had to say. While its a great resource and good place for some entertainment, there's a lot of guys on that site who really think they know it all, despite being unable to break 18 minutes for a 5K :-)

Plus, lets be honest, its one thing to have confidence in yourself, but I don't deserve to even be mentioned in the same breath as a guy like Brian Sell, who I admire a lot. I really haven't done anything of significance (yet).

But that's the key to being the next Brian Sell right? By definition it needs to be someone without great achievements who, because of his work ethic and consistency, breaks out and does amazing things.

The thread asked "who is the next Brian Sell". If that person had already run a 2:11 he's be the current Brian Sell. So if you've already made an Olympic team, your disqualified.

I hope Brian Sell is the next pope! That'll bring me back to my Catholic upbringing!

Plenty of time indeed. If it makes you feel any better I didn't feel as well as I would've liked today either (felt harder than I thought it should've). And we essentially did the same workout. I still think you have a sub-2:20 in you at PHX, just stay the course and believe in yourself.

You're smart not to push. It's hard to be on fire when the body isn't 100%. I've been dealing with the same thing. It's not easy to pull back. Those 5:28s will be close to 5:20 with the Phx weather, course, and altitude.

I definitely agree with what Derek said and your fitness is so high that 2.5 weeks is plenty of time. Better to be feeling a bit off now rather than at the start line of Phoenix. Hang in there Jake!

Great advice and wise words from the lads. You'll be fine - what Derek says about the 5:28's equating to 5:20's is bang on. Keep the faith, kidda.

There seems to be a lag (at least there is with me) from when you start feeling better from an illness, to when you start running better. I'm betting you're back to your old self by race time.

You just need a good hot tub soaking this afternoon. That's why we got the gym membership, right?

Confidence is something I rarely lack. I try not to be unrealistic either... if I didn't think I could still run really well at Phoenix, I would have already shut it down. Now I'm just waiting for the spark. It'll come. But I think its also important to document how I really feel for the sake of having something worthwhile to look back on... there's no point in painting everything rosy all the time. And on that note, I think a paint-by-numbers of a dolphin or dinosaur would be a great activity for this weekend.

i have a color-in velvet poster in my trunk right now. i think it's a butterfly.

Yes,2.5 weeks is plenty of time. It does take time for the body to "remember," but it WILL remember. Trust in that. Have confidence in your consistency, your fitness, your mental toughness. You can do this, you will do this. Don't let a couple workouts control your mental game because that is the ONE thing (besides getting out the door every day) you CAN control. Now go watch this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o The last part is how I feel about you and Andrea.

And I know you already know all of that, but I've found that when you have people rallying around you it is a lot easier to believe what your already know.

Aw sorry your feeling off. Keep your head up! Your awesome still and ice cream and mt dew always help:)

I've Bern having offness for 9 months. I hope I can catch a good groove in April. :(

You're still a superstar.

I always say that anybody can train well and be highly motivated when everything is going great. Its how you deal w/ adversity that often defines your character (or intelligence, in many cases!) :-)

Fo sho! Agreed!!! Last week I wanted to take up crossfit and quit running cuz of the crappy way I've been feeling;) in all reality I love running and no matter what I will always run.

Haha I'm far far away from hitting crossfit rock bottom! :-) unless we get some spartan races on the usatf circuit

Haha for sure 👏👍😃 I'm ebarrassed to admit my rock bottom crossfit depression🙀

What's coming up in 2.5 weeks? Sorry I don't know. I believe in documenting true assessments :D I love your term "eccentric exercises".

Michelle - Phoenix Marathon. Look on the left side of my blog... I usually put my upcoming races on there.

Eccentric exercises can really mean a variety of things in my case :-) I do find the heel drops to be beneficial, though, and its something so simple and quick that even I have the patience/coordination to actually do it.

I agree on injuries and stretching. Once I had a slight pain on my left heel. I started stretching it on the stairs and I felt a slight tear. That was many years ago.

Its very much injury specific... in the case of the achilles , some stretches are like tugging at a frayed rope - its just going to pull the fibers apart and make it worse. For other injuries, especially once you get past the first couple days, stretching can be very beneficial. Like all things in life - "it depends"!

Glad you are making progress and being proactive. I know your not the biggest fan of sports massage but it may be something to consider. Josse uses this fancy tool (graston?) on my IT band and legs and I have felt so much better since I started getting this done. Believe me I was completely against/scared of it for the longest time but I really think it has been beneficial.

I've come around on the massage... Andrea is quite good at it, and I think she'll agree that I can handle a lot more than I used to be able to. iPad is the key - I just zone out on that and let Andrea fix me every night. Now when she goes to Brazil, I'll need to figure out a plan B.

I agree that Graston or ASTYM can be beneficial. I just use a good, dull butter knife or a large spoon and lotion, and I swear by it. There are those who dislike it, though. You can probably YouTube ASTYM and Achilles to find proper technique. Be careful with that Achilles, speaking as the wife of a former rupturee.

i feel the need to tell the story of when james used a wrench to "massage out" my tibial stress fracture. that was the best day (to be fair, it was my idea).

glad there is progress. follow that spreadsheet!

So smart not to stretch. Last April when my calf started hurting, I'm pretty sure I stretched it into a bigger injury. Never again. Sounds like your on the right track. When did the achilles start acting up?

Kelli S. had graston done on hers and it worked pretty quick for her.

Sounds like some good progress, Jake. Great news!

I sure hope that is a picture of Coach Andrea's V-day present :) What did you name him?

Frank.

I discovered last night that if you just go to Google Images and type in "puppies" you pretty much can't stop smiling for like 2-3 hours.

Now I want one.

Looking at cute pictures also makes you more focused at work. Thanks for the extra productivity today!

Well here you go Rob these puppies are looking for a very special home!

http://www.bestfriends.org/Adopt-a-Pet/Sanctuary-Animals/Search/Dog/

I've been to Bestfriends, and used to Donate until I married a "cat" person. Unfortunately those dogs probably have it better than my poor dog, she needs a sheep ranch in Idaho.

You have a smart coach! Nice progression, hopefully it feels like your legs are starting to come back to you.

It hasn't really felt like I lost my legs (in terms of fatigue)... what I noticed today is that its really been a mechanical thing... I haven't been really pushing off my toes the way I normally do (probably b/c I've been so cautious about going through the full range of motion w/ my achilles issue). Today once I got loose and I just focused on good form and pushing off normally - and boom - significantly faster w/ the same effort. So that's my goal for the next two weeks... I need to get back to full range of motion... if I can do that, I think I'll still be able to pop out a good race.

Nice cut down. Those are fun workouts and good workouts to remember in the last hard miles of the marathon when each mile feels a bit harder than the last. I'm glad you are on track again.

Good job.

Awesome progression run Jake! Coach Andrea always knows best. :)

Smart approach and good workout. I think you're right about concentrating on good form: if you have a niggle you tend to overload a different part of the body and then all sorts of ugly things happen. I'll be pinching this idea and using it to combat my achilles niggle.

I've had to be very careful the last couple weeks. Even when you really think you aren't compensating, you probably still are. I'm looking forward to not having to think about this anymore!!!

Nice job, Jake. There is no question you can still pop out a great race!

A little too early to start tapering right now... check back in a week :-)

Its alright, not great, but slowly improving. Just need to continue to be careful and not jack it up any worse in the next two weeks. I'm pretty good about making sure I stay on the right side of the line.

Totally off topic question but what is the elevation gain on your way "up to work"? I'd have such a hard time getting motivated to run uphill every morning! No wonder your so fast.

Its a net gain of ~650 feet from home to work... so, somewhat significant!

I'd say so...so a follow up off topic question. What are your thoughts about running uphill for recovery/easy days? I'm sure for you since your body is so used to it it isn't a big deal but I've often wondered this. Sometimes when I run a hilly route after a hard workout I wonder if I'm getting the best recovery.

Its probably not "ideal" all the time, but I get extra sleep and don't have to drive, so those things probably balance it out. The other thing to remember is that I run REALLY SLOW on my morning recovery runs, 8-9 minute pace.

I read somewhere that uphill is great recovery ... hardly anyone gets injured from running uphill (unlike downhill). And, I like that it ensures an easy pace.

Nice job Jake, I love that you run such an easy pace on your easy days. It would be the only time that we could run together (of course I would have to be running at 75%) ;-).

oh, and Jake, please look out for my friend, Merry Dearmon, at the race! She will be coming in at about 3:10-3:15 (she is 55 years old!!). I told her about you and Andrea when we ran together last weekend. She will be looking to congratulate you ;-)

I'll try to beat her! :-)

You know what colors to tell her to look out for... we're usually pretty easy to spot.

Thanks for the feedback Jake & Bonnie. This is something I have thought about for awhile but never really looked into. Great point about injury & uphill too Bonnie thanks.

Any plans for long run or workout tomorrow?

Looks like the Utah County crew is doing a 20 miler tomorrow. I'm planning to double dip this weekend and do a shorter LT session (5-6 X Mile) tomorrow and then a MP workout (~8-10 @ MP) on Sunday. Haven't ironed out the details yet... probably will start ~830-900 but I need to figure out exactly when I need to take Andrea to the airport.

I would be up for running all or part of a long run starting at 8 or 8:30.

I think Collin wants to do a long run at a non-5am time... I'll probably be starting in that 800-830 timeframe, but I'll do ~4-5 mi easy and then get into my workout.

Soooo how are we suppose to know if you are tapering? :)

Jake you might be the only person who would blog less miles than actually run. I could see you switching to some modified Badger system next week. : )

I'm not sure if you're aware of this site but it's a good one: Runner's Life - lots of profiles with blogs of runners around your standard. There's some great training stuff in there and other good articles.

I'm on the East Coast, but indoor track.... The Millrose games is streaming online right now on espn3. New York baby!

I'm just about to get in a quick shakeout run to be back and watch the distance events (and the 600m matchup w/ Duane and Nick). Should be some good races.

Nothing dorkier than streaming track meets on a Saturday night! :-) I love it!

Holy Mary Cain! The 600m was great as well!

Wise session Jake. I know that pace was a walk in the park for you, but strong work holding yourself back. And you still got in a good session.

Cain is fun to watch. You get nervous over-hyping young female phenoms, but she is amazing. Seems like a great kid - always has a big smile on her face! I ran 4:25 for 1600m as a HS junior... She would have given me a run for my money!!!

Matt - I gotta be honest, I felt awful warming up today. Almost jogged home w/ Andrea. But once I got going it felt automatic. The legs remember what to do. The thing I can't do right now is really change gears... I can just run a consistent pace. But that's ok for the marathon... It's more about trying not to slow down, rather than speeding up :-) in a kickers race I'd have no chance!

Nice session Jake. Very impressive at altitude. We watched the live streaming as well. Kate Grace who runs for Oiselle was third in 4:28 behind Cain. Allison had coffee with her a few weeks ago and said she was incredibly nice. She's Oiselle's big thing now. Keep it healthy for a couple weeks and I'll see you down here.

I know you haven't been able to train like you want for a few weeks. Don't let it mess with your head, though. You are still ready to pop a great race in Phoenix!

The marathon is so unpredictable anyways... All I need is for it to come together for a little over 2 hours! My fitness hasn't really improved in the last month, but it probably hasn't gotten worse either. And I was in a good place a month ago. So I remain confident. As long as I don't feel like I'm putting my Achilles at a long term risk, I'll run hard and just see what I can do!

Well spoken!

Nice day today! Looks like you're playing it smart with the Achilles (expected). PT party - funny.

Great workout, Jake! I know you're chomping at the bit to get in some faster miles. Virtual high-five for knowing where to draw the line and still get in a solid effort.

It's pretty cool that 5min/mile is your HMP :-)

That's a good workout Jake.

I think what you've said makes perfect sense. You haven't lost any fitness and to stay the right side of the thin line shows maturity and skill.

I think you'll surprise yourself in the marathon...

To be fair Scott, my HM pace is 5 oh TWO. Gotta get it down to 4:58 which doesn't seem like a lot on paper but it will make all the difference in the world when I can actually do that :-)

I just finished Ron Clarke's biography - "The Unforgiving Minute" - if you want to borrow it.

Great work Jake! You've done very well doing the right workouts without aggravating injuries. Your simulation is very close to the actual course. I have been on it several times. All of the hills are in the first 8-9 and then your good. Looking forward to your race.

What a great confidence booster run! Especially proving to yourself that you could do it and it felt good when you thought there was no way you could.

Nice workouts this weekend Jake! I think you may surprise yourself in Phoenix :)

The jean-pajama-chaps are making all the difference.

Good, seems like you've turned a corner with the back-to-back workouts. I got chased by a little 5-pound yip-yap dog last week, and he was running circles around me.

Anyway, hopefully you can confidently start to wind things down now, knowing you're in a great spot.

your blog just showed up on my google alerts for "chased by a dog" and "jean-pajama-chaps". i never thought i would see that come together, so thanks.

great double dipper this weekend. james is freaking out about triples again.

I really wanted to get you these, but Andrea put the kiebash on them!

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/wolf-pants

Nice run!

Rob - I'm definitely interested in giving that Ron Clarke book a read. I haven't read a paper book in a while and that would be a nice change of pace.

Lulu... oh my god, that Tumblr page. Those wolf shorts... !!!!!!! It would be great to have something I can wear when its too warm for the jean-pajama-chaps pants (had to mention them again to blow up allie's google alerts)

Awesome weekend Jake. Way to not push too hard, but still hammer out some quality miles.

Yeah, doing PT can burn up a huge chunk of your day. It was my full time job 2 years ago. Glad that is past me :)

as in... you ran out of the movie theater? or you have this movie at home?

i have ALL movies at home :-)

Why do runners only do PT when they are injured? Yes I know I am generalizing...

hahaha. Prime.

You're right... a lot of us only do it when forced to. Smarter folks do it all the time to prevent problems. It takes time and commitment... so the issue really is laziness. Something I hope to get better at.

You are ready to go sub 2:22 Jake. I'm excited to see you and Riley make it happen on March 2nd.

Who said my goal was sub 2:22? :-)

This isn't a pre-2007 OT qualifier.

I apologize Jake. I mistyped and meant sub 2:18 :))))

Traffic's terrible up your way. You should run with a flashing siren on your head and the cars will move out of your way:) Nice recovery run after a good weekend.

Ummm am I supposed to be at work today?

It's President's Day!

have a patient on treatment for a complicated trial today... so i'm working today and taking next Friday (day before the marathon) off instead. actually works out pretty well for me.

Is that a slow PR up to work? You earned it after the weekend workouts.

Its gotta be close to an SPR... I was hoping to go over 75 but inadvertently dropped the pace to 8:45 at the end.

Nice work on the SPR Jake :). Over 9 min avg :)!

nice - now these are the type of PRs that I can compete in!!

Sorry man!

Ugh, that sucks....sorry to hear that.

I didn't think Utah had crime!

I dont even know when it happened... could have been anytime in the past 72 hours... I'm glad I realized it now before I went out there tomorrow and the car was filled w/ snow. Good thing I ran out of ice cream and needed to go to the store (which didn't happen!)

I'm so sorry Jake. I feel your pain as I've been there.

Oh this is nothing. About 4.5 years ago this jeep was stolen by a duo of armed robbers and they committed 18 robberies after they stole it. It was held as evidence by the Wash DC police for about 5 months while I was living in Colorado. I need to tell that whole story sometime. The DC police thought I was the armed robber and called my parents telling them I was a suspect. I was like no you fools, the jeep got stolen FROM me!

That sucks! Poor Wolfie :( Feel free to use my car all you want...

I can't drive your car Amiee... it's manual! I'm getting the window replaced tomorrow morning, but I'll miss our SOCRA breakfast! Ugh.

Nooooooo! I absolutely refuse you missing breakfast. I cancelled my dentist appointment for it :(

I'd be glad to teach you how to drive a manual Jake. You know, so you don't have to continue to make that painful admission anymore.

Oh and I finally got approved to drive my car so I can swap back. Now can you come to b-fast?

What? The manual comment wasn't a joke?!?

I can't drive a manual. And I'm not embarrassed by that. I can't do morse code either. Its 2013!

I'm getting the window replaced at 830am in Sandy. Geico set it up for me, so I don't really have much say in the matter.

Jake, im so sorry. When we had our car broken into we actually made money off the insurance claim. I hope they take good care of you. You were a suspect.in an armed robbery case? CRAZY!

Only briefly, until they realized that I had already reported the car STOLEN from me. This jeep has street cred. I'll have to write out that whole story sometime, its entertaining! But right now I need to do my PT, I'm 2 hours behind b/c of this nonsense!

Sorry bout the car. You'll definitely have to tell that story sometime.

i'm sorry. that's so lame. i bet it was the old lady who messes with your GPS signals.

i hope you can get it sorted without too much hassle. let me know if you want to borrow hannah's bike.

Sorry to hear that! That's no good.

These are the guys who stole it back in 2008... I wonder if they are back?

http://goo.gl/1A2kH

The funny thing is that when I just uploaded that picture to Picasa, Google asked me if I wanted to tag the photo, and suggested that the two faces matched myself and Kramer Morton. Hmmmmm.....

So uncool! Sorry man. If i was closer i'd drop off a bucket of ice cream.

That totally sucks. I hope there is a hell for people that do stuff like this. I had my car broken into in California and they took everything except the one thing I cared about, my baseball glove. At least these thieves were decent enough not to take your running shorts.

Totally bogus!!!

Did they steal the white wolf?!?!

Sorry about the purloining. At least the purloiners evinced some degree of humanity and left you your shorts.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune Jake - I like the bit about the shorts being left behind though. :)

Sorry about all the frustrations, Jake. In the scheme of things, it is just stuff but it still sucks.

Sorry Jake! We have had 3 break-ins over the past couple months and like you said... they end up doing more damage breaking in than the actual things they steal. I say we should have a law that when caught, fingers are cut off of the thieves :)

Not really a big deal at all in the grand scheme of things... like I said, after the armed robbery fiasco, this doesn't even phase me!

I am going to make a blog entry with that story. Its a good one, and definitely more interesting than any race report, etc :-) Its on my to-do list for this weekend!

The white wolf figurine was not stolen, either! That little guy means a lot to me. He is a guardian angel of sorts.

Good workout Jake. And to think you did it without ice-cream loading the night before.

Very nice Jake. Sorry about the break in to your jeep. At least you've got your shorts.

Nice workout Jake. You're looking primed for Phoenix.

Awesome workout Jake. Also sorry about your car yesterday. Things like that happening totally suck!

Nice work Jake. PHX...Holla!

Well it seems like a pretty intense session to me, good work YO!

Nice session Jake. It's coming together nicely for PHX. Yo, look at me using US words (PHX) - might get me a baseball cap...

yo. holla. naughts and crosses.

hope the jeep is healed.

Bam - its more of an airport code than a real word, but us Americans don't really have the patience for words longer than 3-4 letters anyways...

Great work, Jake, and way to be smart with your workout - make that lemonade!

Just don't eat the lemonade snow.

"ON TAP"..... I just got thirsty!

The problem w/ lemonade snow is that you don't know if its from a spilled mountain dew or not, and the only way to find out is taste it. I'd hate to waste a good mountain dew.

They have segway tours where I run. They look ridiculous. Riding a segway would slow you down, wouldn't it?

http://www.floridaever-glides.com/portal/video

I'm sure it would be much slower than actually running.

But wayyyyyyyy cooler looking.

The new definition of looking cool: You riding a Segway, with compression sleeves, and capri pants, @ 5 m.p.h.

BABE MAGNET!

With Andrea out of the country, that would be trouble. Its a good thing I didn't get it.

Is AT aerobic threshold? Whats the difference between that and lactate threshold? I guess I thought they were the same thing; at the highest level of your aerobic capacity, before being purely anaerobic and building up lactate quickly.

I can see how it would get a little confusing b/c I have seen people use "AT" to refer to ANaerobic threshold.

I used "AT" to mean aerobic threshold, basically marathon pace / effort.

LT / Lactate Threshold is exactly what you described above, which roughly corresponds to the pace you can hold for ~60 minutes. Often, b/c they are fairly close for me, I just figure that LT is slightly faster than my half-marathon pace.

Oh my gosh cute! My productivity just increased by 1 million.

That dog is seriously so cute!

Interesting study. Wonder when continued injections would show no additional improvement.

Its a really dramatic spike in improvement over such a short time span. 6% is massive. Heck, even 1-2% is a huge and very significant improvement. Think about how much time that is in a 10K or half-marathon.

You would expect the improvement curve would level off, simply due to the quantity of EPO they were taking in this study. Obviously the researchers were trying to show an effect without making these guys go through a 4-6 month doping program, but the amount of EPO they were taking over the study duration is about three times higher than what Armstrong et al were doing (although they were using over much longer time spans).

Its crazy, HCT going from 42 to 49 in just 4 weeks. It would take about 20,000 miles of running to do that, if you're lucky!

Awesome running this week, Jake. Impressive workouts. And you have left plenty in the tank. You are ready.

Sorry about your jeep. Dirt bags! There's a chance they didn't even have opposable thumbs.

good to hear that the tweaks are going away.

So are these studies intended to tempt more people to dope? :) Maybe the EPO dealers are funding these studies because they now need to tap into the amateur market, as pros are being regulated better.

The study was supported by a WADA committee, so I'd assume (and hope) their goal is to throw a big middle finger in the face of people who say EPO doesn't make a significant difference and it should be allowed. There's actually a lot of people like that out there. There's also some people who try to say EPO doesn't work on Africans. So stupid.

If you look at some of the specific numbers in this study, these guys' blood was turning into sludge. I bet they had to monitor them very closely (in terms of their medical condition). I wouldn't want to be the one presenting that study to the IRB for approval :-)

That's a cute puppy.

Nice pickup today. Sounds like you had fun with it!

And speaking of EPO -

http://www.supersport.com/athletics/article.aspx?Id=1808564

A lot of people think this is the tip of the iceberg. The World Marathon Majors just announced some much stricter penalties for doping today. Steps in the right direction...

Great news that you were able to put the foot down without any pain.

On the EPO front - I think too many people have their heads buried in the sand. I don't think it's just the male marathon runners. Nor do I think it's a recent problem. If my memory serves me correctly, in an early edition of Peter Coe's book there was some chit-chat about EPO (sort of like, the way iron tablets are mentioned now). In later editions, all mention of EPO was removed removed. [the second removed is obviously a typo: it's hard to type and juice up]

Anybody who can run faster than me is cheating and I'm not joking. I mean it.

:)

Geeze, quite the read. It's been interesting watching the aftermath since Lance came out about doping. I'm not too sure many more will feel so inclined from seeing the major back lash to him. I wonder if he felt backed in a corner (more than usual) to come out or wanted to clear his conscience. Thanks for sharing.

Well I think its already been established that he clearly doesn't have a conscience.

I think he just wanted his ban reduced so he could do triathlons again. Hopefully that won't happen. It doesn't look like it will, as the US justice department has joined the whistle blower lawsuit again him and the Postal Service team.

What the? I am pretty sure the community could us that money and well so could I. Off to sugardaddy.com I go :)

Speaking of trail shoes, do you have the kinvara trail?

I have the Peregrines (2011 model). They were actually built/designed on the same last as the Kinvara 2, so they are essentially just a trail version of those Kinvaras. But I think the toebox is a little wider than the newer Kinvara TR that came out last year. They are really great shoes.

I was just thinking this morning how bad I seriously need to invest in a pair of trail shoes! Although I do think trying to see how fast I could slide a mile in my kinvaras would be fun. Thanks for the tips Jake.

I tried on the kinvara trail shoes at rei last weekend and they felt really weird. I couldn't imagine running trails with them, but maybe tht is because I can't walk. I really wanted to like them!

I got all 3 off my wives from that site.

I've heard that from several people about the Kinvara TR. Luckily I don't put nearly as many miles on my trail shoes, so I'll be able to wear the Peregrines for a long time!

Speaking of trail running. In your professional opinion would running the Antelope Island 50K 3 weeks out from Boston be a good or bad idea? It's technically suppose to be my longest run anyway, what's an extra 7 miles?

Nice job, Jake. How's the Achilles feeling?

If you want my professional opinion, I'm just going to be blunt - not a good idea.

There's a big difference in running a hard 20-23 miler w/ some MP work and slogging around on trails for 4+ hours.

To me, it just seems like the risks are too high. Its not really ideal marathon-specific training, and you're basically throwing away the next week's workouts b/c you'll need time to recover from it.

That being said, I guess there is also a difference between just running it at a casual effort level and actually racing it hard. But still, a 30+ mile run 3 weeks out is pretty long. That's Toshihiko Seko style training.

Dale - the achilles is still attaching my calf to my heel, so in the grand scheme of things, I guess its functioning OK! I have low standards!

Good to know, the registration is closed anyway, so I guess I wont pursue it.

I guess the main difference between me and you though is I won't be standing next to Mutai at the start line in Boston.

Yeah but you still want to run well regardless of who you are lined up next to!

I was just looking at the 2011 Buffalo 50K results, that was crazy, Mike Foote is a really accomplished ultra runner and you guys decimated him. Poor guy!

That would be an amazing park/neighborhood. My hometown (Hamburg) once got an offer of 50K worth of veggieburger patties from PETA if we would change the name to Veggieburg.

I would have moved to Veggieburg.

Sugar Daddy Fritz...that could gain traction quick I believe. Nice!