Breaking the Wall

Day of rest. Went to church. The lesson in Sunday school was on the Church of Jesus Christ in our day. The lesson in the Elder's quorum was on prayer. Then we had a fast and testimony meeting. Benjamin and Jenny overcame their fear of public speaking and bore their testimonies.

A.M. Stephen refused to sleep, so I took him downstairs and worked with the idea to take a nap in the afternoon. Thus only 4 hours of sleep. Did the usual 12.5 miles, including kids runs. 3 with Benjamin, 2 with Jenny and Julia, 1 with Joseph, and 0.5 with Jacob. Benjamin repeated his 2000 time trial, this time much better. I told him that if he found enough faith to bear his testimony in public, he would be able to use that faith to overcome his self-confidence issues when faced with a challenging running goal, in this case being able to run 2K under 7:30. He does have a testimony. He has read the standard works of the Church (Old Testament, New Testament, Book Of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) in their entirety twice, has been through the Book of Mormon 9 times, and studies at least one General Conference talk every day. All of that on his own initiative. But he did not inherit from me the natural brazen-facedness that eliminates the fear of getting up in front of a crowd or tucking into a pack of Kenyans and running with them till "the standard bearer fainteth". So that had to be developed through faith, and he took the first step yesterday in church. Today he did the time trial, and it went much better than last time.  His splits were 88 - 88 - 89 - 91 - 86 with the total time of 7:22.5, reaching the goal of sub-7:30 and improving his PR by 18.5 seconds.

During the rest of the run I saw Ed Eyestone and ran with him some. We had a good chat.

A.M. Ran with the kids - Benjamin 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob - 0.5. Little did I know that this would be Jacob's last run for a long time. Later in the evening he broke his leg while wrestling with his brothers. So we are now in an emergency mode as he is not able to move and requires constant care. We've never had anybody break a limb yet, I suppose there is always a time for first. Now every morning when I take the kids for their runs Jacob is not there. But at least he is alive, in the house, amazingly in good spirits even thought he cannot move his leg without extreme pain, and should be more or less to normal in a couple of months. It could have been much worse, But I still miss him. 

Total run was 13.4. Did 4x1000 with 200 recovery - 3:14.9 down - 3:25.3 up - 3:18.1 down - 3:22.5 up. Felt OK, but not the best.

A.M. Spent a good portion of last night in the emergency room at the Utah Valley Hospital with Jacob taking care of his broken tibia. Ran 12.5 miles. 6 with the kids. Benjamin did 4, including 1 with Joseph who ran 8:19 and set a new record for the mile without holding my hand. Jenny and Julia did 2.

A.M. Started with the kids run - Benjamin did 3, including 1 with Joseph. Jenny and Julia ran 2. Then did 4x1000 with 200 recovery. Was not expecting much, considering canceling the workout, but decided to give one repeat a shot, to see how I felt. Ended up doing all 4 because I surprisingly felt good after the first one. The splits were 3:15.8 down - 3:21.5 up - 3:17.1 down - 3:21.1 up. Mike joined me for a part.

A.M. Ran 4 with Benjamin including 1 with Joseph, then 2 with Jenny and Julia. Then added 6.5. Mike ran parts of me. I picked it up a bit in the last quarter and ran it in 89. 

A.M. We had a service project in the morning, so I did not start my run until 10 AM. By then it got warm, and I underestimated how warm it was going to get. Benjamin came along with me on a bike and was carrying some water. Unfortunately he took off half way through on the downhill in anticipation that he would be getting tired later and not able to keep up with me on his old bike, but he did better than he thought he would. The run was to Bridal Veil and back, 10 miles up, then 10 down. On the way up it was not too warm and I had tail wind, so I did 1:09:20 for the first half without much difficulty. On the way down things were not so good. It got warmer, the thermometer I ran past said 80F. I was feeling sluggish, but managed 5:50 pace in the first 3 miles. Then I got out of the canyon and there was no cover from the sun. 80F would be no big deal in July, but given that a week ago it was 35F I struggled, especially with no water. Also, direct sunlight makes a difference. 80F at 6:00 AM or 8:00 PM is barely noticeable, while 80F at 12:00 PM is a problem. So the pace slowed to 6:00, then started slipping a bit over it, and the last two miles were 6:28, 6:23. But the way I felt with the lack of energy and bounce in the legs I thought I'd be lucky to break 7:00 on those. I suppose this was a practice for the end of the marathon. The total time for 20 was 2:10:14 with the last 10 in 1:00:54, 6:05 average.

Jenny and Julia ran 2 on their own. 

P.M. Ran with Benjamin and Joseph. Joseph set a record in the mile with the time of 7:53. His splits were 2:00, 1:59, 1:58, 1:56. This does not tell the whole story as his first 200 was 54. Then he slowed down, but we told him if he sped up he'd be able to get sub-8:00. I promised him a remote controlled helicopter if he broke 8:00. Whenever a child asks for something special, we set some form of performance requirements for them to get it. He has tried numerous times before, the fitness was there, but the attention span was not. Finally he was able to focus, and we ordered the helicopter that night. After Joseph's run Benjamin and I ran two more miles giving me 23 for the day, and Benjamin 3 on foot and 20 on a bike. After some rest and a couple of meals I was actually feeling quite strong.

Day of rest. Went to church. Given that it was Mother's day, the talks in the Sacrament meeting were on motherhood.

Jacob was able to make it and stayed for all the meetings. I went with him to the second part of his primary class to make sure no wild kid would accidentally re-injure his broken leg . The lesson was on obedience. The teacher, while talking about Lehi and his family, who were commanded to leave everything they had and go into the wilderness, asked the children how they would react if their father told them he had a vision and they needed to leave in a similar manner expecting a response something to the effect of "it would be very hard, I am not sure if I could go, etc". Jacob's answer was simple: "I would just go". 

A.M. 4 with Benjamin including 1 with Joseph, 2 with Jenny and Julia. 6.5 alone, total of 12.5. Did a 0.75 pickup in 3:59. Felt sluggish, the pace felt hard, but sustainable. Ran in new Crocs.The old Crocs are being retired at 1631 miles. They do not have a hole yet, this is actually record mileage without a hole, but I really do not like the slant on the right shoe, so I decided it was time for the new pair.

A.M. Did 4 with Benjamin including 1 with Joseph, and 2 with Jenny and Julia. Then did my 4x1000 workout: 3:13.5 down - 3:22.7 up - 3:17.5 down - 3:18.5 up. Fastest average time (3:18.1) since I started doing those a couple of weeks ago, and first time I broke 3:20 on the uphill. Felt sluggish, but was able to push through it. Total distance 12.5 as usual.

A.M. 10 before going to the temple. Did a pickup for 0.4 miles at the end at around 5:50 pace. Kids ran on their own - Benjamin - 4.2, Jenny and Julia 2.1, Joseph 1.05.

A.M. Ran with the kids - Benjamin 4, Joseph ran 1 with us, Jenny and Julia 2. Then 4x1000 with 200 recovery - 3:14.5 down - 3:21.8 up - 3:16.1 down - 3:19.9 up. Total of 12.8.

A.M. Kids runs - Benjamin 4 with 1 of it with Joseph, Jenny and Julia 2. Then another 6.5. Picked up to 5:45 pace in the last quarter.

A,M. Raced in the Law Days 5 K - 17:35, 7th place. This was the annual team race. I ran for Chad's law firm Curtis, Manning, and Bradshaw. In the past we have been able to win, but this year our team was not as strong, and we were racing Olsen Shaner headed by Teren, Jamal, and Seth Wold. So we lost. My 17:35 did not help either. Fritz ran decent for the course (16:40), which was longer than it was last year, but not sufficiently long to justify a loss of 1:08 for me compared to last year. Teren won with 15:33, which is probably comparable to his 14:52 last year. The logic goes like this - he ran Provo City Half this year about 55 seconds slower than Jeff did last year, and he beat Jeff last year by 3 seconds in the 5 K. Adjusting for the fact that he probably is better trained for the 5 K than for the half marathon, it is reasonable to suppose that if he is losing to Jeff by 55 seconds in the half, he would have been on par with him in a 5 K. So if we are to use Teren as a benchmark, this means I performed about 30 seconds worse this year than last year. It was better than the worst I expected, as I have struggled to run good times in my workouts lately. Especially after seeing the splits at 1 mile (5:48), and 2 miles (11:50). I do not know if those markers were right, but by the time I got to 2 miles, I thought, hills or not (the course is very hilly), I am about to run a very embarrassing time. I hoped that a) the marker was off and b) the downhill in the last mile would help. It was probably a combination of both. My split at the 3 mile marker was 16:48, but then it took me 47 seconds to get from there to the finish. So either the marker was off or the course was long. Andrew Hansen outkicked me on the home stretch, although I tried hard to hold him off. Jamal was second with around 15:58, then Seth with around 16:25, Fritz 16:40, and Oliver from Westminister College in 17:24.

The entire race I felt in a daze, it hurt, but I felt more like a spectator than a participant. I suppose we would run really fast if the spectators got to feel our pain instead. And running would have even fewer spectators than it does now. The good news is that I never really felt weak and done, just could not quite kick into gear. What is odd is my throat was hurting afterwards like it does after a hard mile race. I had not felt that way in a while. Fritz and I went for a long cooldown afterwards, and meandered to East High Track. Then we did a test to evaluate the quality of our 5 K effort. 800 meters at what I perceived was my 5 K race effort I had just run at. This gave us 2:36.6, so about 5:15 mile pace.  Fritz said it felt easier than his 5 K effort. So if we adjust a bit for the short length of the interval, and compensate for the wind (there was a significant wind that was a factor) and post-race fatigue, I think it is fair to say that I would have run a track 5 K in still air in 16:40. So whatever length that course was, we can probably say that it was 55 seconds slower than track in ideal conditions.

Day of rest. Went to church as usual. Taught a lesson on repentance in Sunday school. Being a ward mission leader I get turns teaching the class for new members and investigators. Then we had a lesson on developing talents in the Elder's Quorum. I remember thinking back before I was a believer that if there was a God and if he had His church that church would not just sing and pray all the time, that it would encourage a healthy life style and a development of talents - athletic, musical, scientific, etc. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints passed that test quite well for me when I got introduced to it. What is even better is that this encouragement to develop talents is more than just "hey, it is cool to be able to do things, so why not?" - there is a strong doctrinal foundation behind it. It naturally flows from the core doctrines of the Church. Without that encouragement and foundation I would have reduced myself to jogging 5 miles a day about 10 years ago if not earlier.

Then we had a Sacrament meeting. The talks were on reaching out to your neighbors. I liked the musical number. We are blessed to have a talented singer in our ward who attended the BYU on a vocal scholarship and still sings in competitions. He sang A Poor Wayfaring Man Of Grief, all 7 verses. This is my favorite hymn. When I hear it, the knowledge of who Joseph Smith was is plain before me. That was the hymn he wanted to hear when he was in jail a few hours before he was shot by a mob. Some people hear that hymn and say, so what? Others know plainly that somebody who lived a lie would not want to hear that hymn before his death. That would make him who he claim to be - a prophet of God in our day similar to Moses, Peter, or Paul to restore the truths that were lost through many years of apostasy, and therefore, the choice is simple. You must be baptized by proper authority if you have not been already, and join the action of being part of the Lord's church in the last days. I remember possessing that knowledge, knowing the right course of action, and still hesitating some back in 1992 in Moscow. Then a vision opened in my mind - I felt like I was standing in the doorway and blocking it while some people wanted to come through. By now I know that there were at least seven of them. I decided to act on faith, and make a step forward so that the progress of those unknown  people would not be blocked. I lack the words to describe the blessings this decision has brought into my life.

A.M. First ran with the kids - 4 with Benjamin, 1 of it with Joseph, then 2 with Jenny and Julia. Then 6.5 more myself. Did two pickups - 1200 in 3:59 and 800 in 2:37. 

A.M.  First ran with the kids - 4 with Benjamin (1 of it with Joseph),  2 with Jenny and Julia. Did 2x1000 down 3:16.1 - up 3:22.7 with 200 recovery, then realized I needed something different. First, the legs were not moving today. Second, I have done this workout for the last couple of weeks without much improvement. So I concluded that it was probably creating a poor stimulus. I did a few 200 meter pickups. Those revealed a problem that perhaps explains why I have had such a hard time in the 5:20 range. Running it in as slow as 36 felt tense, like I was almost sprinting all out. Well, if 4:50 feels that tense, relaxation at 5:20 is not happening, and you'll be lucky to make it through the 5 K at that pace. So the solution is to do something that will make me run in the sub-5:20 range while forcing me to relax. In other words, I need to set myself up to run faster than 5:20 while fatigued so I cannot just sprint my way through it.

P.M. Since I really do not have the time for doubles anymore, I decided to resurrect my poor man's doubles idea - "always on the run". So I just jogged a mile in the afternoon.

A.M. In the line of my yesterday's reasoning I decided to try a ladder to see how it would feel. Did it on the flat portion of the trail with 200 recovery. The idea was that if I knew the next interval would be shorter, I would not be afraid to give the current one a push. At the same time, 200 recovery is not very much, and the length of the intervals stayed decent for a while, so I would not be able to just power my way through the intervals, and would have to relax some to be able to sustain the pace. I am pleased to report that it worked quite well. I hit the following splits:

1200 - 3:58.7, 1000 - 3:16.9, 800 - 2:37.7, 600 - 1:56.9, 400 - 73.3, 200 - 34.3.

So I hit sub-5:20 pace on all of the intervals without slippage all the way to the dark side, and was even able to run a 73 quarter followed by a 34 200 while quite fatigued from the earlier intervals. So the trick of gradually shortening the interval did work in helping me break out of the rut a bit. What I liked even better is that I dealt with fatigue by relaxing instead of just slowing down.

Then I ran 4.6 with Benjamin (1 of it with Joseph). We did 400 in 83, and then 800 in 2:47. Then 2 with Jenny and Julia.

P.M. Did an "always on the run" mile.

A.M. Pouring rain. Did a total of 12.5, including kids runs. 4 with Benjamin (1 with Joseph), 2 with Jenny and Julia. That was quite a soaking experience.

A.M. Ran with the kids. 4 with Benjamin, including 1 with Joseph. Benjamin did a time trial for half a mile on the trail in 2:37 with the splits of 79 and 78. That is his new record. Jenny and Julia ran 2 miles. I went for 6.5 more to finish 12.5 and did 0.5 worth of accelerations at about 4:50 pace.

P.M. "Always on the run" mile.

A.M. Did the Bridal Veil 20 miler. First 10 uphill in 1:09:29, then tempo back down. Started out at 5:40 pace, but then got a side ache and had to slow down to 6:00. Sarah brought me water to the 14 mile mark. It was not as warm as two weeks ago, but it was still nice to have water. There was some headwind. After 7 miles of tempo I faded to 6:08 on the part of the trail with the turns and the bridges, but that served as a wake up call. I toughened up to deal with the side ache, and was able to speed back up to slightly sub-6:00. Last mile was 5:56. Total time for the tempo was 58:39, 5:52 average. Total time for 20 miles was 2:08:08. Now if only it was the full marathon...

Not sure about the cause of the side ache.  I have gotten them before in the marathon when low on fuel sometimes (possibly the liver does not like to be empty?), after eating dry food, and sometimes odd breathing patterns kick the diaphragm.

On the positive side of things, unlike two weeks ago I felt some zip in the legs for the entire duration of the tempo. And the time was respectable. My best time in this setup is a little under 56:00, but that was trading miles with Ted for the first 7 miles, and a bit of tailwind, so overall better conditions. I would say with the same setup I would have been a minute faster. So in other words, I am out of shape by about 10 seconds a mile right now.

Benjamin ran a mile with Joseph. Jenny and Julia ran 2.

P.M.  3 with Benjamin.

Day of rest. Went to church. Had a lesson on baptism in Sunday school. Then a lesson on Elder Cooks General Conference talk "Let There Be Light". We had an interesting discussion. The teacher asked about the objection that is often raised that the teachings of the Church need to be more "in line with the times". A thought came to me which I did share, and feel is worthwhile sharing again. As the time goes forwards, many things improve. But not everything. For example, while I would much rather have computers of the modern day, I would be much happier with the gas and food prices of 20 years ago. Somehow as the time progresses "the new morality" manages to earn the glory of being associated with improved technology, while avoiding the blemish of increased cost of living and increased waist line that have arrived with the modern times as well. Behaviors that are destructive to the family are by no means a step forward. Not any more than being 50% overweight.

A.M. Ran with the kids. 4 with Benjamin (1 with Joseph), and then 2 with Jenny and Julia. 6.5 more to finish 12.5. Did pickups, 0.75 worth of them.

A.M. Did a ladder workout on the trail, all flat. 1200 3:58.0 - 1000 3:16.3  - 800 2:37.7 - 400 71.7 - 200 33.6 with 200 recovery. Felt sluggish at first, but hit relatively decent splits. Was rather surprised by the improvement in the 400 and 200 compared to last week. Then ran with the kids - 4 with Benjamin (1 of it with Joseph), and 2 with Jenny and Julia. Total of 14.3 miles.

P.M. "Always on the run" mile.

A.M. Total of 12.5. Ran with the kids - 4 with Benjamin (1 with Joseph), 2 with Jenny and Julia. Then Sarah went with me on a bike for 3 miles and I did 4x200 pickups. Was able to hit 32.3 chasing her, which gave me some encouragement as I struggled cracking 33 lately. Then 3.5 more.

P.M. "Always on the run"  mile.

A.M. Total of 12.7. Ran 1.5 mile in 7:53 (78,78,78,81,81,77). This was encouraging, especially since I was able to do it alone. Then ran with Benjamin (4 miles, 1 with Joseph), and 2 with Jenny and Julia. Had an accident - tripped and fell down, scraped the hand and bruised a bone in the hand.

P.M. Went to the chess tournament with Benjamin. Jogged 0.4 with him in between the two games. Won one and lost one. Benjamin did the same. My rating now is 1439, his is 1402. He has finally crossed the 1400 barrier and is catching up to me. That makes both of us class C players. After that you have class B, class A, expert, national master, international master, and grandmaster.

A.M. 0 sleep time is not a mistake. The hand bone bruise from yesterdays fall got worse at night and I could not sleep at all. I laid in bed and pondering the meaning and purpose of pain. At first I prayed for it to go away. Then I remembered that Christ had suffered more pain than all of us combined, and thus, if we are to know Him (John 17:3), then how can we without experiencing at least some pain?

Fortunately I was still able to run. I had to hold my hand in a vertical position, though. But if Murray Halberg could win the Olympic 5000 with his crippled arm hanging down, I figured I could run 12.5 miles with a less severe impairment. Part of it was with the kids - 4 with Benjamin (1 with Joseph), and 2 with Jenny and Julia.

P.M. Went to the doctor. The X-ray showed no broken bones, but he still wanted the hand immobilized, so he put it in a splint.

A.M. My first run ever wearing a splint. I woke up feeling that the hand was almost 100% better. So the pain finally went away. Sometimes prayers take at least 24 hours to get answered. Sometimes even longer, but in this particular case there was a quick resolution. Nevertheless I decided to wear the splint for a couple more days just to be sure. I ran full 20 miles, to Bridal Veil and back. First 10 in 1:09:36, then tempo on the way back. I was happy with how the tempo went. I hit the first 5 miles in 28:08, then it flattened out and got a bit warmer, and on top of that I got somewhat complacent seeing that I would "easily" reach my goal of running faster than last week. So I let the pace slip to 5:55-6:00 range, and the turns in the last 3 miles were not helping my motivation as they broke my rhythm. When you've run 17 miles already it is one thing to just keep going, but you are too tired to keep accelerating back to pace every time you get knocked down by a turn or a bridge. But then I was finally done with the bumpy nasty part, and got down to business in the last mile some running it in 5:48. Last 10 miles in 57:26 (5:44.6 average), and 2:07:03 (6:21 average) for the whole thing. 

I finally felt like I had some semblance of being in shape. This run gave me encouragement that I may perform decent in the Utah Valley marathon.

The children ran on their own. Benjamin - 4.2, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1.05.

Day of rest. Went to church. The lesson in Sunday school was on the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then we had a combined meeting of Priesthood and Relief Society in which they talked about various services that the Church offers - addiction recovery, adoption, family therapy, employment placement, humanitarian aid, and others.Then the Sacrament meeting talks were on remembering our ancestors in connection with the Memorial Day.

Yesterday I learned about the death of Sammy Wanjiru. I had dreams about him all night. What a sad turnout of events. Not so much because he died, as all of  us will eventually, but more due to the circumstances. Sammy had a lot of qualities I admire. He was not afraid to bust out several sub-4:30 miles in the middle of a marathon. I love this style - go out hard, then hold on. Have the faith, have the guts, and back it up with fitness. Then just go. He won the 2008 Olympics by running near world-record pace from the gun on a day with temperatures reaching 80F. I remember Ed Eyestone commenting in disbelief on the splits and predicting that there will be severe casualties and the pace will slow down. There were a lot of casualties, but Sammy did not slow down. Then when he finished, before he began to celebrate, he knelt down and offered a prayer. You would hope that a man that would remember to pray after winning an Olympic marathon would know better than to visit bars and cheat on his wife. Unfortunately, Sammy felt into this trap of the devil. And as if to symbolize that, his death came from a physical fall from the balcony of a tall building. The circumstances are still not quite clear as far as I know, but a few facts have been established with certainty - there was a visit to a bar, there was drinking, and there was a woman involved that was not his wife.

In chess there is a concept of a loose piece. It is when you put a piece, usually a knight or a bishop, but it can be a rook, and even a queen sometimes on a square that your opponent cannot yet strike but it has  no protection from your end either. This may appear innocent to a less experienced player, but good players know to avoid it. A loose piece is an invitation for your opponent to find a tactical combination to capture it and gain a game-winning material advantage. Shortly after Sammy's win, I discovered an article with a picture of him and his coaches drinking beer. I had an uneasy "loose piece" feeling. Here was the man capable of sub-2:00 drinking his chance away. Just like it is difficult to foresee exactly how you will be punished for leaving a loose piece, I did not foresee how Sammy's quest for sub-2:00 marathon would be stopped. I thought that over the years he would just gradually and prematurely lose fitness, which did happen, but I did not expect such a tragic end.

As I contemplated those events, I recalled talking to one runner who I will not name, but who some may recognize (it is hard to hide your identity when you are fast). He said - I would join your church (meaning the LDS church) if it helped me break 2:30 in the marathon. I told him it very well could, but he still remained unconvinced. Then, through an interesting sequence of events he ended up entering the marathon in which I broke 2:30 for the first time with the intention of using it as a training run for the Chicago marathon running the first 10 miles or so. I started aggressively opening with a 5:07 mile. He was with me and asked - are you going to do this all the way? I knew that my training was not going to support 5:07 pace for the whole thing quite yet, especially since the downhill grade was going to reduce and eventually disappear, but I did appreciate the question. He offered to pace me, which I appreciated very much, and had kept me company for the first 9 miles before pulling out. He still did not quite get the message, and as far as I know to this day is still not a member of our church. However, thinking about that experience gives me the faith to say that the LDS church could have helped Sammy Wanjiru break 2:00 marathon. It does take some faith to take it that far. But even without it, it is fairly certain that had he kept the Word of Wisdom and the law of chastity, he would have stayed alive for long enough to give it a serious shot.

A.M. 12.5 miles total. 4 with Benjamin (1 with Joseph), 2 with Jenny and Julia. 

A.M. Ran with Logan Clark. Did a workout 1200 - 3:56.3 - 1000 missed the mark but it was around 3:18 - 800 again missed the mark, it was around 2:37.5 - 600 - 1:55.6 - 400 - 72.5 - 200 - 34.0. 200 jog recovery between the intervals. Felt tense. Then did 4 with Benjamin (1 with Joseph and Jenny), and 2 with Jenny and Julia. Jenny did a total of 3.

P.M. "Always on the run" mile.