Breaking the Wall

A.M. Did 5 with Benjamin, 0.5 with Jacob, 1.5 with Jenny, Julia, and Joseph, and 5 more alone. Did a pickup in the last 0.5 in 2:50.

A.M. 5 with Benjamin and Sarah pushing Steven in the stroller in 45:31. This is a good time for her, she is improving. Her last mile was 8:51. Jenny and  Julia did 1.5 including 0.5 with Joseph and Jacob. I ran another 6 miles including 10 hill repeats (fastest was 9.9), and 2x800 with 100 meter jog in between in 2:33.1 and 2:31.0. Then another mile with Joseph. Total of 12.

P.M.  2 miles in 14:00.

A.M. Usual 20 miler to Bridal Veil Falls and back. Was a bit faster in the "warmup". Noticed that I was hitting 7:00 pace uphill into a headwind without trying too hard. Of course, I can trick myself easily in that speed range, but I was hoping that there was more to it that me merely wanting to believe that I was feeling good. The first half was 1:10:15.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to set a goal of breaking 2:30 in the Top of Utah. This is not a super-goal. I've done it before twice. But I have not done it since 2007. So I figured I needed a humble but challenging goal, and this is a nice round number. So this morning I prayed to have some form of evidence that this goal is in my shooting range. After the prayer, I thought - well, I need to set some kind of a metric to judge my fitness from this workout. Looking back at my past workouts, I said if I run a low 57:00 for the last 10 miles of this 20 miler or faster, sub-2:30 is in the cards.

So I ran with the idea of running 57:00 or at least close. Coming down the Provo Canyon I hit my 3 mile tempo stretch in 16:42 (5:30,5:33,5:39). It felt slightly aggressive, but something that I could survive. Cooler temperatures did help, it was not as bad as two weeks ago, but it started to get warmer somewhat. 5 miles was not clearly marked, but I am estimating it was around 28:04. I was happy to hit 5:49 for mile 7 which has uphill, and roughly corresponds to the slowest mile of the last 6 on the UVM course.

Afterwards it got warmer (67F), and the course started to go through turns, tunnels, and bridges. I did the next mile in 5:44, then 5:54. I was in a state where if you had me run straight on an even terrain I was OK, but I was really getting bothered by turns, little ups and downs, and a bumpy road. In the last mile I decided to give it a push, but the first quarter was a bummer. The tunnel was flooded, so I had to go around through the gate and across 820 N watching out for cars, and this was bad enough of a momentum killer than I ended up with a 92 quarter. After that with 19.25 miles for the run, 9.25 of it at almost 5:40 average I was tired, but found the energy to get angry and say: "I am going to crack 57:00. I do not care if 57:05 is still good enough. I am cracking 57:00!". So I did the next two quarters in 85, and the last one in 83. This gave me 56:58.9 for the last 10 miles, and 2:07:14 for the whole 20.

So I reached my goal, and if my estimates are correct, this predicts being able to dip under 2:30 a bit in the Top of Utah if the weather is as good as it was in 2007.

Benjamin did 5, Joseph 1.5, Julia and Jenny 1.5 as well.

P.M. 0.5 with Jacob.

Day of rest. Went to church. We had a lesson in Sunday School on Romans 8-10 which talks about salvation from sin through the redemption of Christ. In the Elder's Quorum we had a lesson on on temple worship. The Sacrament meeting did not have talks, but a fast and testimony meeting instead as it was the first Sunday of the month.

A.M. Did 5 with Benjamin, of it with Joseph. 1.5 with Julia and Jenny. 0.5 with Jacob. 5 without the kids. Saw another runner before my turnaround and decided to chase him down. Took me about 0.9 at about 5:50 pace. At first I was feeling sluggish, but gained strength as the chase progressed. The runner's name was Jeff. He is a freshman at BYU from Riffle, CO.  My training partners keep getting younger than me. This was my new PR for the age difference with a running partner my height - he is 20 years younger than me. I am still in the mindset that it is not possible to be 20 years younger than me and be already born.

P.M. For our Family Home Evening activity we went to the intersection of 40 N parallel and 112 W meridian. It turned out to be a spot in the field near Elberta, UT. We could not quite get to the sweet spot due to the presence of a fence with barbed wire. But we got as close as we could. I really enjoyed the fresh air. We meandered far enough away from the car as we tried to get to the magic spot that I had to do some running to get the car. Ended up running about 0.5 miles.

A.M. Ran 5 with Benjamin, Jeff joined us for a portion of it, then 0.5 with Jacob, 1.5 with Joseph, Juila, and Jenny, and 5 more myself. Ran the last 2.5 in 13:56. Felt strong. 

P.M. 2 miles.

A.M. 10 miles at 5:15 AM before going to the temple. Thought I would feel sluggish, but was more awake than I excepted. Total time was 1:12:53. Met a Russian language mission-bound missionary at the temple - saw the word Elder in Russian on his name tag and decided to give him some practice. Even though he was as green as it gets in the MTC we managed to have a conversation without a single word of English. I found out that he is from Arkansas, has a younger brother and sister, was baptized at the age of  8, and is headed to a Russian-speaking mission in Moldova.

P.M. 2 miles pushing Steven with Sarah on a bike.

A.M. Did 5 with Benjamin, 1.5 with Julia, Joseph and Jenny, 0.5 with Jacob, and 5 alone. Did 2x800 in 2:32.5 and 2:30.8 with 100 meter jog recovery. The reason to even bother with the recovery is that now with the flooding under the bridge I have one good 800 meter stretch, followed by another 100 meters later. Otherwise I would have just run the whole mile. Total of 12.

P.M. 2 miles.

A.M. Did 5.5 with Benjamin. We paced Sarah through a 7:37.9 mile, her new PR since Stephen was born. Then I did 0.5 with Jacob, 1.5 with Jenny, Julia, and Joseph, and 5 more alone including hill sprints - 10 x about 60 meters from magic spot to magic spot. Fastest time was 10.0. Total of 12.5.

P.M. 2 miles pushing Stephen in the stroller.

A.M. Ran 5 with Benjamin, 1.5 with Jenny and Julia, 1.5 with Joseph, and 0.5 with Jacob. That gave me the total of 8.5 warmup. Then I took Sarah with me to the Provo Canyon. She rode the bike along side with me during my tempo run. I wanted to test myself on my standard 3 mile course to see if the improvement I noticed last week was from the long distance endurance, or if it was all across the board. I also wanted to get another point of reference.

However, the workout had another purpose. When pacing Sarah yesterday it occurred to me that she did not know how to properly respond emotionally to the high intensity effort, and it had cost her up to 20 seconds. So I figured it would be good for her to observe a more experienced runner deal with the fatigue while riding alongside on a bike.  I would recommend this to everybody who has not run competitively for very long - ride a bike alongside somebody who has when he is running at a high effort and pay close attention. The speed does not matter so much, although those who have more competitive experience tend to be faster.

So I ran up a bit over 2 miles, and then ran the tempo on my 3 mile course from Nunn's Park to the mouth of the Provo Canyon. The first mile was 5:07, and felt reasonable, so I maintained the effort. The second mile was 5:12, and I was happy with it as well. On the third mile I started to struggle some for a number of reasons - fatigue from the first two, more areas of the trail exposed to the sun, and more people on the trail, so I had to do maneuvers to avoid an accident which breaks the rhythm. I also was getting complacent because I knew I was going to smash all of my times from this year with comfortable effort. Nevertheless I managed to run the next 0.75 in 3:59, and then Sarah started singing the fourth verse of Come, Come Ye Saints: "And should we die before our journey's through, happy day all is well. We then our free from toil and sorrow too, with the just with shall dwell." I thought that when I finished I would be free from toil and sorrow, and wanted to accelerate the arrival of that glorious moment, so I pressed harder and ran the last quarter in 75. This gave me 5:14 for the last mile, and 15:33.5 for the 3 mile tempo.

My efforts this year on that course have produced very consistent results with the times ranging from 15:55 to 16:06. So 15:33 was definitely an improvement beyond accidental. I changed two things in my training in the last month - added hill sprints, and a second 2 mile run in the evening. I am suspecting the second run is responsible for most of the magic. My hill sprinting times have not improved. I would imagine if the hill sprinting was responsible for the improvement I would at least see some improvement in those times. On the other hand, I do feel a difference from a month ago in the way I breathe. When things get hard, I feel like the oxygen I breathe in is going somewhere, like there is some infrastructure underneath to absorb it and it is not just the muscle contracting harder.

So that gives me some food for thought. I had tried running fast earlier this year with an HRM and observed that I was unable to get the HR beyond 167, and it dropped as I was unable to maintain the pace. That points to a neuromuscular problem. At the same time, adding a second run gave an improvement in performance. That points to some kind of aerobic improvement which should not have helped if it was a purely neuromuscular problem. I suppose the interaction between aerobic and neuromuscular is more complex than I realized. Live and learn.

P.M. 2 miles.

Day of rest as usual. Went to church. The lesson in Sunday school was on developing talents. The manual talked about Shelly Mann. At the age of 5 she had polio and was put into the swimming class to help her recover. At first she was worse that all the girls in her class who were also recovering from polio. Then she was able to lift up her arms. Then she swam the width of the pool. Then the length. Eventually she won the Olympic gold in butterfly.  The lesson also made me think of Wilma Rudolph and I read about her as well. She came from a family of 22 children, and was number 20. She was born prematurely, survived through a miracle, had severe developmental problems, and could not walk on her own until she was 12. But she overcame all of that and won three Olympic gold medals in 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4x400 relay in 1960.

As I read I pondered and wondered where the Shelly Manns and Wilma Rudolphs are today.  It's been a while since we've seen anything like this. A handicapped child growing up to be an Olympic champion. I think there are several reasons why. One is that there is more competition. 11.18 100 meters does not earn you the Olympic gold anymore today. You will be lucky to make the final.  So a handicapped child with a hidden talent is racing numerous others with equal or greater talent who are not handicapped. Even if he accomplished something equivalent to what Wilma Rudolph did it will not get the same publicity.

Another reason, perhaps more significant, is that back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s we were a nation that aimed for the stars, both figuratively and literally. Since then we have become more cynical and instant-gratification minded.  Families have been eroded. The children are being raised by the public school system more than by their parents and teachers in that system are forbidden to teach spiritual values. Children are not valued, and abortions and birth control have increased. Perhaps the Wilma Rudolph of today has been aborted when some doctor said she would be born with a defect. Or possibly never conceived in the first place. And if she does manage to make it past birth, good luck finding a set of parents that will do what it takes to inculcate the faith it requires to accomplish such a feat.

 There is a lot of talk on the news about the economy. Some people blame Obama, others blame Bush, yet others move the numbers around and blame it on the real estate bubble, stock market bubble, risky loans, immigration, etc. I think they miss the root of the problem. It is the generation X mentality of indolence, instant gratification, and aversion to meaningful challenges. In other words, the problem is that it is highly unlikely that we will see another Shelly Mann or Wilma Rudolph today. Until it is fixed, it does not matter who the president is or what the government does.

A.M. 5 with Benjamin, 1.5 with Julia and Jenny, 1.5 with Joseph, 0.5 with Jacob, and 3.5 alone. Total of 12.

P.M. 2 miles.

A.M. 5 with Benjamin, 1.5 with Joseph and Jenny, and 0.5 with Jacob and Julia. Benjamin and I paced Sarah through 1.25 in 9:55, which is 7:56 pace. This was her first time at sub-8:00 for more than a mile since Stephen was born, and actually I think since William was born as well. Then did 3 more with the last 1.5 in 8:34. Wore an HRM. HR was was 154 at 5:40 pace with 60 F temperature, but the sun started coming out (it was around 9:30 am), so it started to feel a bit warmer than ideal.

A.M. 5 with Benjamin, 1.5 with Joseph and Jenny, 0.5 with Jacob. Julia did not run - had a bit of a flu. Total of 7.

P.M. 2 miles with Sarah on a bike. Pushed Stephen in the stroller.

A.M. 5 with Benjamin, Jeff joined us after about 1 mile. About 3.5 into the run I did a fast 0.5 miles on the trail in 2:21.5 with the splits of 71, 70. Jeff did it in 2:37. It felt good to run at world record marathon pace even though it was for only half mile. I did not have a bear jump on me this time. Actually felt like I could go longer at that pace, but not faster. Drank my "magic" carb drink (molasses sugar, honey, lemon juice, water)  I had prepared earlier as soon as I got home. Then ran 1.5 with Joseph and Jenny, and 0.5 with Jacob.

P.M. Went with Benjamin and my mother to the chess tournament. Benjamin lost one game and won one with the net result of his rating rising to 1574. I drew one and won one with the net result of the rating rising to 1529. Benjamin is now ahead of me although not by far yet. At least I am still improving, although not as fast as him. My mother lost both games. The first one normally, the second she was winning but forgot to pay attention to the clock. She has played chess for a long time, and taught me to play when I was little but she does not have a whole lot of tournament experience. But she is getting some now when she comes to visit.

The tournament was a good psychological tuneup for the marathon. A game of chess will test the depth of your emotional strength even if you think you do not care that much about the outcome. My second game told me that I was doing OK. I noticed my opponents mistakes, but did not get too excited about it, which is easy to do, and when you do you often make a bad move in response. I was able to methodically convert the small advantage into bigger until it became decisive with no blunders on my side that either one of us noticed. This evidence of emotional stability gives me confidence for the marathon. It is much easier to lose in chess off emotions than it is in the marathon, so if the chess side works fine, the running side should as well.

A.M. Benjamin and Jenny were at grandma's house, so I just ran with the younger kids. 1.5 with Julia and Joseph, and 0.5 with Jacob. Then 3 more alone, total of 5.

A.M. Top of Utah Marathon, 2:34:15.9, 4th place, $500.

Stayed with Steve Anderson. He has a big house, so I was able to bring the family. We drove to the finish, then rode to the start, visited the land of Oz where we of course found a congregation of fast runners including Paul.  I located James Moore and Glen Tucker and invited them to participate in trading leads every 3 minutes for as long as it served the benefit of all.

At the start it rained pretty hard, but we were able to hide under the covers to avoid getting wet. Nevertheless the road was wet and the air was humid, and there was a possibility of more rain, so I realised that the original plan for 2:30 might need to get modified even if my fitness would allow it in ideal conditions.

Mile 1 - 5:26.  Paul pulled ahead, I am working together with James, Glen is a few seconds back warming up. I was pleased with that mile because I thought 5:40-5:45 from how it felt.

Mile 2 - 5:35 (11:01). Slowdown expected as it is not as steep as the first one. Let's see what the next one brings. Glen finally caught up and joined the lead trading.

Mile 3 - 5:33 (16:34). From what I remember it is supposed to be a bit quicker. It felt harder than it should have.

Mile 4 - 5:35 (22:09). OK, something is up. I have trained enough in the Provo Canyon and raced enough in the Blacksmith Fork Canyon (this was my 13th Top of Utah Marathon, I've run it every year) to know based on my workout last week that this effort should have produced 5:23-5:25 with the same fitness and conditions, especially tapered and drafting 66% of the time.

Mile 5 - 5:39 (27:48) I explained to Glen and James that something was wrong with me, and they were sufficiently merciful to back off a bit and allow me to draft all the time. Very nice of them considering that 2nd place gets $1000 while the 4th only $500. If we could propagate this attitude into business, I believe this alone would recover our struggling economy. Businesses spend way too much effort trying to trip each other up and it is almost unthinkable for a business to do something nice for their competitor with the approach that I am making myself better by helping my competitor do better.

Mile 6 - 5:44 (33:32) Hanging in there, wondering how long before I get dropped, thankful that James and Glen are willing to be conservative.

Mile 7 - 5:43 (39:15) Surviving.

Mile 8 - 5:43 (44:58) Trying to make the best of it. At least I am reaching some form of fragile stability, if there is such a thing.

Mile 9 - short, 5:24 (50:22). This one is always short, needs to be remeasured and re-marked.

Mile 10 - long, to make up for the short mile 9, 5:58 (56:18). At least still ahead of the 5:40 guy by 22 seconds. Not for long, though.

Mile 11 - 5:44 (1:02:02). Still with Glen and James, trying to survive. 2:30 is out of the window, even though I am still technically on pace, but I am hoping for some damage control at least. Now I think this was an important learning point somewhere between miles 5 and 13. I knew by how I felt that my original goal needed to be adjusted. In fact, somewhere in between those miles I knew that if we got some decent tailwind it might be 2:32 high, same conditions and no major disasters - 2:34, disasters, well let's hope there will not be any. To a certain extent experience takes the excitement factor out of the race. I recall in 2005 while hitting slower splits I was still thinking of 2:30-2:31 at this point. I ended up with 2:39:12. But with more experience I knew what was going to happen to me with quite a bit of precision. So the question was being willing to accept it, and salvage a few seconds by proper pacing and mental toughness. But even though I knew, I still secretly hoped for a positive surprise.

Mile 12 - 5:53 (1:06:55). Guessing somewhat on this split as my memory if fuzzy. Still in the same mode. Can maintain contact with Glen and James with concentration, thankful they are still around.

Mile 13 - 5:28 (1:13:23) That is what the math comes out to based on my official 13 mile split. The pace picked up, but it was probably more around 5:35-5:40. I am probably remembering one of the earlier splits wrong.

Half - 1:13:59. Time to assess things. On average, I have run this race with about 7:00 positive split when no disaster happened. I definitely do not feel like I jogged the first half. In fact, I was hanging off the edge of a cliff from about mile 5. It does feel like you are on the edge of a cliff when a pack is pulling you at the fastest pace you can go. If you lose contact, you will slow down by at least 5 seconds per mile with the same effort if you are lucky, and possibly even 10 - you are off the edge and on your way down. No reason to expect a miraculously fast second half. So that gives me 2:34 high - 2:35 low expectation. Well, let's take it one mile at a time.

Mile 14 - 5:35 (1:18:58). Glen took off. I sensed that James wanted to go with him, but was not fit. Somehow with experience you can sense the level of fitness of the runner next to you. Earlier I observed a surging pattern when he led. That is indicative of cycles of excitement followed by a revelation of the true levels of fuel. From that I knew likely he did not have enough fuel to go with Glen for more than a couple of miles. But even if he did have more strength than he let on, he still could have a good race if he held back to 17 and then gave it a major push. Especially given the fact that we were still ahead of the 5:40 guy. If he really felt that good, he would have no problem running 5:40s from 17 to the finish, which would give him 2:28. So I told him he should stay with me to 17 then give it a push if he had it in him.

Mile 15 - 5:46 (1:24:44). Following James. The pace is far from easy, but I am not crashing yet. The longer I maintain sub-6:00 the less distance I will have to lose the cushion over. Around this point I start playing the game of estimating the finish time if I averaged 7:00 to the finish. At this point it does not cheer my heart at all because 11 miles is a long way to go, and at 7:00 it takes 1:17:00. So that is 2:41:44 at 26 and then there is 385 yards, and it is all uphill too. What cheers my heart, though, is that it takes at least 5 miles to slow down from 5:46 to 7:00, and also that when in good health I do not slow down that much in marathons anymore, and I came to this race in good health. I have struggled with the pace so far, but it was not health-related - more like I am not handling the moisture, so the pace spectrum has shifted 5-10 seconds down everywhere.

Mile 16 - 5:50 (1:30:34). Thankful to still be sub-6:00.

Mile 17 - 5:50 (1:36:24). Another 5:50, will take it.

Mile 18 - 5:56 (1:42:20). James hit the gas pedal during this mile, or so it felt, but it was slower than the others. Not a good sign. Getting ready for "Christmas".

Mile 19 - 6:16 (1:48:36). Merry Christmas to both me and James! It had some significant uphill, though, but I could tell that whatever remnants of the zip I had in the legs earlier were leaving me. But James was feeling even worse around here. I passed him and tried to quietly slip away.

Mile 20 - 6:14 (1:54:50). Still uphill. James recovered, caught up to me, and took the lead. I am having mixed feelings. On one hand I want him to do well. On the other hand, I like $750 more than $500. Yet, James is a poor student and I have a nice job. But I have a wife and seven children to feed. I tell myself, if you really think James needs the money more than you do, then beat him, and give him $250 afterwards. But he will not take it that way because good runners believe in getting what they earned through their own sweat. Yet we've run together for 20 miles and a special bond develops when you work together for that long at top effort. Well, odd thoughts go through your mind when the blood sugar is low. Let's just work together and let the stronger one of us finish ahead.

Mile 21 - 6:05 (2:00:55). Downhill, last nice downhill stretch. I've run this enough to know that 6:05 on that mile means about 39:30 for the last 10 K for me. So in essence I already know my finish time. But yet I am still concerned it could be worse because the thought of having to average low 6:20s with all the turns and rises which seem like large hills when you are in the "zone" sounds like something you might not be able to depend on.

Mile 22 - 6:28 (2:07:23). Lots of turns on this mile. James asked me how I felt. I told him I was surviving. This and the next mile are the most difficult miles of the race psychologically. What I should do is visit Logan a week before the race and run a tempo over the last 10 K to know what to expect. Perhaps even paint marks every 200 meters here so you can give yourself very immediate time goals. On the positive, 7:00 pace gets you to 26 in 2:35:23 to 26. Then another 385 yards. So a disaster that I have not seen for a long time, I think since 2005, still gets me 2:36. That cheered my soul.

Mile 23 - 6:25 (2:13:48). Similar experience to mile 22, except the dim light at the end of the tunnel got brighter.

Mile 24 - 6:10 (2:19:58). This mile had a short downhill stretch, but it was very helpful for mental purposes. Also, James saw somebody coming up on us (Nate Clayson) and it got his competitive spirit revived. He pushed, I tried to go with him, but after a couple of minutes my strength proved insufficient.

Mile 25 - 6:30 (2:26:28). This mile has the uphill on Main street. James is slowly pulling away, but is within striking distance. All it takes us for him to start jogging, which happens sometimes at the end of a marathon.

Mile 26 - 6:27 (2:32:55). James is not quite jogging, and I have zero zip in the legs. It all went into that 6:10 mile trying to keep up. I am however thankful that this marathon is over and I do not have another one planned in two weeks.

Finish - 1:20 (2:34:15). Legs not moving, but at least I am still running at some semblance of a respectable pace. Glad to be done.

So I ended up 4th. Paul won with 2:20:30. Glen was second with 2:30:54. James third with 2:33:53. Nate Clayson 5th with 2:36:08.

Allie won the women with a PR of 2:50:59 which is quite remarkable given non-PR conditions. But when you are in good shape you can still run a PR even in less than ideal conditions.

Benjamin and Jenny ran on their own both Friday and Saturday. Benjamin 3 miles, Jenny 1.5 miles. Julia, Joseph, and Jacob ran with Sarah. Julia and Joseph did 1.5, Jacob 0.5.

Overall, I think I should be happy with the performance even though it was off the 2:30 target. The lack of tailwind was one negative factor. The other, perhaps, was high humidity which I did not handle well for one reason or another - perhaps from having trained in dry air. All I know is that from mile 2 the pace felt wrong, like there was a shift of spectrum by 5-10 seconds per mile, but I was holding it OK. I looked at my report from 2009 when I ran with a heel problem. I made it to the half in 1:13:03, so 56 second faster, and I felt better too. 20 mile split was 1:54:05, still 45 seconds faster. Then the foot problem deteriorated and I wobbled to the finish in 2:35:19, 1:04 slower.  That year I was willing to run as fast as 5:21 mid-race, while this year I experienced the same feelings at 5:33. I do not believe I had more half-marathon fitness then than I did immediately coming into the race. So something was up.

 I decided to try again in Huntsville, AL on December 10th in the Rocket City Marathon, and already started making arrangements. The plan is to fly from Provo to Nashville and rent a car there. The flight will cost a little under $300. The car probably around $50. I wrote to Jon Elmore (Jelmo), and he said I could stay with him. The prize money is $1000 - $750 - $500 - $250 - $250, so there is a chance to recover at least a portion of the cost. But if not, I can handle $350 of expenses occasionally nowadays.  I know the course, it is very fast. A few micro-rollers, but it does not slow you down from what I remember. Unfortunately, last time I ran it I did it one week after running another marathon. I made it to the half in around 1:13:30, held the pace to 18, and then royally blew up finishing in 2:37:25.

Day of rest. Went to church. The lesson in Sunday school was on obedience. The Sacrament meeting talks were on marriage. Our former bishop was on one of the speakers. He is a plumber, and likes to tell plumbing stories when he gets a chance. He told one about how a tree managed to sneak its roots through and into a sewer pipe which caused it to clog up. He compared that to how immorality can destroy marriage.Now, some may object to comparing marriage to a sewer pipe, but that is what he works with and thinks about all day, and the message is clear nevertheless - the dangers of subtle corruption. I have a lot of stories like that from software development. Pretty much anybody that works with things that have to work can tell you a similar story. I think there is a good lesson in those stories.

A.M. Ran with the kids. 5 with Benjamin, then ran with Jenny, Julia, and Joseph. Joseph did 1, Jenny 2, Julia 1.5. Jacob did 0.5.  Total of 7.

P.M. 2 miles.

A.M. 5 with Benjamin, then 2 with the other kids. Jenny did 2, Julia 1.5, Joseph 1.5, and Jacob 0.5. I added another 2 miles and did the last one in 5:38. It felt very good.

P.M. 2 miles.

A.M. 10 miles total including 5 with Benjamin, 1.5 with Joseph, Jenny, and Julia, and 0.5 with Jacob and Julia.

P.M. 2 miles.

A.M. 10 total. 5 of it with Benjamin, 1.5 with Joseph, 0.5 with Jacob. Jenny ran 1.5. Julia did 2.

P.M. 2 miles.

A.M. Total of 10. 5 with Benjamin. 2 with Jenny, Joseph did 1.5, Jacob did 0.5. Julia took a break because she hit her head last night. I ran a 2.5 tempo in 13:58.8. Felt decent, but a little tired.

P.M. 2 miles on Mount Nebo Loop near Payson Lakes.

A.M. Jenny ran 2, Julia 1.5, Jacob 0.5. I did 5 with Benjamin, and 5 more alone. The last 0.75 in 4:11.6. It was 81 F by then. I felt sluggish at the start of the pickup, and when I started going fast I thought it would be good to hit 4:20 (5:47 pace). I still felt sluggish, but was able to hit 5:35 pace more or less naturally in spite of the heat.

P.M. 1.5 with Joseph, 1 more alone, total 2.5.

Day of rest. Went to church. Missed most of the Sunday class due to the diaper adventure with Stephen. For the Priesthood meeting I was in the Deacons class, as I am now the Scout master. Benjamin laughed when he heard I got called as the Scout master, and for a good reason.The world of outdoor adventure is more foreign to me than Chinese. At least I would learn Chinese faster because I have a natural talent for languages. But I do what I was called to do to the best of my ability regardless.

The lesson was on the role of women. Then we had the Sacrament meeting. I spaced out enough that I do not remember even the subject of the talks. This is not good, I need to pay more attention.

A.M. 12 total. 5 with Benjamin. Jenny and Julia ran 2. Joseph did 1.5. Jacob 0.5.

P.M. 2 miles

A.M. Total of 12. 5 with Benjamin. 2 with Jenny and Julia. Jacob and Joseph ran 0.5.

P.M. 2 miles.

A.M. 5 with Benjamin in 34:29. He ran the last two miles in 12:16 (6:21, 5:55) which is his new 2 mile record. 0.5 with Joseph and Jacob in 4:11. This is Jacob's new record since he broke his leg. His fitness is returning. 2 with Jenny and Julia. Then I did hill sprints. At first I was struggling a lot starting out with 10.9. Eventually worked my way up to 10.2. I felt very awkward in the first one, then less awkward towards the end. Also did 0.5 pickup in 2:29.5. It felt good.

P.M. 2 miles.

A.M. 5 with Benjamin. 2 with Jenny and Julia. 0.5 with Joseph and Jacob. 4.5 alone, total of 12. Did a pickup for 1 mile in 5:19.5.

P.M. 2 miles.

A.M. Total of 12. Did Sarah's 2 mile tempo run with her. She ran it in 15:49, which shows she is in PR shape. Her PRs came in 2002-2003 when we had first 2 and then only 3 children. Now after 7 she is back in the PR shape. She is also able to fit into her wedding dress at the age of almost 36 after being married for almost 15 years and all the children in between.The recipe of her success is simple - run 6 days a week and eat healthy. No excuses, no exceptions. No fancy training programs, no fancy diets, no special equipment, and no certified personal trainers. Just focus on the essence of things and get it done.

Ran 2 with Benjamin, Jenny and Julia - Benjamin had a sore throat. 0.5 with Joseph and Jacob. The rest alone. Did a pickup for 2100 meters in 6:58.8 - 5:19 pace.

P.M. Added another 2 miles.