Breaking the Wall

Layton Classic 10K

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15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

Orem,UT,United States

Member Since:

Jan 27, 1986

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Olympic Trials Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

Best marathon: 2:23:57 (2007, St. George). Won the Top of Utah Marathon twice (2003,2004). Won the USATF LDR circuit in Utah in 2006.

Draper Days 5 K 15:37 (2004)

Did not know this until June 2012, but it turned out that I've been running with spina bifida occulta in L-4 vertebra my entire life, which explains the odd looking form, struggles with the top end speed, and the poor running economy (cannot break 16:00 in 5 K without pushing the VO2 max past 75).  

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

Qualify for the US Olympic Trials. With the standard of 2:19 on courses with the elevation drop not exceeding 450 feet this is impossible unless I find an uncanny way to compensate for the L-4 defect with my muscles. But I believe in miracles.

Long-Term Running Goals:

2:08 in the marathon. Become a world-class marathoner. This is impossible unless I find a way to fill the hole in L-4 and make it act healthy either by growing the bone or by inserting something artificial that is as good as the bone without breaking anything important around it. Science does not know how to do that yet, so it will take a miracle. But I believe in miracles.

Personal:

I was born in 1973. Grew up in Moscow, Russia. Started running in 1984 and so far have never missed more than 3 consecutive days. Joined the LDS Church in 1992, and came to Provo, Utah in 1993 to attend BYU. Served an LDS mission from 1994-96 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Got married soon after I got back. My wife Sarah and I are parents of eleven children: Benjamin, Jenny, Julia, Joseph, Jacob, William, Stephen, Matthew,  Mary,  Bella.  and Leigha. We home school our children.

I am a software engineer/computer programmer/hacker whatever you want to call it, and I am currently working for RedX. Aside from the Fast Running Blog, I have another project to create a device that is a good friend for a fast runner. I called it Fast Running Friend.

Favorite Quote:

...if we are to have faith like Enoch and Elijah we must believe what they believed, know what they knew, and live as they lived.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie

 

Favorite Blogs:
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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 3010.45
Saucony Type A Lifetime Miles: 640.15
Bare Feet Lifetime Miles: 450.37
Nike Double Stroller Lifetime Miles: 124.59
Brown Crocs 4 Lifetime Miles: 1334.06
Amoji 1 Lifetime Miles: 732.60
Amoji 2 Lifetime Miles: 436.69
Amoji 3 Lifetime Miles: 380.67
Lopsie Sports Sandals Lifetime Miles: 818.02
Lopsie Sports Sandals 2 Lifetime Miles: 637.27
Iprome Garden Clogs Lifetime Miles: 346.18
Beslip Garden Clogs Lifetime Miles: 488.26
Joybees 1 Lifetime Miles: 1035.60
Madctoc Clogs Lifetime Miles: 698.29
Blue Crocs Lifetime Miles: 1164.32
Kimisant Black Clogs Lifetime Miles: 720.62
Black Crocs 2023 Lifetime Miles: 1743.12
White Slip Resistant Crocs Lifetime Miles: 759.93
Totals
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
219.7829.4635.746.43291.41
Red Crocs Miles: 259.94Saucony Type A Miles: 14.19
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Fri, Sep 01, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.750.000.000.0012.75

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-01 09:06:06
Workout Totals: Distance12.750Time1:35:50.20Pace7:31.00
Usual distances for the kids, I ran 5 with Joseph, 5 alone, then later in the evening 2 with Zachary including his warm-up, mile time trial - 6:58.4 (1:43, 1:46, 1:45, 1:41), and cool-down, and later 0.75 with Matthew.
Leg 1:Distance5.000Time37:27.80Pace7:29.56
With Joseph.
Leg 2:Distance5.000Time34:49.90Pace6:57.98
Alone.
Leg 3:Distance0.430Time4:03.10Pace9:25.35
Zachary's warm-up.
Leg 4:Distance1.000Time6:58.40Pace6:58.40
Zachary's mile time trial (Orem High).
Leg 5:Distance0.570Time6:05.30Pace10:40.88
Zachary's cool-down.
Leg 6:Distance0.750Time6:25.70Pace8:34.27
With Matthew.

Red Crocs Miles: 12.75
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Sat, Sep 02, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.640.006.000.0021.64

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-02 08:27:59
Workout Totals: Distance10.600Time1:15:45.70Pace7:08.84
Did something different today. Split the long run into two parts - morning and evening doing exact same workout both times. The workout was 10.5+ miles with 3 fast in the middle. In the morning I ran 16:30 (5:27,5:33,5:30). In the evening I did 16:58 (5:28, 5:49, 5:41). This was an interesting experiment. Part of the challenge of the evening workout was that it was that it was warmer. Part that it was dark. But I think most of it came from glycogen depletion. So I suppose we can say that 10 hours is not enough to fully rebuild glycogen stores after a 10 mile run with a 3 mile tempo in the middle - at least for me.
Leg 1:Distance5.270Time41:45.60Pace7:55.45
Warm-up - most of it with Jenny.
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time16:30.60Pace5:30.20
Tempo.
Leg 3:Distance2.330Time17:29.50Pace7:30.43
Back to the house with Jenny.
Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-02 20:01:58
Workout Totals: Distance11.040Time1:19:34.70Pace7:12.49
Second session. Joseph rode along with me on a bike.
Leg 1:Distance5.270Time40:42.50Pace7:43.47
Warm-up.
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time16:58.80Pace5:39.60
Tempo.
Leg 3:Distance2.270Time17:45.60Pace7:49.43
Cool-down.
Leg 4:Distance0.500Time4:07.80Pace8:15.60
With Matthew.

Red Crocs Miles: 21.64
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Sun, Sep 03, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Day of rest. Went to church. Fast Sunday.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Mon, Sep 04, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.510.741.250.0010.50

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-04 08:26:59
Workout Totals: Distance10.502Time1:25:27.20Pace8:08.21
Today I paced Sarah on the track through the mile in 7:29.3 (splits 1:49, 1:54, 1:54, 1:49). For some reason she has been having a hard time hitting fast times on the the track. We need to figure out what is going on. But this is an improvement - her fastest track mile so far.

I also paced Julia through a 6:00 pace to failure then break workout. She did 800-400-400.

Did a mile pickup down a small grade in 5:33.

Kids ran their usual distances mostly on their own.
Leg 1:Distance1.030Time10:22.20Pace10:04.08
Warm-up with Sarah.
Leg 2:Distance1.000Time7:29.30Pace7:29.30
Paced Sarah through the mile on the track.
Leg 3:Distance0.990Time9:33.70Pace9:39.49
Cool-down - part with Sarah.
Leg 4:Distance1.520Time12:07.10Pace7:58.36
Part alone, part with Joseph.
Leg 5:Distance1.040Time8:58.80Pace8:38.08
Warm-up with Julia.
Leg 6:Distance0.496Time3:02.20Pace6:07.34
800 with Julia.
Leg 7:Distance0.248Time1:30.90Pace6:06.53
400 with Julia.
Leg 8:Distance0.248Time1:25.60Pace5:45.16
400 with Julia.
Leg 9:Distance0.980Time9:07.80Pace9:18.98
Back home with Julia.
Leg 10:Distance2.450Time17:49.00Pace7:16.33
Alone - did a pickup for the downhill mile on the ward 2 mile course.
Split 1:Distance0.500Time3:55.10Pace7:50.20
Cumilative:Distance0.500Time3:55.10Pace7:50.20
Split 2:Distance1.000Time5:33.40Pace5:33.40
Cumilative:Distance1.500Time9:28.50Pace6:19.00
Split 3:Distance0.950Time8:20.50Pace8:46.84
Cumilative:Distance2.450Time17:49.00Pace7:16.33
 
Leg 11:Distance0.500Time4:00.60Pace8:01.20
With Matthew.

Red Crocs Miles: 10.50
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Tue, Sep 05, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.970.005.000.0011.97

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-05 07:57:38
Workout Totals: Distance11.970Time1:27:08.00Pace7:16.76
Did 9 miles with a 5 mile tempo out and back in the canyon in the morning, then paced Jenny in the 2 K cross-country race.

Times:

Joseph 8:04 (got lost)
Jacob 8:04 (got lost, but less than Joseph)
William 8:23 (got lost a little bit as well)
Jenny 8:23
Stephen 9:51
Matthew 11:25
Sarah 11:30
Leg 1:Distance2.020Time16:17.10Pace8:03.71
Warm-up.
Leg 2:Distance5.000Time31:12.70Pace6:14.54
Tempo run out and back in the canyon.
Leg 3:Distance2.020Time16:13.30Pace8:01.83
Cool-down.
Leg 4:Distance0.450Time3:35.20Pace7:58.22
Warm-up before cross-country.
Leg 5:Distance1.240Time8:24.20Pace6:46.61
Paced Jenny in the 2 K.
Split 1:Distance1.240Time8:21.90Pace6:44.76
Cumilative:Distance1.240Time8:21.90Pace6:44.76
My time.
Split 2:Distance0.000Time0:02.30Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance1.240Time8:24.20Pace6:46.61
Jenny's time.
 
Leg 6:Distance1.240Time11:25.50Pace9:12.82
Paced Matthew in the 2 K.

Saucony Type A Miles: 2.93Red Crocs Miles: 9.04
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Wed, Sep 06, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-06 08:47:36
Workout Totals: Distance8.000Time1:17:07.60Pace9:38.45
Today Matthew surprised us. He volunteered to run on the Big Boy course (1 mile out and back with hills) and set a PR of 8:07.2 (1:46, 2:02, 2:09, 2:10). So he clearly had probably around 7:45 on the track, but getting him to do it on the there would be tricky. He likes the Big Boy course because it is on a nice trail and because of the Big Boy status. Track does not have the same appeal.

Otherwise we all ran our usual distances more or less.
Leg 1:Distance1.000Time8:07.20Pace8:07.20
With Matthew, Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance1.000Time7:42.40Pace7:42.40
With Stephen, William, and Jacob.
Leg 3:Distance4.000Time30:26.90Pace7:36.73
With Joseph - part with Jacob.
Leg 4:Distance1.000Time7:28.80Pace7:28.80
Alone.
Leg 5:Distance1.000Time23:22.30Pace23:22.30
With Julia.

Red Crocs Miles: 8.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Thu, Sep 07, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.180.002.000.0010.18

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-07 08:49:00
Workout Totals: Distance10.180Time1:16:30.80Pace7:30.96
Today Joseph and Jacob had a breakthrough in the 2 mile tempo down the canyon. Joseph ran 11:10 (2:50,2:44,2:49,2:47), Jacob 11:23(2:50,2:49,5:44). Joseph improved by 26 seconds, Jacob by 14. Converting this to sea level track 3000 this would be around 10:28 for Joseph and 10:40 for Jacob. Just as I started to get concerned that they might be plateauing, they progressed.

Matthew wanted to run the Big Boy course again and ran 8:08.

William ran almost 5 miles. Otherwise, more or less usual distances for everybody.
Leg 1:Distance1.230Time10:27.50Pace8:30.16
Warm-up with the boys.
Leg 2:Distance2.000Time11:23.10Pace5:41.55
Tempo run.
Split 1:Distance2.000Time11:10.70Pace5:35.35
Cumilative:Distance2.000Time11:10.70Pace5:35.35
Finished with Joseph.
Split 2:Distance0.000Time0:12.40Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance2.000Time11:23.10Pace5:41.55
Jacob's time.
 
Leg 3:Distance1.000Time8:56.40Pace8:56.40
Cool-down with Joseph and Jacob.
Leg 4:Distance2.500Time20:09.30Pace8:03.72
More distance with William.
Leg 5:Distance1.000Time8:08.80Pace8:08.80
With Joseph, Jacob, Stephen, and Matthew.
Leg 6:Distance2.450Time17:25.70Pace7:06.82
Alone.

Red Crocs Miles: 10.18
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Fri, Sep 08, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.040.000.000.0010.04

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-08 08:12:23
Workout Totals: Distance10.040Time1:18:44.30Pace7:50.55
Usual day. Matthew ran the mile on the Big Boy course again.
Leg 1:Distance2.040Time16:58.50Pace8:19.26
With Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance4.000Time31:49.30Pace7:57.32
With Jacob and Julia - I think.
Leg 3:Distance1.000Time8:14.90Pace8:14.90
With Matthew and a few other boys - do not remember who.
Leg 4:Distance3.000Time21:41.60Pace7:13.87
Alone.

Red Crocs Miles: 10.04
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Sat, Sep 09, 2017
Race: Layton Classic 10K (6.214 Miles) 00:37:27, Place overall: 7, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.810.007.210.2517.27

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-09 07:17:23
Workout Totals: Distance17.274Time2:05:00.10Pace7:14.18
Layton Classic 10K, 37:27, 7th overall, 2nd master, $50.

Riley Cook won with 32:16. Matt Wolpert was the first master with 35:52. Dennis was the third master with 37:33.

I did this race with no tapering, and ran the first mile conservatively - 25 seconds slower than last year. Then I started pushing more, but was still 29 seconds slower overall than last year in spite of the fact that last year I lost about 5-10 seconds on a chip incident around mile 2. I ran well compared to last year on the uphill, but for some reason I just could not shift gears on the downhill.

During the warm-up I felt somewhat sluggish. When I finished I did not feel tired or sore - in fact, quite energetic. Except I just could not go any faster. I decided I wanted a bit more tempo running for the day and ran a mile in 5:57 on the nearby high school track.

Then at home I ran 4 more miles with the kids. Raced Joseph over the last uphill quarter - we tied with 81.5.
Leg 1:Distance2.200Time17:24.30Pace7:54.68
Warm-up.
Leg 2:Distance6.214Time37:27.40Pace6:01.67
The race.
Split 1:Distance1.000Time5:49.70Pace5:49.70
Cumilative:Distance1.000Time5:49.70Pace5:49.70
Split 2:Distance1.000Time6:16.30Pace6:16.30
Cumilative:Distance2.000Time12:06.00Pace6:03.00
Split 3:Distance1.000Time6:32.10Pace6:32.10
Cumilative:Distance3.000Time18:38.10Pace6:12.70
Split 4:Distance1.000Time5:52.80Pace5:52.80
Cumilative:Distance4.000Time24:30.90Pace6:07.72
Split 5:Distance1.000Time5:41.10Pace5:41.10
Cumilative:Distance5.000Time30:12.00Pace6:02.40
Split 6:Distance1.000Time5:57.50Pace5:57.50
Cumilative:Distance6.000Time36:09.50Pace6:01.58
Split 7:Distance0.214Time1:17.90Pace6:04.02
Cumilative:Distance6.214Time37:27.40Pace6:01.67
 
Leg 3:Distance4.850Time38:17.20Pace7:53.65
Cool-down.
Split 1:Distance3.000Time25:31.60Pace8:30.53
Cumilative:Distance3.000Time25:31.60Pace8:30.53
With Dennis, Michelle, and Nate Peters - most of it.
Split 2:Distance1.000Time5:57.60Pace5:57.60
Cumilative:Distance4.000Time31:29.20Pace7:52.30
Tempo mile.
Split 3:Distance0.850Time6:48.00Pace8:00.00
Cumilative:Distance4.850Time38:17.20Pace7:53.65
The rest of the cool-down.
 
Leg 4:Distance1.000Time8:20.20Pace8:20.20
With Joseph, Jacob, and Matthew.
Leg 5:Distance3.010Time23:31.00Pace7:48.77
With Joseph and Jacob.
Split 1:Distance2.760Time22:09.50Pace8:01.70
Cumilative:Distance2.760Time22:09.50Pace8:01.70
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:21.50Pace5:26.00
Cumilative:Distance3.010Time23:31.00Pace7:48.77
Kick with Joseph.
 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Sun, Sep 10, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Day of rest. Went to church.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Mon, Sep 11, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.410.000.000.6211.03

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-11 08:19:31
Workout Totals: Distance11.040Time1:22:15.00Pace7:27.01
Total of 11. Kids ran mostly on their own because I had a company meeting to get to. Later in the day I did another mile with a fast uphill quarter at the end. I wanted to get another data point.

Lately I have been struggling with upper range speed. Anything faster than 5:35 down the canyon (which I consider to be a flat sea-level equivalent) has been putting me over the edge in an odd way. I am not really breathing that hard, legs are not sore, just cannot move for the life of me. Putting two and two together I figure the problem is in the adrenal glands. What do I do about it? If I run less and/or slower I lose the endurance. If I continue to work on the endurance, I hit a hard barrier and cannot really work on it anyway.

So that leads me to the next option. Some dietary changes and some supplement. Now we are in the area of black magic. I do not eat any junk food, and already consume a good amount of fruit and vegetables with moderate amounts of meat. So it is not as simple as just stop eating things you very well know you should not be, and start eating what you should. We are in the area of fine tuning. Supplement-wise, there are a lot of supplements that promise miracles, and some of them do when applied in the right combination with the diet, training, and rest. In 2003 I stumbled on that combination which allowed me to recover from a slump of 2002 and improve from 2:33:20 (2001) to 2:27:46 on the same course (TOU) in spite of being 2 years older and now taking care of one more kid going from 2 to 3. But now I am in a different type of body that responds to different things, so I need to find something different.
Leg 1:Distance1.000Time8:24.00Pace8:24.00
With Matthew, Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance9.040Time1:06:55.70Pace7:24.21
Alone.
Split 1:Distance4.395Time33:21.70Pace7:35.45
Cumilative:Distance4.395Time33:21.70Pace7:35.45
Split 2:Distance0.125Time0:45.10Pace6:00.80
Cumilative:Distance4.520Time34:06.80Pace7:32.83
Split 3:Distance4.270Time31:25.30Pace7:21.52
Cumilative:Distance8.790Time1:05:32.10Pace7:27.34
Split 4:Distance0.250Time1:23.60Pace5:34.40
Cumilative:Distance9.040Time1:06:55.70Pace7:24.21
 
Leg 3:Distance1.000Time6:55.30Pace6:55.30
A short run with a fast uphill quarter at the end to help me understand what is going on.
Split 1:Distance0.750Time5:35.10Pace7:26.80
Cumilative:Distance0.750Time5:35.10Pace7:26.80
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:20.20Pace5:20.80
Cumilative:Distance1.000Time6:55.30Pace6:55.30
 

Red Crocs Miles: 11.04
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Comments(1)
Tue, Sep 12, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.150.004.860.0014.01

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-12 08:12:08
Workout Totals: Distance14.018Time1:46:41.10Pace7:36.63
Last workout before the Top of Utah. Did 10 with a 3 mile tempo down the Canyon in the AM and paced Joseph (sort of) in the cross-country 3 K in the PM. Struggled in the 3 miler, but I was expecting it: 16:37(5:30,5:31,5:36). The 3 K (11:41) felt better than I was expecting. I though after the morning run I would have to run pretty close to all out just to keep up. But I was able to run with Joseph just fine - though it took me a good half mile to weave through the crowd of kids to catch up. Once I did I slowed down for him, and he was responding for a while. But then I accidentally dropped him somewhere around 2 K. When I realized that he lost contact, I decided to just keep going at the pace I was going to be a moving target for him in the kick. But he never closed the gap and finished in 12:03 21.8 seconds behind. Jacob got 12:25, Jenny 13:26, Julia 14:56. The course was slow and also possibly long.

Then I paced Matthew in the second heat to 18:36 3K. Unfortunately the second heat got messed up due to too many people taking wrong turns, so they cancelled its results. The trouble is that Bicentenial Park is too small, but the city really does not have a better option right now due to the construction at Kiwani's.
Leg 1:Distance5.020Time38:16.50Pace7:37.47
Warm-up.
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time16:37.10Pace5:32.37
Tempo run.
Leg 3:Distance2.020Time16:08.00Pace7:59.21
Cool-down - most of it with Joseph.
Leg 4:Distance0.250Time2:06.90Pace8:27.60
Short warm-up before cross-country 3 K.
Leg 5:Distance1.864Time14:56.50Pace8:00.95
Cross-country race.
Split 1:Distance1.864Time11:41.30Pace6:16.23
Cumilative:Distance1.864Time11:41.30Pace6:16.23
My time.
Split 2:Distance0.000Time0:21.80Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance1.864Time12:03.10Pace6:27.93
Joseph.
Split 3:Distance0.000Time0:22.00Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance1.864Time12:25.10Pace6:39.73
Jacob.
Split 4:Distance0.000Time1:01.30Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance1.864Time13:26.40Pace7:12.62
Jenny.
Split 5:Distance0.000Time1:30.10Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance1.864Time14:56.50Pace8:00.95
Julia.
Split 6:Distance0.000Time0:00.00Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance1.864Time14:56.50Pace8:00.95
 
Leg 6:Distance1.864Time18:36.10Pace9:58.77
Paced Matthew in the 3 K cross-country.

Saucony Type A Miles: 4.98Red Crocs Miles: 9.04
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Wed, Sep 13, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-13 09:00:27
Workout Totals: Distance6.000Time47:47.70Pace7:57.95
Tapering. 6 total for me. Jacob did 4, Joseph 5, William 3, Stephen 2, Matthew 1.
Leg 1:Distance1.000Time8:40.40Pace8:40.40
With Matthew, Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance5.000Time39:07.30Pace7:49.46
With Joseph.

Red Crocs Miles: 6.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Thu, Sep 14, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-14 08:28:34
Workout Totals: Distance6.000Time46:06.80Pace7:41.13
Taper for me, Joseph, Jacob, William, and Julia. Usual distances for other kids.
Leg 1:Distance1.000Time8:40.40Pace8:40.40
With Matthew, Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance1.000Time7:40.60Pace7:40.60
With Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 3:Distance4.000Time29:45.80Pace7:26.45
Part with Jacob, part alone.

Red Crocs Miles: 6.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Fri, Sep 15, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-15 08:19:07
Workout Totals: Distance6.000Time47:25.20Pace7:54.20
Another day of taper.
Leg 1:Distance1.000Time8:36.60Pace8:36.60
With Matthew, Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance1.000Time7:48.40Pace7:48.40
Same group with the exception of Matthew.
Leg 3:Distance4.000Time31:00.20Pace7:45.05
Part with Jacob, part with Sarah, part alone.

Red Crocs Miles: 6.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Sat, Sep 16, 2017
Race: Top of Utah Marathon (26.219 Miles) 02:46:16, Place overall: 9, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.9526.220.000.0027.17

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-16 05:07:17
Workout Totals: Distance27.168Time2:53:38.60Pace6:23.49
Top of Utah Marathon, 2:46:16, 9th overall, 2nd master, $250.

This was a strange marathon. Coming in I knew something was off from my workouts over the last two weeks and the Layton Classic 10 K. But I hoped that some rest during the taper would take care of it. It did not.

I started out with Nan and Matt Wolpert. The pace felt harder that what it should have, but I could keep it. I decided to hang in there for as long as I could figuring I really did not have much to lose. I ran in front for the first 3 miles, then Nan took over and I never felt like I had the strength to step forward and help with the pace. It would have helped as we had some headwind gusts, but Nan was strong and handled them just fine.

I made it to the half in 1:18:04 and then all of a sudden just did not have any drive to go. I backed off thinking I'll maybe run 6:10-6:15 for 5 miles before I go into the end of the marathon survival. That ended up being wishful thinking. I ran 1 mile in 6:21, and then 6:25-6:30 pace, and then survival.

The entire time somehow I felt the illusion of running well. Without a watch I would have told you that I was running 6:10-6:15. Positive thinking is good, but you need to back it up with physical strength which was lacking today.

Nan and Matt ran very well. Nan got the course record in 2:38:52. Matt won the masters with the master's course record in 2:38:41.

Nate Krah won with 2:27:01.

The official times were messed up by 27 seconds (which should be added to get the correct time). I reported the problem and the timer acknowledged it, but last time I checked they were posted incorrectly.

In the 5K Joseph ran 19:18 (2nd overall), Jacob 19:28 (3rd), William 22:08, Julia 22:51 (1st woman). Not sure why they were so slow - maybe the combination of getting up at 4:30 am, cold morning, and the lack of a good warm-up.

Even though my result today was disappointing, it was a good data point. The problem was clearly not fuel, but rather adrenal fatigue. I know what it is like when it is fuel - you can recover your pace partially by drinking something with sugar. It also does not happen at 13 miles. And in an odd way it was good to feel it for a long time and clearly separated from the fuel struggle to know what it feels like in and of itself.

I re-read my race reports from the past and recalled how it felt to run in the good races as well as in the bad ones. I am now inclined to think that the difference between my better years and my worse years was mainly in the adrenal performance. Which is both encouraging and frustrating. Encouraging because if I did discover a reliable way to train the adrenal performance I could run very well - even now that I am 44. Frustrating because adrenal performance is not easily trainable. There is a predictable way to ruin it - sleep less, eat poorly, have a stressful life, train more. But going the other way - sleep more, eat well, avoid stress, train moderately - does not predictably develop it. It is necessary, but not sufficient. Nevertheless, I believe adrenal performance is still governed by some law that we can learn if we try hard enough. Over the course of the next few years I will do what I can to learn it.
Leg 1:Distance0.950Time7:22.30Pace7:45.58
Leg 2:Distance26.218Time2:46:16.30Pace6:20.51
Split 1:Distance1.000Time6:02.90Pace6:02.90
Cumilative:Distance1.000Time6:02.90Pace6:02.90
Split 2:Distance1.000Time5:52.30Pace5:52.30
Cumilative:Distance2.000Time11:55.20Pace5:57.60
Split 3:Distance1.000Time5:59.10Pace5:59.10
Cumilative:Distance3.000Time17:54.30Pace5:58.10
Split 4:Distance1.000Time5:58.80Pace5:58.80
Cumilative:Distance4.000Time23:53.10Pace5:58.28
Split 5:Distance1.000Time6:03.50Pace6:03.50
Cumilative:Distance5.000Time29:56.60Pace5:59.32
Split 6:Distance1.000Time6:01.70Pace6:01.70
Cumilative:Distance6.000Time35:58.30Pace5:59.72
Split 7:Distance1.000Time6:02.80Pace6:02.80
Cumilative:Distance7.000Time42:01.10Pace6:00.16
Split 8:Distance1.000Time5:52.80Pace5:52.80
Cumilative:Distance8.000Time47:53.90Pace5:59.24
Split 9:Distance1.000Time5:54.50Pace5:54.50
Cumilative:Distance9.000Time53:48.40Pace5:58.71
Split 10:Distance1.000Time5:54.40Pace5:54.40
Cumilative:Distance10.000Time59:42.80Pace5:58.28
Split 11:Distance1.000Time5:59.10Pace5:59.10
Cumilative:Distance11.000Time1:05:41.90Pace5:58.35
Split 12:Distance1.000Time5:47.90Pace5:47.90
Cumilative:Distance12.000Time1:11:29.80Pace5:57.48
Split 13:Distance1.000Time5:54.80Pace5:54.80
Cumilative:Distance13.000Time1:17:24.60Pace5:57.28
Split 14:Distance1.000Time6:21.20Pace6:21.20
Cumilative:Distance14.000Time1:23:45.80Pace5:58.99
Split 15:Distance1.000Time6:25.50Pace6:25.50
Cumilative:Distance15.000Time1:30:11.30Pace6:00.75
Split 16:Distance1.000Time6:24.30Pace6:24.30
Cumilative:Distance16.000Time1:36:35.60Pace6:02.23
Split 17:Distance1.000Time6:29.70Pace6:29.70
Cumilative:Distance17.000Time1:43:05.30Pace6:03.84
Split 18:Distance1.000Time6:30.40Pace6:30.40
Cumilative:Distance18.000Time1:49:35.70Pace6:05.32
Split 19:Distance1.000Time6:43.70Pace6:43.70
Cumilative:Distance19.000Time1:56:19.40Pace6:07.34
Split 20:Distance1.000Time7:09.10Pace7:09.10
Cumilative:Distance20.000Time2:03:28.50Pace6:10.43
Split 21:Distance1.000Time6:37.90Pace6:37.90
Cumilative:Distance21.000Time2:10:06.40Pace6:11.73
Split 22:Distance1.000Time7:07.40Pace7:07.40
Cumilative:Distance22.000Time2:17:13.80Pace6:14.26
Split 23:Distance1.000Time7:01.60Pace7:01.60
Cumilative:Distance23.000Time2:24:15.40Pace6:16.32
Split 24:Distance1.000Time6:25.50Pace6:25.50
Cumilative:Distance24.000Time2:30:40.90Pace6:16.70
Split 25:Distance1.000Time7:14.90Pace7:14.90
Cumilative:Distance25.000Time2:37:55.80Pace6:19.03
Split 26:Distance1.000Time6:51.90Pace6:51.90
Cumilative:Distance26.000Time2:44:47.70Pace6:20.30
Split 27:Distance0.218Time1:28.60Pace6:46.42
Cumilative:Distance26.218Time2:46:16.30Pace6:20.51
 

Red Crocs Miles: 27.17
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Comments(2)
Sun, Sep 17, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Day of rest. Went to church. We had a regional conference broadcast at the stake center.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Mon, Sep 18, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-18 07:24:55
Workout Totals: Distance6.000Time46:12.20Pace7:42.03
6 total. Usual distances for the kids.
Leg 1:Distance1.000Time8:58.30Pace8:58.30
With Matthew, Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance1.000Time7:23.30Pace7:23.30
With Stephen, William, and Jacob.
Leg 3:Distance1.000Time6:45.90Pace6:45.90
With William and Jacob.
Leg 4:Distance3.000Time23:04.70Pace7:41.57
This may have been with Joseph.

Red Crocs Miles: 6.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Tue, Sep 19, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.570.000.000.628.19

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-19 08:08:00
Workout Totals: Distance8.192Time1:10:42.30Pace8:37.86
Ran 6 in the morning, then the cross-country race in the evening. Times:

myself 3:34
Joseph 3:36
Jacob 3:44
Jenny 4:11
William 4:13
Julia 4:23
Stephen 4:41
Sarah 5:28
Matthew 6:00

I felt OK but not super-great though I think better than I expected to feel. It is hard to tell what that time meant on that course given dubious accuracy and difficult terrain.
Leg 1:Distance1.000Time7:46.50Pace7:46.50
I think this was with William, Jacob, and Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance5.000Time39:40.00Pace7:56.00
I believe this was with Jenny.
Leg 3:Distance0.950Time7:33.30Pace7:57.16
Warm-up before cross-country race.
Leg 4:Distance0.621Time5:28.60Pace8:49.15
Cross-country 1 K.
Split 1:Distance0.621Time3:34.20Pace5:44.93
Cumilative:Distance0.621Time3:34.20Pace5:44.93
My time.
Split 2:Distance0.000Time0:27.20Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance0.621Time4:01.40Pace6:28.73
Kosuke
Split 3:Distance0.000Time0:10.10Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance0.621Time4:11.50Pace6:44.99
Jenny
Split 4:Distance0.000Time0:11.50Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance0.621Time4:23.00Pace7:03.51
Julia
Split 5:Distance0.000Time1:05.60Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance0.621Time5:28.60Pace8:49.15
Sarah
 
Leg 5:Distance0.000Time4:13.70Pace0:00.00
Timing the second heat.
Split 1:Distance0.000Time3:36.90Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance0.000Time3:36.90Pace0:00.00
Joseph
Split 2:Distance0.000Time0:07.90Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance0.000Time3:44.80Pace0:00.00
Jacob
Split 3:Distance0.000Time0:28.90Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance0.000Time4:13.70Pace0:00.00
William
 
Leg 6:Distance0.621Time6:00.20Pace9:40.03
1 K with Matthew

Saucony Type A Miles: 2.19Red Crocs Miles: 6.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Wed, Sep 20, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.800.000.000.259.05

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-20 08:21:01
Workout Totals: Distance9.050Time1:08:37.10Pace7:34.93
Today was an interesting day. I ran 9 total with an uphill quarter sprint at the end. The result surprised me. I ran 83 the week before the marathon, and tried two more times under different circumstances getting 81 and 80 (80 was not at the end of anything long). I thought was feeling a bit more energetic today, so I told Joseph I was expecting 79. Somehow I ran 75.1. Joseph did 76.9.

Kids ran more or less their usual distances. I was finally able to convince Matthew to go back to the old 0.5 on the little boy course routine.

During the fast quarter I felt that the speed gain came mostly from the increased stride length, though I did not count the turnover to verify that.
Leg 1:Distance0.500Time4:13.90Pace8:27.80
With Matthew, Stephen, and Jacob.
Leg 2:Distance1.500Time12:05.50Pace8:03.67
With the above crew minus Matthew plus William.
Leg 3:Distance2.040Time14:25.00Pace7:04.02
With William and Jacob.
Leg 4:Distance5.010Time37:52.70Pace7:33.63
With Joseph.
Split 1:Distance4.760Time36:35.80Pace7:41.30
Cumilative:Distance4.760Time36:35.80Pace7:41.30
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:15.10Pace5:00.40
Cumilative:Distance5.010Time37:50.90Pace7:33.27
Uphill pickup at the end - my time.
Split 3:Distance0.000Time0:01.80Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance5.010Time37:52.70Pace7:33.63
Joseph's finish.
 

Red Crocs Miles: 9.05
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Thu, Sep 21, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.000.000.000.008.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-21 08:41:27
Workout Totals: Distance8.000Time1:00:10.30Pace7:31.29
8 total, usual distances for the kids, easy pace, felt somewhat energetic.
Leg 1:Distance0.500Time4:18.20Pace8:36.40
With Matthew, Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance1.500Time11:54.10Pace7:56.07
With Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 3:Distance6.000Time43:58.00Pace7:19.67
Part with William and Jacob, part with Joseph, part alone.

Red Crocs Miles: 8.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Fri, Sep 22, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.251.000.001.258.50

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-22 08:39:21
Workout Totals: Distance8.498Time1:02:44.70Pace7:23.01
Jacob suggested we should do a mile time trial today, so I took the little boys to the track. I was excited to test what that 75.1 uphill quarter at the end of 8 would show on the track. I was planning to pace Joseph (and Jacob if he could keep up) for the first three quarters, and then kick to see what I had in the last lap.

So I took Joseph through the first 400 in 77 high which did not feel as easy as it should have been based on the uphill run on Wednesday, and then lost power. He had to step forward and help me with the pace. Our next two laps were 83 and 85. He kicked in the last lap running it in 82 and nearly dropped me. We finished side by side in 5:30.0 missing his record by 2 seconds.

Jacob struggled, ran the first lap in 84, then got discouraged and finished the mile in 5:54.

Matthew struggled as well in the 800, some of it was mental. He ran the first lap in 1:55, then he had 3:26 with 100 to go, but then just let his guard down and missed his not very strong record of 3:58.7 by a little over a second in the last 30 meters. He tried again, but only could run 4:16.

William also struggled in the mile - opened with 87, then it all went down to pot and he finished in 6:15.

Stephen did a bit better, but still missed his record in the 800 running 3:20.8. Splits - 47, 52, 53, 48.

I went for more distance after this and noticed that I was very sluggish choosing about 8:00 pace. Yesterday the same level of effort was giving me 7:10. I tried the uphill sprint at the end to get another data point and ran 83.4. I felt the stride length was too short but just did not have the power.

We did have a weather change - temperature dropped about 10F to 44F, there was a light drizzle, and 96% humidity. This should make things a bit harder, but not that hard. There was something else at play. What is odd is that it affected everybody.
 
Leg 1:Distance0.496Time4:00.10Pace8:04.07
With the crew pacing Matthew.
Leg 2:Distance1.000Time5:54.00Pace5:54.00
Pacing Joseph.
Split 1:Distance1.000Time5:30.00Pace5:30.00
Cumilative:Distance1.000Time5:30.00Pace5:30.00
Joseph's time and mine as well.
Split 2:Distance0.000Time0:24.00Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance1.000Time5:54.00Pace5:54.00
Jacob's time.
 
Leg 3:Distance0.496Time4:16.30Pace8:36.73
Crew pacing Matthew for try 2.
Leg 4:Distance0.496Time3:20.80Pace6:44.84
Pacing Stephen - alone.
Leg 5:Distance1.000Time6:15.90Pace6:15.90
Pacing William - alone again.
Leg 6:Distance5.010Time38:57.60Pace7:46.59
More distance alone.
Split 1:Distance4.760Time37:34.20Pace7:53.57
Cumilative:Distance4.760Time37:34.20Pace7:53.57
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:23.40Pace5:33.60
Cumilative:Distance5.010Time38:57.60Pace7:46.59
 

Red Crocs Miles: 8.50
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Sat, Sep 23, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.770.002.001.2517.02

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-23 08:19:08
Workout Totals: Distance17.015Time2:01:33.40Pace7:08.65
Ran with Chad, then with the kids. Paced Sarah with Chad through 3 miles down the canyon in 23:40 (7:50, 7:56, 7:54). Then did a tempo run with Chad - 0.75 up, 1.5 down, 0.75 up. First two with Chad, then the last one hard. Expected Chad to run 95s uphill and 88s downhill. He ended up going faster - 4:34 (91 average) for the first 0.75, then 7:09 (86 average) for the next 1.25. Once I sped up I ran 82, then turned around, 93, 90, 88. Finished in 17:36. Chad got around 18:00. Felt stronger than expected.

Finished 10 with Chad then ran 6 more with the kids. They ran their usual Saturday distances today. Decided to do the quarter test up the hill at the end. The results were fascinating - 76.3 compared to 83 yesterday. Joseph ran 76.7, Jacob 80.5.

Now how in the world does it happen? Wednesday I run 75 four days after a marathon and 14 hours after running a hard 1 K at the end of 8 miles. Then I run 8 easy miles on Thursday, run 1 mile on the track in 5:30 struggling, then at then end of 8 run 83. Then on Saturday I do 16 total with a 3 mile tempo run in the middle, and I am able to run that same quarter in 76!

Two more data points - two weeks ago after racing Layton Classic, a drive home, breakfast, and a short nap, I ran the quarter in 81 at the end of 4 more miles (racing Joseph). Then on Monday I ran the same quarter alone at the end of 10 in 83.

We can allow for one factor - racing Joseph. That make a difference of maybe a second or two. But not 7 or 8! Something very interesting is going on. Fatigue from running appears to be rather irrelevant - I was able to run 76 at the end of the longest and hardest day with some hard running done the day before.

I have been going to bed consistently before 10:30 pm this week which would explain the improvement from pre-marathon 83 to post-marathon 75. But why the regression to 83 on Friday? This does not look like something was just tired, this looks like the entire subsystem was completely shut off, but then the next day it turns back on. Need more data to understand this.
Leg 1:Distance0.360Time3:33.80Pace9:53.89
Warm-up with Chad and Sarah.
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time23:40.10Pace7:53.37
Sarah's tempo run.
Leg 3:Distance1.375Time10:24.20Pace7:33.96
A little jog with Chad to get to the start of the tempo.
Leg 4:Distance3.000Time17:36.50Pace5:52.17
Out-and-back tempo in the canyon.
Split 1:Distance2.000Time11:43.60Pace5:51.80
Cumilative:Distance2.000Time11:43.60Pace5:51.80
With Chad.
Split 2:Distance1.000Time5:52.90Pace5:52.90
Cumilative:Distance3.000Time17:36.50Pace5:52.17
Picked it up.
 
Leg 5:Distance3.270Time17:54.40Pace5:28.56
With Chad to the car.
Leg 6:Distance0.500Time4:16.30Pace8:32.60
With Matthew, Joseph, Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 7:Distance2.500Time21:05.70Pace8:26.28
Same crew minus Matthew.
Leg 8:Distance3.010Time23:02.40Pace7:39.27
With Joseph and Jacob, first mile with William.
Split 1:Distance2.760Time21:41.10Pace7:51.41
Cumilative:Distance2.760Time21:41.10Pace7:51.41
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:16.30Pace5:05.20
Cumilative:Distance3.010Time22:57.40Pace7:37.61
Kick on the uphill.
Split 3:Distance0.000Time0:00.40Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance3.010Time22:57.80Pace7:37.74
Joseph's time.
Split 4:Distance0.000Time0:04.60Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance3.010Time23:02.40Pace7:39.27
Jacob's time.
 

Red Crocs Miles: 17.02
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Sun, Sep 24, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Day of rest. Went to church. Spoke in the Sacrament meeting on Joseph Smith's role as a prophet.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Mon, Sep 25, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.810.000.000.2510.06

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-25 08:23:02
Workout Totals: Distance10.060Time1:20:11.20Pace7:58.25
Had a work meeting in the morning in combination with the late start due to not being able to find Matthew's winter clothes. So split the run in two - 5 in the morning, 5 in the afternoon. Kicked uphill for a quarter at the end of the second one in 76.9. Felt that the stride rate was higher than last week, but the stride length did not want to open up unlike last week. One more data point.
Leg 1:Distance0.500Time4:06.80Pace8:13.60
With Matthew, Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance1.500Time12:35.70Pace8:23.80
Same crew minus Matthew.
Leg 3:Distance3.050Time22:52.20Pace7:29.90
With Jacob - first mile with William.
Leg 4:Distance5.010Time40:36.50Pace8:06.33
With Julia.
Split 1:Distance4.760Time39:19.60Pace8:15.71
Cumilative:Distance4.760Time39:19.60Pace8:15.71
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:16.90Pace5:07.60
Cumilative:Distance5.010Time40:36.50Pace8:06.33
Uphill kick.
 

Red Crocs Miles: 10.06
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Tue, Sep 26, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.420.004.230.5012.15

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-26 09:30:28
Workout Totals: Distance12.150Time1:29:48.10Pace7:23.47
Gathered a few more data points in my adrenal fatigue/training research. So far my hypothesis is this: when the adrenaline cannot push the muscles/cardio to their limit, the unconventional training is more effective than conventional. You do not have to worry about the muscle breakdown or tendon/ligament wear very much - your adrenals will not let you until they are no longer the limit. You do have to be concerned about your sleep and emotional state quite a bit, though.

Basically it boils down to this - when you feel emotionally ready to run hard, you run hard for as long as you look forward to and as often as you look forward to. You structure the workout in a way that makes you look forward to running hard. It is safe to run hard for a just little bit every day as a test. The speed you get by running hard for a little bit highly correlates with what you would have run in longer distances that day.

So to collect some data points and also to try to develop and improve the training method I came up with this for today. First 8 total in the morning with a 2 mile tempo down the canyon. I told myself it is OK run run in 88 per quarter (5:52) pace as long as I kicked in 80 at the end for the last quarter. I started out with two 84s, then ran two 82s - 5:32 for the mile. Then for the next three quarters I only felt like running 84s, which I did. Then in the last quarter I kicked. The kick surprised me - it was 73.6 which allowed me to catch the 5:30 guy and finish in 10:58, last mile in 5:26.

I did a fast quarter uphill at the end of 8 in 77.3 to get another data point. Felt medium stride length and a decent turnover.

In the evening I went to the cross-country race with Sarah and the kids. The distance was 4 K and they moved it to East Bay Golf course, which made it nice - no big hills, just little bumps and some mud from the rain earlier. I made myself look forward to it by planning to pace Jacob for the first 1 K, then catch up to Joseph and pace him for the second 1 K, then if I did not feel good, stay with Joseph, and if I did, take off and catch the leaders. If I still felt very good, pass the leaders.

I was able to follow the plan more or less. Joseph fell back in the middle of the second lap, but I did not pick it up until the end. I passed the leaders in the middle of the third lap and was able to open up a 17 second gap over the remaining 1.3 K or so feeling very strong, energetic and positive. Times:

myself 15:05
Joseph 15:35
Jacob 16:09
William 18:11
Julia 19:51
Stephen 21:46
Sarah 22:44
Matthew 26:06

Jenny paced Matthew.
Leg 1:Distance4.030Time31:28.30Pace7:48.56
Warm-up.
Leg 2:Distance2.000Time10:58.00Pace5:29.00
Tempo run with a kick.
Split 1:Distance1.750Time9:44.40Pace5:33.94
Cumilative:Distance1.750Time9:44.40Pace5:33.94
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:13.60Pace4:54.40
Cumilative:Distance2.000Time10:58.00Pace5:29.00
 
Leg 3:Distance2.030Time15:26.80Pace7:36.55
Cool-down with a kick for a quarter on the uphill.
Split 1:Distance1.780Time14:09.50Pace7:57.25
Cumilative:Distance1.780Time14:09.50Pace7:57.25
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:17.30Pace5:09.20
Cumilative:Distance2.030Time15:26.80Pace7:36.55
Kick.
 
Leg 4:Distance0.700Time5:48.20Pace8:17.43
Warm-up before the cross-country race.
Leg 5:Distance3.390Time26:06.80Pace7:42.18
Cross-country race - 4 K.
Split 1:Distance2.480Time15:05.90Pace6:05.28
Cumilative:Distance2.480Time15:05.90Pace6:05.28
My time.
Split 2:Distance0.000Time0:30.00Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance2.480Time15:35.90Pace6:17.38
Joseph.
Split 3:Distance0.000Time0:33.20Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance2.480Time16:09.10Pace6:30.77
Jacob.
Split 4:Distance0.000Time2:02.10Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance2.480Time18:11.20Pace7:20.00
William.
Split 5:Distance0.420Time3:35.10Pace8:32.14
Cumilative:Distance2.900Time21:46.30Pace7:30.45
Stephen.
Split 6:Distance0.110Time0:58.60Pace8:52.73
Cumilative:Distance3.010Time22:44.90Pace7:33.46
Sarah.
Split 7:Distance0.380Time3:21.90Pace8:51.32
Cumilative:Distance3.390Time26:06.80Pace7:42.18
Matthew.
 

Saucony Type A Miles: 4.09Red Crocs Miles: 8.06
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Wed, Sep 27, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.760.000.000.2510.01

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-27 08:51:29
Workout Totals: Distance10.010Time1:19:57.70Pace7:59.29
Adrenal gland research continues. Ran easy with the kids, then added 3 miles on my own with the last quarter kicking uphill. Managed 76.0 - fastest time so far alone. Joseph and Jacob felt tired from the 4 K. Joseph still did 5, Jacob did only 4 miles. William 3. Stephen the usual 2, Matthew 0.5.

One observation for today. I felt that anything faster than 7:30 was creating a subtle energy drain. So I kept the pace slow.

In the kick the stride length felt a bit longer, but not quite as long as it did last week. My intuition, which comes from the memory of my faster shape a few years ago, tells me that to reach fast speeds comfortably it needs to get long.
Leg 1:Distance0.500Time4:34.10Pace9:08.20
With Jacob, William, Stephen, and Matthew.
Leg 2:Distance1.500Time12:45.60Pace8:30.40
With the gang minus Matthew.
Leg 3:Distance5.000Time40:00.40Pace8:00.08
With Joseph.
Leg 4:Distance3.010Time22:37.60Pace7:31.03
Alone.
Split 1:Distance2.760Time21:21.60Pace7:44.35
Cumilative:Distance2.760Time21:21.60Pace7:44.35
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:16.00Pace5:04.00
Cumilative:Distance3.010Time22:37.60Pace7:31.03
Uphill kick.
 

Red Crocs Miles: 10.01
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Thu, Sep 28, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.760.000.000.2510.01

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-28 09:10:16
Workout Totals: Distance10.010Time1:17:04.20Pace7:41.96
10 total. Some with the kids. Joseph was not feeling 100% today, had an oncoming cold, so I told him to run only 3. Otherwise usual distances for everybody. Matthew ran 3:58.2 for 0.5 on the out and back course which is a course record and is slightly faster than his 800 track PR. Splits were 1:58/2:00.

I did another adrenal test with a fast quarter at the end of the run. Got 76.4. Felt the stride length was longer, but I had a hard time combining sustained stride length with high turnover in a balanced way - especially as the grade got steeper.

I must mention that I have gotten Ercolina, a special indoor cross-country ski machine, that unlike every cross-country ski trainer, gives your arms, back, abdominals, gluts, and hamstrings a real cross-country skiing muscle engagement. It is sold by a company in Italy and is used by the world's best cross-country skiers during off-season to stay in shape. I have been using it for about 5-10 minutes a day over the last week and a half in hopes of strengthening the supporting muscles to partially compensate for the L-4/L-5 defect. I still have a lot to learn about how to use it effectively. What I have felt from it so far is that sometimes I am able to find extra support when running and it feels like I have some extra power, and sometimes it just disappears. Lets see what happens after a couple of more weeks.
Leg 1:Distance0.500Time3:58.20Pace7:56.40
With Jacob, William, Stephen, and Matthew.
Leg 2:Distance1.500Time12:13.20Pace8:08.80
Same crew without Matthew.
Leg 3:Distance8.010Time1:00:52.80Pace7:36.03
First 1.5 with Joseph, the rest alone.
Split 1:Distance7.760Time59:36.40Pace7:40.88
Cumilative:Distance7.760Time59:36.40Pace7:40.88
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:16.40Pace5:05.60
Cumilative:Distance8.010Time1:00:52.80Pace7:36.03
 

Red Crocs Miles: 10.01
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Fri, Sep 29, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.301.501.750.5010.05

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-29 09:04:00
Workout Totals: Distance10.042Time1:10:34.80Pace7:01.71
Today we did some time trials on the track, and they went better than last week.

Matthew got a PR in the 800 with 3:49.3 - splits 24,27(51),28,30(58,1:49),31,30(1:01),30,29(59,2:00). I think he actually has even more speed than that, but the challenge is getting it to come out on the track. Family record in the 4 and under division.

One lesson I learned is that a motivated four-year-old can run himself into the ground if you let him. Matthew insisted for about a week and a half on running one mile a day on the "big boy" course which is very hilly. I though if he is volunteering he should be able to handle the stress - thinking (incorrectly) that four-year-olds always choose to run way below what they can handle. On the first day he ran 8:07, which shocked me. But then with each day he started getting slower and slower. Finally when he slowed down to 8:58 I told him he had to go back to the little boy course which is mostly flat and run only half a mile. After a week of running only half mile his speed came back.

William broke 6:00 for the first time running 5:59.3. Jacob helped pace him. He opened with 87. I was a bit concerned that we were going to have the repeat of last week as I sensed some signs of struggle. But then in the second lap he held it together better than I though he would running 91, and then continued to hold it together in the third lap with 92. In the last lap he was able to kick in 87 which brought him his first sub-6:00. And he managed to do it before turning 9 - our second child to achieve this (Benjamin broke 6:00 at 11, Joseph at 9).

Stephen ran an 800 PR as well - 3:13.3 improving by 4 seconds. Knowing that he likes to sandbag I told him to start out fast. He opened in 22, then settled to 24 (46), then dragged through the next 200 in 50 hitting 400 in 1:36. At this point I got on his case, but it did not really click for another 200 - 2:27 split at 600 (51). Then I told him - kick like you did in the mile, and he did - 24, 22 (46) and that got him the new record.

I did not have Joseph and Jacob run time trials today. Joseph was recovering from a cold and ran only 4 miles. Jacob I think is just overtrained from running 5 miles a day too often.

Jacob and Matthew are the two of our children that we need to watch out for in the matters of overtraining. They are both very much goal oriented. In fact, both had a similar problem at the age of 3 - when asked to say a family prayer they both tried very hard and got very upset if they could not do it. Both are hard workers and like to push the envelope in training - even though Matthew is only 4.

After the time trials, I did the rest of my run (total of 10 today). 2 with Joseph, the rest alone. I repeated the 2 mile tempo run down the canyon from Tuesday. In fact, I hit pretty much every split in the exact same time with the total at any point up to 1.75 varying by no more than 2 seconds. I had 5:33 at the mile. Somehow I splipped to 85 between 1.5 and 1.75. But then I kicked and it was a surprise. I was not feeling super-energetic, so I though maybe I'll run 75. But it was 71.6 with the total time 10:56.6, last mile 5:23. I felt I reached a good balanced between stride length and turnover on this one.

Then at the very end of the run I did my usual uphill quarter kick. This time the scientific experiment was being obstructed by mild headwind. I ended up with 77.6, 0.5 slower than under similar circumstances on Tuesday - with the difference of small headwind, slightly more running total, more running fast, and faster kick in the tempo run.

All these numbers are good for tracking down what different things do to me.
Leg 1:Distance0.496Time3:49.30Pace7:42.30
Matthew's time trial.
Leg 2:Distance1.000Time5:59.30Pace5:59.30
William's time trial.
Leg 3:Distance0.496Time3:13.30Pace6:29.72
Stephen's time trial.
Leg 4:Distance4.020Time31:31.10Pace7:50.42
Warm-up.
Leg 5:Distance2.000Time10:56.60Pace5:28.30
Tempo down the canyon.
Split 1:Distance1.750Time9:45.00Pace5:34.29
Cumilative:Distance1.750Time9:45.00Pace5:34.29
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:11.60Pace4:46.40
Cumilative:Distance2.000Time10:56.60Pace5:28.30
 
Leg 6:Distance2.030Time15:05.20Pace7:25.91
Cool-down with a kick.
Split 1:Distance1.780Time13:47.60Pace7:44.94
Cumilative:Distance1.780Time13:47.60Pace7:44.94
Split 2:Distance0.250Time1:17.60Pace5:10.40
Cumilative:Distance2.030Time15:05.20Pace7:25.91
 

Red Crocs Miles: 10.04
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Comments(7)
Sat, Sep 30, 2017
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.930.001.440.449.81

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2017-09-30 08:11:42
Workout Totals: Distance9.800Time1:11:54.30Pace7:20.23
Did not get good sleep last night, so I did not do anything formally fast today. Ran 1.437 up the canyon with the BYU team (7:39 for the first 1.25, then they slowed down to 6:24 trying to figure out what they were doing). This was quite an experience - I think compared to past years there were more of them and they were going faster. So as we went we kept sweeping off everything in front of us. Once in a while an unsuspecting runner all of a sudden would find himself in the middle of a teleported stampede.

I was surprised that the pace felt quite comfortable - I felt I could have run at least 6 miles like that if the grade stayed constant.

Then it was time for me to turn around - I actually went a bit further than I planned. I caught up to Jenny on the way back (she did 8), and both of us did the uphill quarter kick at the end - I got 76.9, she got 94.

Kids otherwise ran their usual distances - except I had Jacob run only 4 to help him recover better. We watched General Conference for the rest of the day.
Leg 1:Distance0.500Time4:04.20Pace8:08.40
With Matthew, Jacob, William, and Stephen.
Leg 2:Distance4.645Time33:51.10Pace7:17.27
Part with the kids, part alone, part with the BYU team.
Split 1:Distance3.208Time24:59.80Pace7:47.52
Cumilative:Distance3.208Time24:59.80Pace7:47.52
Most of it with Jenny.
Split 2:Distance1.437Time8:51.30Pace6:09.73
Cumilative:Distance4.645Time33:51.10Pace7:17.27
With the BYU team up the canyon.
 
Leg 3:Distance4.655Time33:59.00Pace7:18.02
Most of it with Jenny.
Split 1:Distance1.000Time7:18.80Pace7:18.80
Cumilative:Distance1.000Time7:18.80Pace7:18.80
Alone.
Split 2:Distance0.187Time1:00.60Pace5:24.06
Cumilative:Distance1.187Time8:19.40Pace7:00.72
Caught up to Jenny.
Split 3:Distance3.218Time24:22.70Pace7:34.54
Cumilative:Distance4.405Time32:42.10Pace7:25.43
With Jenny.
Split 4:Distance0.250Time1:16.90Pace5:07.60
Cumilative:Distance4.655Time33:59.00Pace7:18.02
Kick uphill.
 

Red Crocs Miles: 9.80
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Totals
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
219.7829.4635.746.43291.41
Red Crocs Miles: 259.94Saucony Type A Miles: 14.19
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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