Breaking the Wall

A.M. 9 with Mike. Did a pickup for 600 m in 2:08 at the end. 3 more with Benjamin in 23:18. Joseph ran the first mile with us in 7:55. Jenny and Julia ran 2 including 0.5 with Jacob.

A.M. 12 miles total. Ran with Mike, we did a pickup for 0.5 in 2:27.6, 3 with Benjamin, including 1 with Joseph. Jenny and Julia ran 2 including 0.5 with Jacob.

A.M. Ran with Mike. Total of 9. Jenny and Julia ran 2, including 0.5 with Jacob.

P.M.  3 with Benjamin including 1 with Joseph.

A.M.Total of 12. Ran with Mike, then 2 with Benjamin including 1 with Joseph. Jenny and Julia ran 2, including 0.5 with Jacob. Benjamin asked me how to sustain fast pace for a long time. I thought for a moment, and a parallel came to me. I said, view it as eating an orange. It is sour, but also sweet. If it was just sweet, it would not be an orange, and it actually would not taste so good. We are able to enjoy oranges because we allow the sour component of the taste to enhance rather than detract from the sweetness.  When you run fast, things get sour because of the pain, but they are also sweet because of the pace. To be a good runner you must learn to enjoy the mix, take it as a whole. Speed alone without the pain to reach it is worthless. Driving 120 mph gets old fast, and frequently results in a fine, while running 10 times slower (5:00 mile) never does and frequently results in prize money. Why? Because the former is an orange without the vitamin C and other important nutrients that contribute to its sour taste.

A.M. Total of 15. Ran with Mike, then 2 with Benjamin including 1 with Joseph. Mike and I did a 2.5 pickup in 14:23. It started very slow - first quarter in 94, then we sped up. Last mile was 5:38. Jenny and Julia ran 2, including 0.5 with Jacob.

A.M. Went to the Utah XC Championship to watch Benjamin and Jenny. Ran 4 miles while there. Benjamin got 6th in the 3 K in 13:09 in Midgets - good race. Jenny was 3rd in Bantums with 16:11 - she was not feeling well, but the competition was not very deep. The course was either slow or long or both. Aiden who had just run 18;55 5 K could only pull off 12:07 in a competitive race. Julia ran 2 including 0.5 with Jacob.

P.M. Added 8 more miles, 7 with Sarah riding alongside on a bike, and 1 with Joseph. Felt like I was getting over the traces of the cold that threatened to develop into trouble, so I decided to do a few pickups targeting 5:20 pace. First 2000 in 6:34 (5:15 pace), then 1200 in 4:02, and 600 in 2:00.

Day of rest. Went to church. We had a fast and testimony meeting, then a lesson on the spirit world in Sunday school, and a less on the plan of salvation in the Elder's Quorum.

A.M. Total of 12. Ran with Mike, we did a 0.75 pickup in 3:49 (5:05 pace). Jenny and Julia ran 2 including 1 with me, and 0.5 with Jacob. 3 with Benjamin including 1 with Joseph.

A.M. Total of 12. Ran with Mike, we did a 1000 pickup in 3:21, 1 with Jenny and Julia, they ran 1 more, including 0.5 with Jacob. 3 with Benjamin including 1 with Joseph.

A.M. Total of 12. Ran with Mike, we did 1.5 in 7:54. It felt hard, but I survived it. 1 with Jenny and Julia, 3 with Benjamin including 1 with Joseph. Jenny and Julia ended up with a total of 2 including 0.5 with Jacob.

A.M. 12 including kids runs. Benjamin ran 3, Jenny and Julia ran 2, Joseph ran 1. Jacob was sick, did not run.

A.M. Total of 13.5. Ran with Mike, we did a 1K pickup in 3:13, felt really good. Then kids runs, some overlapping. Benjamin ran 3, Jenny and Julia ran 2.5, Joseph ran 1. Jacob was still sick, did not run.

A.M. 20 miles with Mike. The first 4 were with the kids. Benjamin ran 3, Jenny and Julia ran 2, Joseph ran 1, and Jacob did 0.5. Mike and I did a workout on the trail practicing 5:20 pace. 2000 in 6:35, than one went well, I felt strong. Then we jogged 400, and started another. Mike was leading, but too slow, so we went through the 400 in 82, then I took over and Mike fell back, which surprised me. I went on to battle the leaves on the trail and finished it out in 6:47, probably an honest 6:40 effort if you adjust for the leaves on that section. Something was wrong with Mike, 7:20 was all he could do. So we jogged some, and then did 1000. I wanted to see what was wrong with Mike. He handled that one well, we did 3:17. That was encouraging, and rather odd as well. What was the cause of that 7:20 deal earlier? To get an idea  we did 5:20 pace to Mike's failure but not exceeding 2000. He made it to 600 or so then started falling back, I ran to 1200 in 3:59, he did 4:09. This was probably low glycogen for him. When glycogen runs low, the body begins to conserve and the ability to sustain high power output is reduced, although 2-3 minute bursts of power are possible.

 At the end we did 1.5 at 5:50 pace, and Mike handled it fine.

Day of rest. Went to church. The talks in Sacrament meeting were on pride. The lesson in Sunday school was on the gathering of Israel, or in other words, the descendants of Jacob. The lesson in the Elder's Quorum was on repentance.

A.M. Total of 12.3. Ran with Mike first, we did a 0.75 pickup in 3:55. Then ran with the kid.s. Benjamin did 3, Joseph did 1, Jenny and Julia 2, and Jacob 0.5.

A.M. Total of 12. Ran with Mike we did 1200 in 3:57 + 800 in 2:32. Then ran with the kids. Benjamin did 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob 0.5.

A.M. Total of 13. Ran with Mike, we did 1.75 in 9:17 (5:18 pace). Then with the kids - Benjamin did 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob 0.5.

A.M. Ran with Mike, then with the kids. Total of 12. Benjamin did 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob 0.5.

A.M. Total of 12. Ran with Mike, we did 0.75 in 3:50. Then with the kids. Benjamin did 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob 0.25.

A.M. Ran with Mike. We did a long run - 20 miles. Ran with the kids for the first 2. Jenny and Julia ran 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob 0.5. Mike and I did 6x1K in the middle with 400 recovery. Times: 3:12, 3:15, 3:17, 3:15, 3:19, 3:15, 3:15. We also ran the last 0.5 at a tempo pace in 2:53.

P.M. Benjamin ran 3. I went 1 with him on a scooter, and then ran the last 2.

Day of rest. Went to church. We had the Primary children do a presentation during the Sacrament meeting. The lesson in Sunday school was on the Second Coming. The lesson in the Elder's Quorum was on baptism. When I got home, I was tired and took a nap.

A.M. Total of 12. Ran with Mike, we did 0.75 in 4:01. Then with the kids. Benjamin ran 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob 0.5.

A.M. Total of 12. Ran with Mike. We did 0.75 in 3:57. Then with the kids. Benjamin ran 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob 0.5.

A.M. Ran with Mike. We did a pickup for 0.25 in 78. Then with the kids. Benjamin did 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob 0.25.

A.M. Earn Your Turkey 4 miler - 22:25, 9th place.

It was around 10 F at thes start.  As far as I remmeber, last time I raced in temperatures that cold was cross-country 3 K 1986 in Moscow, and I am not even sure if it was that cold. I remember my time too - 11:08 for the 3 K.  I have trained enough in cold weather to know, however, that there is a world of difference between 25 F and 10 F for performance. Something happens in between. In 25 F you lose maybe 5 seconds a mile. In 10 F you lose a lot more. My original plan was to try to maintain 5:20s, but with the conditions it was out of the window. So I just ran.

The mile markers were placed by the GPS according to Hawk, and sure enough they were in the wrong spots. Back in the old days Hawk used the wheel, and he would get them right expect he would habitually confuse marker 1 and 3 as they were too close together, but far apart enough where you would definitely notice a dog-slow third mile and an impossibly fast last mile even if you adjust for the kick. Anyway, I still remember where the right markers are enough to know when they are not where they are supposed to be, and the GPS ones were not. But I did not know the right marker position well enough to be able to take my splits. So I'll post the "official" marker splits with an adjustment guess.

First mile officially 5:17, more likely 5:23. Second 5:29, probably about right. Third officially 5:56, more likely 5:50. Last mile 5:43, probably about right. I ran with Mike up to about 1.7, then the legs sarted to give out. However, I was able to make a last ditih effort to catch up to a high school runner whose name I have forgotten and latch on. He pulled me to a little bit after 3 miles, then I made a feeble effort to pass him, which he fought off, then with half a mile to go I put in all that I had into passing him and dropping him and was able to gap, but it was not enough to hold him off in the kick. Additionally Clark Nielsen outkciked me as well, but at least I did not get chicked like last year, and the time was 40 seconds faster in spite of much worse conditions. Of course, last year I was recovering from a cold and a foot injury as well so the comparison is not as good as it looks.

Mike had a great race fininshing in 21:56. Who knows what that is worth. Based on workouts I was expecting him to run 21:10 in ideal (for Novermber) conditions, but I could have been wrong one way or the other. Danny Moody won with 20:45. Last year he did 19:38. Amber Andrews won with 24:01 thie year vs last year's 23:02.  Both of them are reasonably consistent performers, but not clock-consistent. But at least we have some baseline.

Then it was time for kids races. They were full of adventure. First William ran 100 meters.  It was too late when we realized his shoes had been left in a bag too far away from the start. So we borrowed the shoes from Jacob which were too big. those fell off once, I put them back on. He made it to the finish in third place in 1:12. That was not as good as Jacob's win in 2008, or Joseph's 46 in 2007, but not as bad as some of Benjamin's DNS'  at that age. The challenge with William is that he does not talk much yet, so it is hard to explain to him what he is supposed to do, especially when it is 15 F temperature. He did quite well for the conditions.

Next it was Jacob's turn. He was in the lead. Half way through Hawk gave me a hard time about holding his hand even though in the past the practice was that parents could hold the kids' hand in the 3-4 age group, and they did not say anything about that at the start. I let go, but Jacob still ran strong and finished in first place in 1:57 for 400 meters.

Then Julia and Joseph ran in the 800 meter race. Julia chicked the field with 3:39, which pleasantly surprised me. She's been having a hard time holding pace in her training runs, so I was expecting her to blow up, but she did not. Joseph took 2nd in his age division with 4:17, which is about what I expected. He has the speed, but not the mental maturity, and if I could hold his hand to help him stay focused, it would have been around 3:45, but in the 5-6 age division you do not hold the hand. In any case, it was not bad given the cold temperature.

The real adventure came in the mile race. They started it without warning, so whoever was at the start at that time got to start on time, and others had to run from behind.  Benjamin got to start on time, while Jenny was about 2:30-3:00 late, which is an absulute disaster in the mile.  Benjamin took 3rd with 6:09 after a 12-year kid whose name I do not remember and Aiden Troutner. Jenny's last quarter was 1:46, and her official time was 9:47 which was good enough for 5th place, but of course does not reflect her true fitness.

A.M. Ran with Mike, then with the kids, total of 12. Benjamin did 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Jacob 0.5, and Joseph 1 mile.

A.M. Ran with Mike. Cut the long run short due to indigestion. All places from 8;00 to 5:30 felt the same - miserable. Most of the run was at 6:40 pace. So ended up with 15.7 including 3 with Benjamin at the end. Jenny did 2, Joseph 1, Jacob 0.5. Julia had the same problem as me with the stomach, did not run. 

Day of rest. Went to church. Had talks on something that does not quite sound like a religious topic - time management. But it recently has become a spiritual matter. There are a lot of good things you can do. So many that it becomes easy to forget to do the things of the greatest spiritual value.

The lesson in Sunday school was on the life after Christ's return to the Earth. The lesson in the Elder's Quorum was on missionary work.

A.M. Ran with Mike then with the kids. Total of 12. Benjamin did 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Jacob 0.5, Joseph 1.

A.M. Ran with Mike then with the kids. Total of 12. Benjamin - 3, Jenny and Julia - 2, Jacob - 0.5, Joseph 1.