Breaking the Wall

Week starting Jan 12, 2014

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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: 40.31 Year: 3073.12
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
68.551.259.002.0080.80
Green Crocs 6 Miles: 44.60
Night Sleep Time: 32.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 32.00
Sun, Jan 12, 2014
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Day of rest. Talked to family in Russia on Skype. Benjamin got to practice his Russian which is getting decent. Went to church. Had a busy evening with the missionaries - they had two discussions in our ward.

Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
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Mon, Jan 13, 2014
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-01-13 07:58:27
Workout Totals
Distance Time Pace
12.000 1:37:01.50 8:05.12
12 total. Benjamin did 9, Joseph and Jacob 3, William 1, Jenny 3, Julia 2.
Leg 1
Distance Time Pace Comment
3 27:00.10. 9:00.03 With Benjamin, Joseph and Jacob.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 3.000 27:00.10 9:00.03
Leg 2
Distance Time Pace Comment
6 47:46.50. 7:57.75 With Benjamin. Discussed vector and scalar products, and how to find the volume of a parallelepiped formed by three vectors in 3-D. My spell checker fussed about "parallelepiped" even after I double and triple checked the spelling, but the word is actually known to Russians well enough to be mentioned in a popular song.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 6.000 47:46.50 7:57.75
Leg 3
Distance Time Pace Comment
3 22:14.90. 7:24.97 Alone.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 3.000 22:14.90 7:24.97

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Tue, Jan 14, 2014
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.200.004.000.0012.20

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-01-14 08:00:01
Workout Totals
DistanceTimePace
12.2001:34:25.807:44.41
Total of 12. Did a workout with Benjamin 2x2 miles, up and down. Joseph did 4, Jacob 2, William 1, Jenny 3, Julia 2.
Leg 1
DistanceTimePaceComment
433:49.20.8:27.30With Joseph. Jacob did 2 with Benjamin in the meantime.
Split#DistanceTimePaceComment
14.00033:49.208:27.30
Leg 2
DistanceTimePaceComment
1.613:19.80.8:19.87Warm-up with Benjamin.
Split#DistanceTimePaceComment
11.60013:19.808:19.87
Leg 3
DistanceTimePaceComment
211:51.00.5:55.502 up the Provo Canyon. Was able to stay with Benjamin. It did help that he took the wind for me, there was plenty of it. First mile was 5:58, second in 5:53. I was happy to prove to myself that I can still run that stretch at sub-6:00 pace.
Split#DistanceTimePaceComment
12.00011:51.005:55.50
Leg 4
DistanceTimePaceComment
0.55:49.90.11:39.80Very slow recovery jog.
Split#DistanceTimePaceComment
10.5005:49.9011:39.80
Leg 5
DistanceTimePaceComment
210:49.50.5:24.75Benjamin was on the move. Opened with a 76 quarter, at that point I decided I needed to drop back. His first mile was 5:07, mine 5:21. He then did 2:41 "resting" half followed by 2:32 - 10:20 total and 5:13 for the last mile. I closed in 5:28 improving my time from last week by 7 seconds.
Split#DistanceTimePaceComment
12.00010:49.505:24.75
Leg 6
DistanceTimePaceComment
1.614:50.10.9:16.31Cooldown with Benjamin.
Split#DistanceTimePaceComment
11.60014:50.109:16.31
Leg 7
DistanceTimePaceComment
0.53:56.30.7:52.60Added a little extra.
Split#DistanceTimePaceComment
10.5003:56.307:52.60

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Wed, Jan 15, 2014
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-01-15 08:21:33
Workout Totals
Distance Time Pace
12.000 1:34:47.20 7:53.93
12 miles total. Joseph and Jacob did 3, Benjamin 9, Jenny 4, Julia 3, William 1.
Leg 1
Distance Time Pace Comment
3 26:10.10. 8:43.37 With Benjamin, Joseph, and Jacob.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 3.000 26:10.10 8:43.37  
Leg 2
Distance Time Pace Comment
6 47:40.40. 7:56.73 With Benjamin. Discussed how to calculate the distance from a point to a place given the equation of the plane and coordinates of the point - BYU Math 314.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 6.000 47:40.40 7:56.73  
Leg 3
Distance Time Pace Comment
3 20:56.70. 6:58.90 Alone. Went a little quicker - no conversation partner to distract me.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 3.000 20:56.70 6:58.90  

Green Crocs 6 Miles: 12.00
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
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Thu, Jan 16, 2014
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.600.000.002.0012.60

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-01-16 08:10:38
Workout Totals
Distance Time Pace
12.600 1:41:53.10 8:05.17
Total of 12.6. Joseph did 4, Jacob 2, William 1, Benjamin 10.6, Jenny 4, Julia 3. Benjamin and I did a workout - 2x1 mile down the canyon, details below.
Leg 1
Distance Time Pace Comment
4 34:31.20. 8:37.80 With Joseph.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 4.000 34:31.20 8:37.80  
Leg 2
Distance Time Pace Comment
3.3 28:15.20. 8:33.70 With Benjamin to the start of the magic canyon mile.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 3.300 28:15.20 8:33.70  
Leg 3
Distance Time Pace Comment
1 5:05.00. 5:05.00 Benjamin's assignment was to run 76,75,74,74. My goal was to make it to the half mark and then not plop too badly. We both reached our goals, except the pacing was a little erratic. We opened with 75, then 76, then Benjamin dropped me and finished in 4:59. Nevertheless I ran my fastest mile of the year.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 1.000 5:05.00 5:05.00  
Leg 4
Distance Time Pace Comment
1 9:46.00. 9:46.00 Recovery jog back to the start of the magic canyon mile.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 1.000 9:46.00 9:46.00  
Leg 5
Distance Time Pace Comment
1 5:07.00. 5:07.00 Benjamin's assignment on this one was 76,75,74,68. My goal was to make it to the half again. I reached my goal. Benjamin opened with 75 then 74, 72, and 70. His 72 was not even, though - around 1000 he really kicked into gear and dropped me. He ended up with 4:51, which is a 1 second course PR for him. Not bad for the conditions. The temperature was around 25 F, and we wore a lot of clothes. I felt the cold in particular in the last quarter when the oxygen update requirement starts going through the roof - felt like I could not quite get enough. First half was actually not too bad - probably because you can cheat for part of it and run anaerobically.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 1.000 5:07.00 5:07.00  
Leg 6
Distance Time Pace Comment
2.3 19:08.70. 8:19.43 Cool-down back to the house.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 2.300 19:08.70 8:19.43  

Green Crocs 6 Miles: 12.60
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
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Fri, Jan 17, 2014
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-01-17 07:49:23
Workout Totals
DistanceTimePace
12.0001:37:45.208:08.77
Total of 12. Benjamin did 9, Jenny 4, Julia 3, Joseph and Jacob 2, William 1.
Leg 1
DistanceTimePaceComment
326:48.90.8:56.30With Benjamin, Joseph, and Jacob.
Split#DistanceTimePaceComment
13.00026:48.908:56.30
Leg 2
DistanceTimePaceComment
650:08.30.8:21.38With Benjamin. We got immersed into a discussion of eigenvectors and eigenvalues (BYU Math 313 which he plans to challenge) and ended up on the wrong side of the 8:00 guy.
Split#DistanceTimePaceComment
16.00050:08.308:21.38
Leg 3
DistanceTimePaceComment
320:48.00.6:56.00I made up a little for the linear algebra slow-down earlier but did not want to run a tempo effort just to make the average sub-8:00.
Split#DistanceTimePaceComment
13.00020:48.006:56.00
20.0000:00.000:00.00

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Sat, Jan 18, 2014
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.751.255.000.0020.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-01-18 08:14:33
Workout Totals
Distance Time Pace
20.000 2:33:47.00 7:41.35
20 mile run. Benjamin did 12.9, Jenny 4, Julia 3, Joseph 4, Jacob 2, William 1. Benjamin and I did a workout - 1 mile tempo up the canyon, and then 4 mile down. Details below.
Leg 1
Distance Time Pace Comment
4 35:11.70. 8:47.92 With Joseph. Benjamin ran 2 with Jacob.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 4.000 35:11.70 8:47.92  
Leg 2
Distance Time Pace Comment
2.3 19:04.70. 8:17.70 Warm-up with Benjamin.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 2.300 19:04.70 8:17.70  
Leg 3
Distance Time Pace Comment
1 5:47.80. 5:47.80 Tempo mile up the canyon. Was happy to hit a solid sub-6:00.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 1.000 5:47.80 5:47.80  
Leg 4
Distance Time Pace Comment
2.1 20:10.30. 9:36.33 Recovery jog up the canyon.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 2.100 20:10.30 9:36.33  
Leg 5
Distance Time Pace Comment
4 22:43.80. 5:40.95 Tempo down the canyon from the Nunn's Park highway bridge to the magic spot on the trail exactly 4 miles away. Our splits were 5:47, 5:40, 5:40, 5:36. This run was easy for Benjamin, and not yet too hard for me either, but it provided good stimulus at the end of the week and in the middle of a long run.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 4.000 22:43.80 5:40.95  
Leg 6
Distance Time Pace Comment
1.5 13:55.90. 9:17.27 Cool-down to the house.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 1.500 13:55.90 9:17.27  
Leg 7
Distance Time Pace Comment
5.1 36:52.80. 7:13.88 Ran this one alone. Did a pickup for 2K in the middle.
Split# Distance Time Pace Comment
1 3.100 23:25.40 7:33.35 From the house to the magic spot in the canyon, then back to the 2 mile mark from the house - easy pace.
2 1.250 7:30.50 6:00.40 Tempo pickup. Struggled to keep the pace - had to concentrate.
3 0.750 5:56.90 7:55.87 Cool-down to the house.

Green Crocs 6 Miles: 20.00
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
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Totals
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
68.551.259.002.0080.80
Green Crocs 6 Miles: 44.60
Night Sleep Time: 32.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 32.00
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