Breaking the Wall

Mesa Half Marathon

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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: 72.31 Year: 3105.12
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
49.990.0014.110.0064.10
Lopsie Sports Sandals Miles: 64.09
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Sun, Feb 06, 2022
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Day of rest. Went to church - our ward, then the Russian branch. Fast Sunday.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Mon, Feb 07, 2022
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2022-02-07 08:38:17
Workout Totals: Distance12.000Time1:33:05.50Pace7:45.46
12 total, easy pace, usual distances for everybody.
Leg 1:
Distance8.000Time1:01:37.20Pace7:42.15ZoneEasy Miles
With Joseph and Jacob.
Leg 2:
Distance4.000Time31:28.30Pace7:52.07ZoneEasy Miles
With William and Matthew, part with Stephen.

Lopsie Sports Sandals Miles: 12.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Add Comment
Tue, Feb 08, 2022
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2022-02-08 08:36:52
Workout Totals: Distance12.000Time1:33:01.20Pace7:45.10
12 total, easy pace, usual distances for everybody.
Leg 1:
Distance8.000Time1:01:34.60Pace7:41.82ZoneEasy Miles
With Joseph and Jacob.
Leg 2:
Distance4.000Time31:26.60Pace7:51.65ZoneEasy Miles
With William and Matthew, part with Stephen.

Lopsie Sports Sandals Miles: 12.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Add Comment
Wed, Feb 09, 2022
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.001.000.0010.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2022-02-09 08:41:34
Workout Totals: Distance10.000Time1:17:36.30Pace7:45.63
10 total, start of the taper for the Mesa Half. Joseph and Jacob did 6, William, Stephen, and Matthew did their usual 4. Joseph, Jacob, and I did a mile pickup in 6:09. Joseph set the pace.

Benjamin did a 5 K tempo on his loop course in 16:16.
Leg 1:
Distance6.000Time46:15.80Pace7:42.63
With Joseph and Jacob.
Split 1:Distance2.000Time15:42.10Pace7:51.05ZoneEasy Miles
Cumilative:Distance2.000Time15:42.10Pace7:51.05
Split 2:Distance1.000Time6:09.40Pace6:09.40ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance3.000Time21:51.50Pace7:17.17
Split 3:Distance3.000Time24:24.30Pace8:08.10ZoneEasy Miles
Cumilative:Distance6.000Time46:15.80Pace7:42.63
 
Leg 2:
Distance4.000Time31:20.50Pace7:50.12ZoneEasy Miles
With William and Matthew, part with Stephen.

Lopsie Sports Sandals Miles: 10.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Thu, Feb 10, 2022
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.130.000.000.008.13

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2022-02-10 10:52:31
Workout Totals: Distance8.130Time1:02:31.30Pace7:41.41
8 total in St. George on the way to Mesa, taper continues. Joseph and Jacob did 4, William, Stephen and Matthew 3.
Leg 1:
Distance0.500Time4:21.90Pace8:43.80ZoneEasy Miles
With Bella, Joseph, Jacob, William, Stephen and Matthew.
Leg 2:
Distance1.500Time12:09.10Pace8:06.07ZoneEasy Miles
With Mary, Joseph, Jacob, William, Stephen and Matthew.
Leg 3:
Distance0.130Time1:34.80Pace12:09.23ZoneEasy Miles
With Leigha and a few other kids.
Leg 4:
Distance6.000Time44:25.50Pace7:24.25ZoneEasy Miles
Part with Joseph and Jacob, part alone.

Lopsie Sports Sandals Miles: 8.13
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Fri, Feb 11, 2022
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

Tapering in Mesa. Ran 6 with Benjamina, part with all of the kids excepts the ones that were not with us - which would be everybody except Jenny and Julia.

Lopsie Sports Sandals Miles: 6.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Sat, Feb 12, 2022
Race: Mesa Half Marathon (13.109 Miles) 01:22:45, Place overall: 110, Place in age division: 3
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.860.0013.110.0015.97

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2022-02-12 06:07:43
Workout Totals: Distance15.964Time1:46:08.40Pace6:38.92
Mesa Half, 1:22:45, 110th overall, 3rd in 45-49.

Kept up sub-6:10 average in the first 5 miles, then slowed down to 6:20, then really slowed down around 8 and 9 miles, but then found a bit of juice in the last 3 miles. The speed is better than it was two weeks ago, but still need to work on endurance.

Benjamin decided to start out slower to see if he would be able to avoid the spasm problem. It did not work. He ran the early miles at 5:30 pace, and then the spasm came around 4 miles like it usually does. He slowed down to 5:40-5:50. At 8 miles he had 44:32. Then all of sudden he started loosening up, and ran the next 2 miles in 10:34. And then he loosened up even more and ran the last 5 K in 15:44, 5:03 average finishing in 1:10:50 in 27th place. So we learned something - when he gets a spasm, he should just keep running and it may go away. My working theory is that he has some antagonist muscle that for some odd reason engages and works against him causing the spasm. Then it fatigues, and he loosens up, and can run. If that is the case, then how do we make this antagonist not engage at all?

Jacob ran the first 5 miles in 29:00 at a fairly even pace, then slowed down to 6:10, then even 6:30. He had 1:00:06 at 10 miles, and then the last 5 K was 19:09 and he finished with a PR of 1:19:15 in 77th place.

Joseph, William, Stephen, and Matthew ran in the 10 K. Results:

Joseph 38:56
William 42:19
Matthew 43:30
Stephen 43:30

I was happy to see that Joseph and William recovered well enough from COVID to run some kind of respectable time. For Stephen and Matthew this was their first 10 K. Stephen definitely did better than he was doing in the 3 Ks this summer and in cross-country. Matthew ran about what I was expecting based on his recent 5 K.

After the race we drove to St. George and stayed there for the rest of the weekend.
Leg 1:
Distance1.355Time10:50.60Pace8:00.15ZoneEasy Miles
Warm-up.
Leg 2:
Distance13.109Time1:22:48.40Pace6:19.01
Race.
Split 1:Distance2.000Time12:19.80Pace6:09.90ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance2.000Time12:19.80Pace6:09.90
Split 2:Distance1.000Time6:06.70Pace6:06.70ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance3.000Time18:26.50Pace6:08.83
Split 3:Distance1.000Time6:07.60Pace6:07.60ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance4.000Time24:34.10Pace6:08.52
Split 4:Distance1.000Time6:09.50Pace6:09.50ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance5.000Time30:43.60Pace6:08.72
Split 5:Distance2.000Time12:41.40Pace6:20.70ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance7.000Time43:25.00Pace6:12.14
Split 6:Distance1.000Time6:20.30Pace6:20.30ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance8.000Time49:45.30Pace6:13.16
Split 7:Distance1.000Time6:29.50Pace6:29.50ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance9.000Time56:14.80Pace6:14.98
Split 8:Distance1.000Time6:38.10Pace6:38.10ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance10.000Time1:02:52.90Pace6:17.29
Split 9:Distance1.000Time6:20.50Pace6:20.50ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance11.000Time1:09:13.40Pace6:17.58
Split 10:Distance1.000Time6:28.30Pace6:28.30ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance12.000Time1:15:41.70Pace6:18.47
Split 11:Distance0.970Time6:11.10Pace6:22.58ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance12.970Time1:21:52.80Pace6:18.78
Split 12:Distance0.139Time0:55.60Pace6:40.00ZoneThreshold Miles
Cumilative:Distance13.109Time1:22:48.40Pace6:19.01
 
Leg 3:
Distance0.500Time4:19.40Pace8:38.80ZoneEasy Miles
With Mary and Bella.
Leg 4:
Distance1.000Time8:10.00Pace8:10.00ZoneEasy Miles
With Mary.

Lopsie Sports Sandals Miles: 15.96
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Add Comment
Totals
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
49.990.0014.110.0064.10
Lopsie Sports Sandals Miles: 64.09
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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