Breaking the Wall

Week starting Feb 15, 2015

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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to Ukraine's Armed Forces

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 Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
72.77	1.00	12.00	0.00	85.77

White Crocs 1 Miles: 85.77

Night Sleep Time: 37.00	Nap Time: 7.00	Total Sleep Time: 44.00

Sun, Feb 15, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00

Day of rest. Julia was sick - throwing up, so Sarah and I took turns staying with her. I went to the church for the Sacrament meeting, she went for the other two.

Night Sleep Time: 8.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 8.00

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Mon, Feb 16, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
14.60	0.00	0.00	0.00	14.60

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-02-16 06:52:51
Workout Totals: Distance14.600Time1:55:43.80Pace7:55.60
Ran more miles than originally planned on - ended up with 14.5 total. Benjamin did 9, Joseph and Jacob 3, William 1, Stephen 0.5. Jenny and Julia had stomach issues and were on reduced mileage. Julia did 0.5. Jenny did 1, but she wanted to get things moving and either throw up or make things go the other way, so she ran the last half mile fast. I think it did help her - she regained her appetite after that.
Leg 1:Distance9.100Time1:10:57.60Pace7:47.87
With Benjamin
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time23:33.70Pace7:51.23
With Joseph and Jacob.
Leg 3:Distance1.000Time8:27.70Pace8:27.70
With William.
Leg 4:Distance0.500Time4:41.40Pace9:22.80
With Stephen.
Leg 5:Distance1.000Time8:03.40Pace8:03.40
With Jenny. Julia joined us for 0.5.
Split 1:Distance0.500Time4:27.90Pace8:55.80 Cumilative:Distance0.500Time4:27.90Pace8:55.80
Split 2:Distance0.500Time3:35.50Pace7:11.00 Cumilative:Distance1.000Time8:03.40Pace8:03.40

White Crocs 1 Miles: 14.60

Night Sleep Time: 7.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 7.00

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Tue, Feb 17, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
8.30	0.00	4.00	0.00	12.30

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-02-17 07:06:05
Workout Totals: Distance12.300Time1:28:58.50Pace7:14.02
Benjamin did 9, Julia 1, Jenny 2 (I think), Joseph 4, Jacob 3, William 1, Stephen 0.5. Benjamin and I did a 4 mile tempo - 2 up the canyon, 2 back down.
Leg 1:Distance3.000Time24:42.50Pace8:14.17
Warm-up with Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance4.000Time23:26.00Pace5:51.50
Leg 3:Distance2.300Time18:12.50Pace7:55.00
Cool-down with Benjamin.
Leg 4:Distance3.000Time22:37.50Pace7:32.50
With Joseph and Jacob.

White Crocs 1 Miles: 12.30

Night Sleep Time: 0.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 0.00

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Wed, Feb 18, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
12.10	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.10

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-02-18 07:10:34
Workout Totals: Distance12.100Time1:32:57.50Pace7:40.95
Total of 12. Benjamin did 9, Joseph and Jacob 3, Julia 2, Jenny 4, William 1, Stephen 0.5.
Leg 1:Distance9.100Time1:09:29.00Pace7:38.13
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time23:28.50Pace7:49.50

White Crocs 1 Miles: 12.10

Night Sleep Time: 0.00	Nap Time: 7.00	Total Sleep Time: 7.00

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Thu, Feb 19, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
9.00	0.00	4.00	0.00	13.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-02-19 07:34:21
Workout Totals: Distance13.000Time1:36:35.50Pace7:25.81
Benjamin did 9, Jenny 4, Julia 2, Joseph and Jacob 4, William 1, Stephen 0.5. Benjamin and I did the same tempo run as on Tuesday, except Benjamin closed with a 5:10 mile. Joseph and Jacob were on the move today and almost broke 30:00 on our out and back 4 mile course with hills off 15:54 first half.
Leg 1:Distance2.300Time18:14.40Pace7:55.83
Warm-up with Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance4.000Time23:15.80Pace5:48.95
Tempo run. Splits - 5:56, 6:01 (up), 5:45, 5:33 (down). Benjamin's last mile was 5:10, total time 22:54.
Leg 3:Distance2.700Time24:52.20Pace9:12.67
Cool-down with Benjamin.
Leg 4:Distance4.000Time30:13.10Pace7:33.27
With Joseph and Jacob. Joseph kicked at the end and finished in 30:10.

White Crocs 1 Miles: 13.00

Night Sleep Time: 7.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 7.00

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Fri, Feb 20, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
12.14	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.14

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-02-20 07:16:24
Workout Totals: Distance12.140Time1:34:50.50Pace7:48.74
Total of 12. Benjamin did 9, Jenny 4, Julia 2, Joseph and Jacob 3, William 2, Stephen 0.5. The reason for William going the extra distance was rather funny. He gets a fruit snack if he breaks 9:00, and he usually does. But today it was windy and he was having an attitude - which he often does. But today the attitude resulted in the time of 9:11 when he ran with Jenny. So I told him if he wanted to get his fruit snack he had to run another mile, and this time break 9:00. He considered the miserable life without a fruit snack especially since his little brother Stephen was getting one for running his half mile under 5:00, and decided it was worth it to run another mile. So he did - this time in 8:30. The reason the fruit snack standard exists for William and Stephen is that being young and somewhat temperamental they sometimes need some extra motivation to run at a pace that would actually train them. I set the standards for them at the level they can always easily reach when they focus and run with a good attitude.
Leg 1:Distance9.100Time1:11:06.40Pace7:48.84
With Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance3.040Time23:44.10Pace7:48.45
With Joseph and Jacob. William did the first mile with us.
Split 1:Distance1.000Time8:30.10Pace8:30.10 Cumilative:Distance1.000Time8:30.10Pace8:30.10
With William.
Split 2:Distance2.040Time15:14.00Pace7:28.04 Cumilative:Distance3.040Time23:44.10Pace7:48.45
Caught up to Joseph and Jacob as they were 9 seconds ahead, and then ran with them.

White Crocs 1 Miles: 12.14

Night Sleep Time: 7.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 7.00

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Sat, Feb 21, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
16.63	1.00	4.00	0.00	21.63

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-02-21 07:55:28
Workout Totals: Distance21.630Time2:47:56.30Pace7:45.85
20 total. Benjamin did 12, Jenny 4, Julia 3 - with Sarah, Joseph and Jacob 4, William 2, Stephen 1. Stephen set a mile PR on the "little boy" out and back course - 9:21.4. Jacob wanted to do a mile time trial, but the air was too dirty today and he is sensitive to it, so all he had was 6:17 - 7 seconds slower than his PR. Plus I think he might have been warn out from his quick 4 mile run on Thursday. Maybe what I should do when Joseph and Jacob start getting carried away with the pace is just have them surge for a mile or so, run their energy out, and jog the rest of the way. Benjamin and I did a 4 mile tempo run down the canyon. His target was 5:10, but he could only manage 5:18 due to fatigue from the week and a headwind. Also perhaps the target was too aggressive after a 6.5 mile warm-up. I struggled as well and could only do 5:44 average.
Leg 1:Distance1.100Time9:01.60Pace8:12.36
Warm-up with Joseph and Jacob.
Leg 2:Distance1.000Time6:17.20Pace6:17.20
Jacob's mile time trial. Joseph helped. Splits were 92, 95, 95, and 93 with the balance going towards the 9.34 meter tax. Joseph found the pace relaxing and kicked a bit at the end finishing in 6:15.
Leg 3:Distance1.900Time16:29.00Pace8:40.53
Cool-down with Joseph and Jacob.
Leg 4:Distance6.500Time52:54.20Pace8:08.34
Warm-up with Benjamin.
Leg 5:Distance4.000Time22:57.90Pace5:44.48
Tempo run down the canyon. My splits - 5:40, 5:47, 5:47, 5:43. Benjamin's - 5:12, 5:21, 5:23, 5:17 - total time 21:13. Now we just need to taper and be ready to race next week in Phoenix.
Leg 6:Distance1.600Time15:05.60Pace9:26.00
Back to the house with Benjamin.
Leg 7:Distance1.000Time9:21.40Pace9:21.40
Stephen's mile time trial. Splits - 2:11, 2:29, 2:25, 2:16. I think after a few chess lessons he will be breaking 9:00 - yes, chess lessons - his problem, as evidenced by the splits, is not in the speed or endurance, but rather in the ability to concentrate - not that unusual for a 4 year old kid.
Leg 8:Distance2.040Time17:52.40Pace8:45.69
With William on the big boy course.
Leg 9:Distance1.000Time6:58.00Pace6:58.00
Alone. Really did not want to run this mile but pushed myself to do it.
Leg 10:Distance0.000Time0:00.00Pace0:00.00
Leg 11:Distance1.490Time10:59.00Pace7:22.28
Sarah and I went to the temple. There was a long line and she needed to get back to Mary to nurse her. So we decided we would just go in, when she was done she would drive home, and I would somehow find my way - it is only about 3.5 miles or so. So I got out, figured that Sarah had already left and started running home in my church clothes - the Kenyan way. However, we are in America, so it looked odd enough to draw attention, so after about 1.5 miles a nice couple picked up me and gave me a ride home.

White Crocs 1 Miles: 21.63

Night Sleep Time: 8.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 8.00

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Totals

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
72.77	1.00	12.00	0.00	85.77

White Crocs 1 Miles: 85.77

Night Sleep Time: 37.00	Nap Time: 7.00	Total Sleep Time: 44.00

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