Breaking the Wall

Day of rest. Went to church. A couple spoke in the Sacrament meeting that is going on a mission to manage the Perpetual Education Fund. Then we had a lesson on agency based on 2 Nephi 2 in Sunday School, and a lesson on Jesus Christ in the Elder's quorum.

A.M. 12 total. 6 with Jeremy. 6 with Benjamin, 2 of that with Jenny and Julia. Did some pickups including 0.75 600 into the wind, 600 back in 4:07 with the splits of 2:08/1:59. Total of about 1 mile of pickups.

P.M. Total of 2. Jacob did 1, Joseph 1. Neighborhood kids joined us. 

A.M. Slept in. Ran 6 with Benjamin, 4 alone, and 2 with Jenny and Julia. Did a 2 mile tempo with 1 out and 1 back. There was little wind and it was blowing into the canyon. The first mile was 5:46, but then the second mile was only 5:39. Part of it was the wind, part was that I was having a hard time after the turnaround. Total of 11:25 for the tempo.

P.M. PT with Sergio. 2 with the kids. Jacob did 1, Joseph 1. Julia ran another mile with Mandy. We had the usual neighborhood kids crew. 

A.M. 12 miles total. Warmed up with Benjamin and Jeremy. They did 6 miles. I ran alone after the first 2.5 because I did a longer tempo. It was 5 miles. I wanted to measure what yesterday's PT did for me and set a target of sub-29:00 on the course assuming the wind was not too bad. It was OK, mild tailwind going up the canyon. I ended up with 28:49.7 with the half-mile splits of 2:54, 2:54, 3:00, 3:02, 3:01, 2:53, 2:50, 2:47, 2:47, 2:41. Finished the run with 2 miles with Jenny and Julia.

P.M. 2 with the kids. Jacob did 1, Joseph 1, Julia 1 pacing another girl. 

A.M. Ran with Jeremy (6 miles), then 6 more with Benjamin including 2 with Jenny and Julia. All easy except one 600 meter pickup in 1:52.

P.M. 2 miles with the kids. Jacob did 1, Joseph 1. 

A.M. Ran with Jeremy, Benjamin, Gary, and Ryan, a new running partner. Decided to do something different, longer intervals, but still quite intense. The wind was strong blowing out of the canyon. I started with 600 in 2:00 into the canyon. That was hard. Then 800 into the canyon in 2:45. I was headed for maybe a 2:43 but in the last 200 my heart skipped a beat, I got confused, and eased off the pace. I did those alone. Then I did the mile in the opposite direction. The target was 5:00. For some reason (lack of sleep, maybe overdid it a bit in the last few days on speed, although it does not seem like I did too much) I felt sluggish. Dragged myself through the first quarter in 76, that was all I wanted to do. Then gave myself a motivational talk and did the next quarter in 74. It was hard. Started to think that I was going to lose the steam, but I was able to maintain and did the next quarter in 75. Then with 200 to go I found another gear for some semblance of a kick, and Ryan was with me and he also found another gear. So he pulled me through the last 150 meters or so, and we finished in 4:59. Gary ran the first 0.75. Benjamin just did the first quarter, but then coasted fast enough to run the mile in 5:49.

Then we did the usual 400 at the end up the hill. Gary was able to pull away from me by a couple of meters. I ended up with 71.5. Ryan and Benjamin made it to 300. I suppose Ryan was worn out from the mile.

Afterwards I ran a mile with Jenny, and then picked it up to catch up to Sarah. I figured I'd use this as an opportunity to practice running relaxed. I am feeling something different in the hip, I am able to stand on the ground with more firmness. But how to use that advantage when running after having run for at least 25 years with the instability is a different question. It will take some practice. The cage door might indeed be open but the captive bird is in no hurry to fly to freedom.

So I decided to put in about a marathon pace effort and see what happens. There was a strong headwind. Strong enough that I struggled with 6:00 pace on a net downhill. Ended up doing 9:08 for the stretch that I think is 1.5 miles. Then I ran with her and told her I would start going fast again when I needed to run 6:00 pace to the end to hit sub-8:00 average for the last 6 miles, which included an 8:53 mile with Jenny. Sarah was actually able to cut the fast segment to only a little more than 0.5 which I did in 2:51 in spite of the uphill. The quarters were 82, 85. I think on that stretch I hit good form and was letting the captive bird out of the cage some. The change from PT is that I am able to extend the right hip better, but it appears that that extension is not very helpful unless you fix the timings of the stride. I felt like I was slacking a bit, but it actually produced faster pace than when I tried to run hard. So perhaps the trick is to know when you are trying to hard and working against yourself.

P.M. 2 miles with the kids. Jacob did 1, Joseph 1, Julia 2. Neighbor kids as usual. 

A.M. Long run. Total of 20.5. Ran with Chad and Ryan. Did the same workout as last week - warm up of 4.75 miles, then 7.5 mile tempo with 2.5 down the canyon, 2.5 up, and 2.5 back down. The wind was less and was blowing into the canyon. I do not know if that helped or hurt. On one hand it produced more even splits, which in theory should result in faster times, although I do not know if that works in this case. On the other hand with the way I was doing it you get the headwind for 5 miles total instead of 2.5. Chad and Ryan made it through about the first mile, then dropped back. But it still helped to have them around in the first mile. Then Chad paced me through a mile on the way back and that helped a lot. On the final 1.5 stretch Chad and Ryan saved the day for me.

 Splits - 5:34, 5:36, 2:50 (14:00). In the first mile I felt comfortable, but then in the second mile I started getting sluggish and really did not want to run any faster than 5:44 pace. But I made myself go faster regardless. On the second 2.5 stretch this sluggishness was magnified. I ran 3:09 half mile, but then Chad came to save me, and made me do a more decent pace. So I ran the next 0.5 in 3:00, then Chad pulled me for another half mile or so, and then I had to pass him and take off. So my next mile was 6:13, followed by 0.5 in 3:08 with 15:30 for 2.5 and 29:30 for 5 miles. Seemed like when left to my own devices 6:15 was all I was willing to do, but with help I could do 6:00. Then I turned around again, and tried to give it a push. But 86 quarters with one in 87 was all that came out finishing that mile in 5:45. I was frustrated, and ready to abandon the workout, but nevertheless I said a prayer to have the strength to run 14:00 for the last 2.5, which by now appeared impossible given how I was feeling and the splits that I was getting. The prayer was more of the type "Lord, have mercy on me, but if not I understand that I need to suffer the consequences of something I did that I should not have done so that I can learn". I've had many of those. Nevertheless, my prayer was answered. Chad and Ryan met me with 1.5 to go, and Chad was able to hit the next 4 quarters in 83, 82, 85, and 82 with the mile being 5:33. I tucked behind him, and the pace actually felt easier than my 5:45 mile earlier.

This is making me think of Matthew 11 verses 28 and 30: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest...For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.". The 5:33 that felt easier than the earlier 5:45 showed me a practical illustration of that scripture in a way that I find difficult to explain, but it speaks to me. Sure it does! Only a runner will understand how much and how well.

This little break allowed me to find a better rhythm, so once Chad was out of juice, I was able to shift gears a bit and run the last 0.5 in 2:42 alone, which gave me exactly 14:00 for the last 2.5, and 43:30 for the tempo. So I ended up 2 seconds faster than last week by a miracle.

Chad finished the last 1.5 in decent time, 8:28, which is sub-5:40 average. 

Then we ran to the house, dropped off Ryan, and took Benjamin for 6 more miles. At first I felt terrible, but then I started to feel better, although still a little fuzzy.

Jenny ran 2, Julia was on the move and ran 4.5, Joseph and Jacob did 1.