| 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
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 77.60 | 11.50 | 0.40 | 4.50 | 94.00 |
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| Green Crocs 3 Miles: 94.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 44.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 44.00 | |
| | 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. Went to church. It was a Fast and Testimony meeting. Joseph and Julia bore their testimonies without any prodding from us or any help at the pulpit. Our family policy is that if a kid is going to bear his testimony in public, it needs to be his own. Then we had a lesson on King Benjamin's sermon in Sunday School, and on Elder Oaks' talk about sacrifice in the Elder's Quorum. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 14.60 | 0.00 | 0.40 | 0.00 | 15.00 |
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A.M. Ran with 7 Jeremy and Ariel. Did a pickup for 0.4 at 5:15 pace. Then 6 more with Benjamin. Total of 13. Jenny and Julia did 2. P.M. 2 miles with Joseph in 15:54 on our tough course, his new record. Jacob did 1 in 7:51. I held his hand because he could not do that pace on his own, and I did not want to slow Joseph down as he was on pace for the record.
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| Green Crocs 3 Miles: 15.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 13.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.25 | 16.00 |
| A.M. Ran first with Ariel, then with Benjamin. Total of 14 miles. Did a workout to push the HR - 400 in 71.8, 100 recovery at about 8:00 pace, 400 in 72.3, 100 recovery at about 8:00 pace, 600 in 1:52.8, then about a quarter recovery at about 10:00 pace, and 600 in 1:48.5. Then hill sprints at the house 6x100 starting at 18.8 and finishing at 17.4, then ran 6 with Benjamin - did 1000 in 3:00.6. The first 600 were with Benjamin in 1:49.5, and I was already feeling not quite up to the task of running 3:00 for 1000. But I regrouped and gave it a push and was able to close the second on the 3:00 guy. HR hit 167. I was happy about that. P.M. 2 with Joseph. Jacob did 1. |
| Green Crocs 3 Miles: 16.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 14.50 | 1.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 16.00 |
| A.M. 7 with Ariel and Jeremy. We did 1.5 fast down the canyon. The target was 6:00 pace. They both were holding the pace quite well and ended up running 8:49, 11 seconds faster. The goal is to teach their legs the idea that 6:00 pace is a normal distance race pace, not something reserved for a short speed workout or out of science fiction. Then added 3 more at home. Benjamin did not run this morning because he was taking an AP Calculus BC test. We decided to throw him in the water and see how well he can swim - so give him the hardest math test we knew of that scored something of value. The goal is to score 5 and get credit for BYU Math 112 and 113. From what he described, it sounded like he might have actually gotten it, but we'll have to wait until July to get the results. If not, he is only 13 years old, we will try again next year. This test costs $87. A BYU course costs $600 so it is worth trying it again to get the $1200 worth of credits. Jenny and Julia ran 2 miles, including 1 with Jacob. P.M. Benjamin and I did 1 with Mandy, 2 with Joseph, and 3 by ourselves - total of 6. |
| Green Crocs 3 Miles: 16.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 11.75 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.25 | 14.00 |
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A.M. Ran with Jeremy and Ariel. Did a speed workout. First 800 into the headwind in 2:42.8, then turned around, 4x400 with 100 recovery at about 8:00 pace. Started at 72, then faded to 73.8 on the last one. Jogged a quarter mile at about 10:00 pace, then did 600 in 1:45.5. Hill sprints, 6x100 starting at 18.2 and finishing at 17.3. Then 6 more including 4 with Benjamin and 2 with Jenny, Julia, and Joseph. Benjamin did total of 6, Jacob 1, I ended up with 14. P.M. Benjamin and I went to the chess tournament. A rare occasion for me - I won both games I played, one against a 1200 player, the other against 1700. Benjamin won one against a 1300 player and lost one to a 2000 guy. Two weeks ago I managed to draw against a 1980 guy. It seems like in both of those games there was a common pattern - first I lost a rook on a blunder, and then my king got chased and ended up on the other side of the board. This is usually a recipe for disaster, but somehow I managed to get 1.5 points out of 2 in those two games. So as I joke I can now say that if you want to do well against a higher rated opponent, you need to first drop your rook, and then you need to let him chase your king around. |
| Green Crocs 3 Miles: 14.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 13.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13.00 |
| A.M. Ran with Jeremy and Ariel, then with Benjamin, Jacob, Jenny, Joseph, and Julia. Total of 13 miles. Benjamin did 6, Jenny, Julia, and Joseph 2, Jacob 1. |
| Green Crocs 3 Miles: 13.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 10.00 | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20.00 |
| A.M. Long run. First 9 miles with Ariel at about 8:00 pace. Then one more jogging mile, and then 10 back down the Provo Canyon and back to the house in 57:13. Felt sluggish but could hold the pace. The 3 mile stretch from Nunns to the mouth of the canyon was 16:52. HR hovered around 150 and visited 155 range when the pace became sub-5:40. Around 18.8 mark there was an interesting incident that might have messed up the last mile. There was a lady with a little dog, actually a notorious theme in the Russian literature, Chekhov has a short story about a lady with a little dog, and this theme is talked about enough for me to be aware of a proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra (polynomial of degree N over complex field has N roots) that is named "a lady with a dog". Anyway, all those thoughts came together when with a little bit more than a mile to go with about 8.8 miles of hard running behind me and in a state of fatigue all of a sudden I saw a lady with a dog, and the leash blocked my path. I made an awkward attempt to steeple-chase over the leash, and thanks to its low height I was able to clear it - hurdles are definitely not my strength - but it knocked me out of rhythm. I was still able to maintain 5:50 on the flat and 6:00 on the hills going back to the house, but not enough juice to go under 57:00. There was some headwind but not as much as last week. Overall I am happy with the workout as I was able to run faster and at a higher HR. Benjamin did 6, Jenny, Julia, and Joseph 2, Jacob 1. |
| Green Crocs 3 Miles: 20.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | | 77.60 | 11.50 | 0.40 | 4.50 | 94.00 |
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| Green Crocs 3 Miles: 94.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 44.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 44.00 | |
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