Breaking the Wall

Week starting Jun 01, 2014

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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Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	3010.45
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
72.76	1.01	1.50	1.50	76.77

Green Crocs 7 Miles: 76.77

Night Sleep Time: 50.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 50.00

Sun, Jun 01, 2014

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.

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

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Mon, Jun 02, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
12.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-06-02 07:49:14
Workout Totals
Distance	Time	Pace
12.000	1:36:53.50	8:04.46
Total of 12. Benjamin did 9, Jenny 4, Julia 3, Joseph and Jacob 3, William 1, Stephen 0.5.
Leg 1
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
9	1:11:31.30.	7:56.81	With Benjamin.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	9.000	1:11:31.30	7:56.81
Leg 2
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
3	25:22.20.	8:27.40	With Joseph and Jacob. Pushed Matthew in the stroller.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	3.000	25:22.20	8:27.40

Green Crocs 7 Miles: 12.00

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

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Tue, Jun 03, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
10.20	0.63	0.00	0.50	11.33

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-06-03 08:03:58
Workout Totals
Distance	Time	Pace
11.328	1:37:14.40	8:35.04
Today Benjamin kicked the 4:50 mile monkey off his back. Joseph and Jacob tried to get their mile PRs, but I stopped both of them early as it started getting warm and they were off pace so that they could try fresh on Thursday. Benjamin did 9, Joseph and Jacob 2.5, William 1, Stephen 0.5, Julia 3, Jenny 4.
Leg 1
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1.1	9:38.40.	8:45.82
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.100	9:38.40	8:45.82
Leg 2
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.5	4:47.90.	9:35.80
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.500	4:47.90	9:35.80	Benjamin opened with 69 high, then 71 high, 73, and kicked in 71 finishing in 4:47.9 - a new PR, both track and road. The balance goes towards the 9.34 meter tax - we did the full mile, not 1600. This converts into 4:26.65 for 1500m and 4:46.23 for 1600m. I was happy with the result. I joined Benjamin for the 2nd and 3rd lap running 2:25 for the 800. At least I can still run 2:25.
Leg 3
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.248	1:35.30.	6:24.27	I stopped Jacob at 400.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.248	1:35.30	6:24.27
Leg 4
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.38	2:21.80.	6:13.16	With Joseph. He opened in 91, and started fading, so I stopped him at 609.34 mark.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.380	2:21.80	6:13.16
Leg 5
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1.1	9:34.50.	8:42.27
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.100	9:34.50	8:42.27	Back to the house.
Leg 6
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.5	5:23.70.	10:47.40	With Stephen.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.500	5:23.70	10:47.40
Leg 7
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
5.5	46:50.30.	8:30.96	With Benjamin. He was very tired from the mile so we took it easy.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	5.500	46:50.30	8:30.96
Leg 8
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	9:23.90.	9:23.90	With William and Jenny.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.000	9:23.90	9:23.90
Leg 9
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	7:38.60.	7:38.60	Alone.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.000	7:38.60	7:38.60

Green Crocs 7 Miles: 11.33

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

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Wed, Jun 04, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
12.50	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.50

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-06-04 07:49:34
Workout Totals
Distance	Time	Pace
12.500	1:38:54.80	7:54.78
Benjamin did 9, Jenny 4, Julia 3, Joseph and Jacob 3, William got a fever and did not run, Stephen did 0.5.
Leg 1
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
9	1:07:09.30.	7:27.70	With Benjamin.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	9.000	1:07:09.30	7:27.70
Leg 2
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
3	26:39.80.	8:53.27	With Joseph and Jacob.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	3.000	26:39.80	8:53.27
Leg 3
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.5	5:05.70.	10:11.40	With Stephen.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.500	5:05.70	10:11.40

Green Crocs 7 Miles: 12.50

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

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Thu, Jun 05, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
12.26	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.26

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-06-05 07:55:25
Workout Totals
Distance	Time	Pace
12.255	1:40:30.60	8:12.09
Today was a breakthrough for Jacob. He ran a mile PR. He improved only by 1 seconds, but that did not matter - he broke the mental block. Joseph got some weird injury and could barely get through 0.5 mile with Stephen. Jacob ran total of 3 mile, Julia 3, Jenny 4, William 0.5, Benjamin 9. Details below.
Leg 1
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1.1	9:42.80.	8:49.82	Warm-up to the track.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.100	9:42.80	8:49.82
Leg 2
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	6:29.40.	6:29.40	Benjamin and I paced Jacob. He opened with 92, then ran two quarters in 1:40 each, but then found another gear and kicked in 95 with the last 200 in 45 breaking 6:30 for the first time. Later he told me how he prayed then night before that he would not be scared, and he felt his prayer was answered. I told him about Joseph Smith's experience battling the dark power and winning right before the vision of the Father and the Son opened, and explained that while our experiences are usually not so dramatic, this is a a pattern. You are attacked with darkness but you continue to pray and work your way through it until you see the light. I am glad Jacob gets to learn this at the age of 7.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.000	6:29.40	6:29.40
Leg 3
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1.1	9:26.40.	8:34.91	Back to the house.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.100	9:26.40	8:34.91
Leg 4
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.5	5:17.70.	10:35.40	With Stephen, Jacob, Joseph, and Julia.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.500	5:17.70	10:35.40
Leg 5
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
5.5	45:38.00.	8:17.82	With Benjamin.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	5.500	45:38.00	8:17.82
Leg 6
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.555	4:45.90.	8:35.14	With William. He got over the fever, but we ran less just to be sure.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.555	4:45.90	8:35.14
Leg 7
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
2.5	19:10.40.	7:40.16	Alone.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	2.500	19:10.40	7:40.16

Green Crocs 7 Miles: 12.26

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

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Fri, Jun 06, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
11.80	0.38	0.00	0.00	12.18

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-06-06 07:37:04
Workout Totals
Distance	Time	Pace
12.180	1:39:20.20	8:09.34
Joseph felt his groin was doing better today and wanted to do a time trial. So I let him, but on the condition that if he falls off the pace and cannot pick up we stop. So we made it to 600 meters. He said he could not quite open up his stride and was still feeling the problem at faster speeds. So Joseph did 2.5, Jacob 3, Benjamin 9, Jenny 4, Julia 3, William 0.5, Stephen 0.5. Stephen set a new hand-held 0.5 record - 4:51.8.
Leg 1
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1.1	9:40.70.	8:47.91	Warm-up with Joseph, Jacob, and Benjamin.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.100	9:40.70	8:47.91
Leg 2
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.38	2:23.20.	6:16.84	Joseph opened with 91 then started fading, so I stopped him.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.380	2:23.20	6:16.84
Leg 3
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1.1	9:42.00.	8:49.09	Back to the house.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.100	9:42.00	8:49.09
Leg 4
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
5.6	46:11.10.	8:14.84	With Benjamin.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	5.600	46:11.10	8:14.84
Leg 5
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
3	22:05.60.	7:21.87	Alone.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	3.000	22:05.60	7:21.87
Leg 6
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.5	4:51.80.	9:43.60	With Stephen.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.500	4:51.80	9:43.60
Leg 7
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.5	4:25.80.	8:51.60	With William. He was moving in the last quarter, I think he is better.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.500	4:25.80	8:51.60

Green Crocs 7 Miles: 12.18

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

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Sat, Jun 07, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
14.00	0.00	1.50	1.00	16.50

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-06-07 07:45:03
Workout Totals
Distance	Time	Pace
16.500	2:14:24.20	8:08.74
Long run today. Cut it short to 16.5 for two reasons - I have not been sleeping well due to work projects and William being sick, and I want to be fresh somewhat for the UVM Half next week. So I took it relatively easy. Benjamin did the 3 mile run down the canyon on our usual course with the goal to last at 5:00 pace for as long as possible. He made it to 1.25 then started fading and finished in 15:34. Details below. Benjamin did 12, Jenny 4, Julia 3, Joseph and Jacob 3, William 1, Stephen 0.5.
Leg 1
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
3	25:55.50.	8:38.50	With Joseph and Jacob.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	3.000	25:55.50	8:38.50
Leg 2
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
5.5	45:45.00.	8:19.09	Warm-up with Benjamin.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	5.500	45:45.00	8:19.09
Leg 3
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
3	16:54.20.	5:38.07	The 3 mile workout. I ran the first mile with Benjamin, then jogged half a mile, and ran a tempo for the last 1.5. I was happy with the time I got for the whole thing with this kind of pacing. Benjamin got 15:34 with the splits of 5:00, 5:14, 5:20. Essentially he ran 5:00 pace to failure, then coasted at 5:20. He said he felt very good in the first mile, like the pace was sustainable, but then lost his strength. May have something to do with the warm temperatures - it did not bother me, but he is more sensitive to the heat.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.000	5:00.60	5:00.60	Kept up with Benjamin. Happy I can still run 5:00 even if it is down a small grade.
2	0.500	3:28.80	6:57.60	Good recovery - 5:00 pace did not completely kill me, I naturally ran sub-7:00 immediately afterwards.
3	1.500	8:24.80	5:36.53	I thought 5:50 would be good, but I felt stronger than that and was able to run sub-5:40 without killing myself. That is a good sign.
Leg 4
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
3.5	31:07.30.	8:53.51	With Benjamin to the car at Bridal Veil Falls. Sarah drove it there and left it so she would not have to run the hills. She is due in 3 months, so running hills is becoming too hard for her. The car was unlocked and still had several 50 lb bags of oats I picked up the day before but had not gotten around to unloading. I said - if somebody steals them, they must really be in need. Then it occurred to me that most of the stuff we own a thief that is worth his salt (if there is such a thing) would not want to steal.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	3.500	31:07.30	8:53.51
Leg 5
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
0.5	5:20.60.	10:41.20	With Stephen.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	0.500	5:20.60	10:41.20
Leg 6
Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	9:21.60.	9:21.60	With William.
Split#	Distance	Time	Pace	Comment
1	1.000	9:21.60	9:21.60

Green Crocs 7 Miles: 16.50

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

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Totals

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
72.76	1.01	1.50	1.50	76.77

Green Crocs 7 Miles: 76.77

Night Sleep Time: 50.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 50.00

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