Breaking the Wall

Week starting Oct 04, 2009

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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: 133.01 Year: 776.88
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: 1312.70
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
46.100.200.000.0046.30
Bare Feet Miles: 10.70Water Clogs Miles: 28.00Airwalk Clogs Miles: 2.50
Night Sleep Time: 54.00Nap Time: 0.50Total Sleep Time: 54.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Day of rest. Could not sleep last night. Possibly too much stress from dealing with the foot pain. Got up at 4:30, drove to the river, soaked the feet in the cold water while reading the scriptures. That helped. Came home, got back to sleep. 

Listened to General Conference. First session at home. Sat on the backup for the Russian translation at the Conference Center for the second. Felt something special during Elder Holland's talk on the Book of Mormon. The foot started feeling a lot better after the end of the morning session. Almost no pain. Do not understand how it happened so quickly. I was not expecting it to feel that good for another week.

Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.50Total Sleep Time: 8.50
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

A.M. 10.1 on a bike in 40:01. The trail was a little rough, and it was also windy. HR was around 130. Figured the effort was worth about 5 running miles.

P.M. 2 miles with Jenny at Grandview in 18:21. Benjamin ran it in 15:23. Julia ran 1.53 with us in 13:52. Joseph ran 0.5 with Sarah.

Bare Feet Miles: 2.00
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.590.000.000.005.59

A.M. 8 laps at Grandview (3.09). Timed 7 of them (2.7) in 23:07. The foot felt runnable but definitely not 100%, about the way it felt at mile 5 of St. George. One difference from last week is that when I get out of bed it does not hurt anymore when I start walking on it.

P.M. 2 at Grandiew with Jenny in 20:04. Julia's foot was hurting (playing injury, one of the peculiarities of training little kids), so she ran only two laps (0.77) in 7:37. Benjamin ran 2 in 16:49.  Also added 0.5 with Joseph on pavement in 4:50.

Bare Feet Miles: 2.00Water Clogs Miles: 3.59
Night Sleep Time: 7.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.50
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.490.200.000.007.69

A.M. Today is the anniversary of the Soviet Constitution of 1977. Back when I was growing up it was important enough to be holiday and we got a day off from school. I suppose in celebration of that I had a dream about Stalin. I've been having those dreams about once every 3-4 months. The theme is always the same. I am back in the time of his rule, am facing him, and trying to find the courage to defy him in his face. I am scared at first, but then remember that God is behind me and I have no reason to fear.  Once he sees I am not afraid of him, he vanishes in some form. In tonight's version I told him I knew it was 1953 and his days were numbered. I was going to be executed by a firing squad, but the prison nurse said I was very sick and even showed some made-up evidence, and they had a law that you could be executed until you got better. That gave me the three days I needed for Stalin to die.

I wonder why I keep having those dreams, or rather what they mean if they mean anything. My family was affected by Stalin's rule greatly. My mother's father died after about 8 years in the camps. My father's father miraculously survived 18 years. My father's mother was afraid to speak her mind even to her children regarding the subject, and did not do so until after Stalin's death. But not quite right away. Even though she was not too fond of dead bodies, she went to the mausoleum (originally Stalin was put there with Lenin, but then was taken out - Lenin is still there) twice to make sure Stalin was really dead.

Ran 3.08 at Grandview with Jeff in a glorious time of 26:40. That is 8:38 average.

P.M. 2 with Benjamin at Grandview in 15:53. He chased a female soccer player around the field for a while at close to 6:00 pace. But she was taking short cuts, and eventually stopped, so he never got the pleasure of passing her. That was the fastest I've run since the marathon. Then 2 more with Jenny in 18:16. Julia ran 1.53 with us in 14:37. 0.5 with Joseph and Benjamin on the road in 4:54.

Bare Feet Miles: 4.00Water Clogs Miles: 3.59
Night Sleep Time: 7.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.50
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.520.000.000.007.52

A.M. Bummed my way through 5.02 miles at Grandview, 3 of it with Jeff, in 42:00. The foot pain is still there, although slowing going away. Definitely runnable. However, I am trying hard to run as little as possible to speed up the recovery. I do not like it, though. I like to run 10 miles at once. 

P.M. 2 with Benjamin and Jenny in 16:38 at Grandview.  0.5 with Joseph and Julia in 4:46.

Bare Feet Miles: 2.00Water Clogs Miles: 5.52
Night Sleep Time: 7.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.50
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.500.000.000.008.50

A.M. 6 at Grandview with Jeff.

P.M. 2 with Benjamin and Jenny in 17:37. 0.5 with Joseph in 4:13. Joseph's new record. Splits of 2:15 and 1:58. Julia took a break - sore foot.

 

Water Clogs Miles: 6.00Airwalk Clogs Miles: 2.50
Night Sleep Time: 7.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.50
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

A.M. 10 with Jeff at Grandview in 1:17:50. I got tired of running 6 miles a day. The foot does not seem to care if it is 6, 10, or 0. Slowly getting better regardless, and rest, mileage reduction, or anything else for that matter does not make it any faster. I suppose if I moved to the pavement it would slow the healing down, but on grass it seems to be all the same. Plus I need my medication from running. In the last week I started to get an idea of why I never missed more than three days of running since I started in 1984. Not that I like to run that much, but if I do not I have a hard time focusing, and overall stop feeling like myself.

Kids ran their usual distances with with Sarah.

Bare Feet Miles: 0.70Water Clogs Miles: 9.30
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
46.100.200.000.0046.30
Bare Feet Miles: 10.70Water Clogs Miles: 28.00Airwalk Clogs Miles: 2.50
Night Sleep Time: 54.00Nap Time: 0.50Total Sleep Time: 54.50
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