Breaking the Wall

Week starting Oct 19, 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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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
68.87	10.24	3.87	1.75	84.73

Black Crocs Miles: 84.72

Night Sleep Time: 44.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 44.00

Sun, Oct 19, 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: 0.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 0.00

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Mon, Oct 20, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
12.12	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.12

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-10-20 07:13:05
Workout Totals: Distance12.120Time1:36:21.00Pace7:56.98
12 total. Kids ran usual distances.
Leg 1:Distance9.120Time1:10:08.10Pace7:41.41
With Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time26:12.90Pace8:44.30
With Joseph and Jacob.
Split 1:Distance1.800Time15:35.60Pace8:39.78 Cumilative:Distance1.800Time15:35.60Pace8:39.78
Split 2:Distance1.200Time10:37.30Pace8:51.08 Cumilative:Distance3.000Time26:12.90Pace8:44.30

Black Crocs Miles: 12.12

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

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Tue, Oct 21, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
9.18	1.00	1.62	1.00	12.80

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-10-21 07:45:14
Workout Totals: Distance12.804Time1:37:50.80Pace7:38.51
Total of a little over 12. Did a workout with Benjamin. Then took the little kids to the track to do time trials. Joseph broke 6:00 on the track today (5:58.5) for the first time and earned a chinchilla. Jacob assisted by running the first 2 laps with Joseph, and then hanging on in the third lap to provide pressure from behind, and finished 1200 in 4:31. William took down Jacob's 5 and under family record of 7:34 with 7:27.5, and Stephen surprised me with a sub-10:00 mile - 9:38.5 - we've never had a kid that actually did this at the age of early 4. Details below.
Leg 1:Distance4.690Time38:16.60Pace8:09.68
Warm-up with Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time17:12.30Pace5:44.10
The workout. The plan was for Benjamin to bring me to 1.25 in 6:20 (5:04) pace and then ran alone at whatever pace he wanted with the idea of keeping or maybe even increasing the pace. It did not quite work out. I only lasted 1 mile, and Benjamin did not feel the drive to go after the first 1.25 and just coasted to the finish in 15:46. We will repeat the workout on Thursday.
Split 1:Distance1.000Time5:05.20Pace5:05.20 Cumilative:Distance1.000Time5:05.20Pace5:05.20
Benjamin paced me perfectly, but I just did not have it to go beyond 1 mile.
Split 2:Distance0.500Time3:27.00Pace6:54.00 Cumilative:Distance1.500Time8:32.20Pace5:41.47
Recovery jog.
Split 3:Distance1.500Time8:40.10Pace5:46.73 Cumilative:Distance3.000Time17:12.30Pace5:44.10
Tempo at a more reasonable pace to the finish.

Leg 3:Distance1.690Time14:43.70Pace8:42.90
Cool-down with Benjamin.
Leg 4:Distance0.180Time2:00.20Pace11:07.78
Warm-up with little boys.
Leg 5:Distance1.000Time5:58.50Pace5:58.50
Joseph's epic chinchilla run. We opened with 89, then 91. I became concerned that we might not make it, but Joseph found another gear running the next lap in 89, which drop Jacob, and then kicked in 87. I think this was the best paced mile in Joseph's running history.
Leg 6:Distance1.000Time9:38.60Pace9:38.60
I took the boys to Hobbytown last week and Stephen saw a remote-controlled dump truck for $89 and asked if he could have it. I told him he could if he broke 10:00 in the mile think it would not happen for a few months. Last night he asked me if he could could come to track. I was planning on him running a shorter distance. But right before we started he insisted on getting him dump truck. I explained to him he would have to run 4 laps and a little extra, and fast, and without holding a hand. That did not faze him. To my great surprise he pulled it off! First lap in 2:19, then 2:26 setting 800 PR of 4:45 en route, then 2:25, and 2:24 for the last lap with the balance going towards the 9.34 meter tax.
Leg 7:Distance0.124Time1:25.20Pace11:27.10
400 meter time trial with Julia. She lacked energy. I gave her instructions to eat more nuts, raisins, and other iron-rich foods, as well as try to take naps in the afternoon. For a heuristic iron test, I told her to run a quarter every day in the middle of her regular run targeting 95 and see how it feels. If she feels out of breath, eat/sleep with more diligence.
Leg 8:Distance1.000Time7:27.50Pace7:27.50
William's mile time trial. His goal was to beat Jacob's 5 year old record of 7:34. William was only 3 days away from his birthday, so this was his chance. I knew he had the physical ability, but finding the mental grit at that age, and especially some someone with William's personality can be hard. But he pulled it off. He opened with 1:47 in spite of tripping and falling 200 meters into it and losing a couple of seconds. Second lap in 1:52, then 1:51, and 1:54. With a little bit more mental toughness this would have been sub-7:20, but 7:27 is still an excellent result - this is our 5 and under family record.
Leg 9:Distance0.120Time1:08.20Pace9:28.33
Short cool-down with the little boys to the car. Julia, Joseph, and Jacob ran home.

Black Crocs Miles: 12.80

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

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Wed, Oct 22, 2014

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 - 2014-10-22 06:58:25
Workout Totals: Distance12.100Time1:36:06.00Pace7:56.53
12 total. Kids ran their usual distances.
Leg 1:Distance9.100Time1:11:38.00Pace7:52.31
With Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time24:28.00Pace8:09.33
With Joseph and Jacob.

Black Crocs Miles: 12.10

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

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Thu, Oct 23, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
9.72	0.00	2.25	0.75	12.72

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-10-23 08:37:36
Workout Totals: Distance12.717Time1:37:08.80Pace7:38.35
12 total. Little kids ran their usual distances. Benjamin and I did a workout. Benjamin set the family record for the 3 mile down the Provo Canyon course of 15:06. The old record was 15:15 and it was mine. I could only keep up for the first 0.75. With the assumption of the same endurance he had when he was 14, this would predict 1:11:33 on the UVM half course. This is perhaps not too far off as his endurance has not improved much if at all over the last year - which is not unusual for this age.
Leg 1:Distance4.950Time40:48.70Pace8:14.69
Warm-up with Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time16:43.20Pace5:34.40
3 mile tempo run. Did the first 0.75 with Benjamin, he started to gap me towards the end, and I felt I could not keep the pace, so I eased off, rested about a mile at 6:00 pace, then picked it up to around 5:40. The mile splits were 5:15, 5:50, 5:38. Benjamin ran 15:06 with the splits of 4:59, 5:02, 5:05.
Split 1:Distance0.750Time3:46.50Pace5:02.00 Cumilative:Distance0.750Time3:46.50Pace5:02.00
Split 2:Distance2.250Time12:56.70Pace5:45.20 Cumilative:Distance3.000Time16:43.20Pace5:34.40

Leg 3:Distance0.457Time3:55.10Pace8:34.44
Cool-down with Benjamin.
Leg 4:Distance1.310Time11:14.80Pace8:35.11
More cool-down.
Leg 5:Distance3.000Time24:27.00Pace8:09.00
With Joseph and Jacob.

Black Crocs Miles: 12.71

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

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Fri, Oct 24, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
14.70	0.00	0.00	0.00	14.70

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-10-24 07:02:35
Workout Totals: Distance14.700Time1:55:26.60Pace7:51.20
Total of 14.5. Kids ran their usual distances. Jenny passed the heuristic iron test by running 1 mile in 6:49. This is not her PR, in fact, quite a bit slower, but it shows that things are better than they were a couple of months ago.
Leg 1:Distance9.200Time1:11:31.60Pace7:46.48
With Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time22:53.30Pace7:37.77
With Joseph and Jacob - they were on the move today.
Leg 3:Distance0.500Time5:28.70Pace10:57.40
With Stephen and Jenny.
Leg 4:Distance1.000Time6:49.10Pace6:49.10
With Jenny. We did this on our out and back "little boy" course. The splits were 1:44, 1:44, 1:42, 1:39.
Leg 5:Distance1.000Time8:43.90Pace8:43.90
With William.

Black Crocs Miles: 14.70

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

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Sat, Oct 25, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
11.05	9.24	0.00	0.00	20.29

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-10-25 10:26:46
Workout Totals: Distance20.293Time2:23:40.00Pace7:04.78
Total of 20. Benjamin did 11.5, Joseph did 4, Jacob 3, William 1, Stephen 0.6, Julia 2, Jenny 4. We did a time trial at the Orem High Track. Joseph got a PR in 2000 - 7:39.8, Jacob got a PR in the mile - 6:10.2
Leg 1:Distance0.072Time0:42.00Pace9:43.33
Warm-up
Leg 2:Distance0.062Time0:35.30Pace9:29.35
Stephen's botched 400 meter time trial.
Leg 3:Distance0.000Time0:01.80Pace0:00.00
Misfire of the button
Leg 4:Distance0.119Time1:01.50Pace8:36.81
Warm-up.
Leg 5:Distance1.240Time7:39.80Pace6:10.81
Joseph and Jacob's time trial. Joseph ran 2000, Jacob did the mile. Both got breakthrough PRs. We opened with 91, then 94, and 92 - 4:37 at 1200. Then Jacob kicked in 90 and finished with a 12 second mile track PR. The balance went towards the 9.34 meter tax. Joseph was smarter this time. When Jacob started to kick he hung back and ran a 92, but then kicked in 90 and was rewarded with a 16+ second 2000 PR. I was quite excited about this performance because this means that he should be able to break 12:00 in 3000 which is a right of passage of sorts, and a sub-20:00 5 K is knocking on the door as well. Jacob's record is also quite significant. It is the fastest any of our kids have ever run at the age of 8, and it means that we will probably see a sub-6:00 before he is 9.
Split 1:Distance1.000Time6:10.30Pace6:10.30 Cumilative:Distance1.000Time6:10.30Pace6:10.30
Jacob's mile.
Split 2:Distance0.240Time1:29.50Pace6:12.92 Cumilative:Distance1.240Time7:39.80Pace6:10.81
The last 0.24. I eased off so that Joseph could catch up, then helped him kick.

Leg 6:Distance0.600Time5:50.00Pace9:43.33
With Stephen.
Leg 7:Distance2.000Time17:14.40Pace8:37.20
With Joseph and Jacob (Jacob ran only 1 mile).
Leg 8:Distance3.500Time26:47.10Pace7:39.17
With Benjamin - warm-up.
Leg 9:Distance8.000Time47:26.00Pace5:55.75
Death-march tempo run with Benjamin. It got a little warm, and it was in the middle of the day which made it hard. Benjamin was having stomach issues, I was just feeling tired. But we survived.
Leg 10:Distance4.700Time36:22.10Pace7:44.28
Death-march to get the car.

Black Crocs Miles: 20.29

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
68.87	10.24	3.87	1.75	84.73

Black Crocs Miles: 84.72

Night Sleep Time: 44.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 44.00

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