Breaking the Wall

Orem Thanksgiving Earn Your Turkey 4 Miler which I suspect to be 3.96

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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:	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
72.31	0.00	7.06	0.50	79.87

Black Crocs Miles: 12.07

Night Sleep Time: 23.00	Nap Time: 1.50	Total Sleep Time: 24.50

Sun, Nov 23, 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. Was tired when I got home, took a nap.

Night Sleep Time: 8.00	Nap Time: 1.50	Total Sleep Time: 9.50

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Mon, Nov 24, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
12.07	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.07

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-11-24 07:04:50
Workout Totals: Distance12.070Time1:37:30.60Pace8:04.72
Usual run today - 12 miles. Kids ran their usual distances. We got some snow, so the pace was slower, but at least we could still move at reasonable speeds.
Leg 1:Distance9.070Time1:12:54.00Pace8:02.25
With Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance3.000Time24:36.60Pace8:12.20
With Joseph and Jacob.

Black Crocs Miles: 12.07

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

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Tue, Nov 25, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
12.04	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.04

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-11-25 07:02:34
Workout Totals: Distance12.040Time1:34:09.30Pace7:49.21
12 total. Little kids were in taper mode today for the Thanksgiving race, but Benjamin and Jenny ran their regular distances. Benjamin and I did a mile interval down the canyon. He paced me. I ran 5:06.9, he was a little bit ahead with 5:05.
Leg 1:Distance5.700Time46:29.20Pace8:09.33
Warm-up with Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance1.000Time5:06.90Pace5:06.90
Mile interval with Benjamin. My splits were 77, 76, 75, 78. He ran 5:05. Said he was feeling sluggish.
Leg 3:Distance2.300Time18:08.00Pace7:53.04
Cool-down with Benjamin.
Leg 4:Distance2.040Time16:18.60Pace7:59.71
With Joseph and Jacob.
Leg 5:Distance1.000Time8:06.60Pace8:06.60
With William.

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

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Wed, Nov 26, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
9.54	0.00	0.00	0.50	10.04

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-11-26 08:36:37
Workout Totals: Distance10.040Time1:15:56.80Pace7:33.86
10 total. A mini-taper of sorts before the Thanksgiving race. Kids were in taper mode - Benjamin did 7, Jenny, Julia, Joseph, and Jacob 2, William 1, Stephen 0.5. Benjamin and I did a short interval to shake the legs out - 0.5 on the road by the house in 2:33.
Leg 1:Distance2.040Time16:04.30Pace7:52.70
With Joseph and Jacob.
Leg 2:Distance0.500Time3:54.50Pace7:49.00
With Benjamin.
Leg 3:Distance0.500Time2:33.50Pace5:07.00
With Benjamin.
Leg 4:Distance1.000Time8:17.30Pace8:17.30
With William.
Leg 5:Distance0.500Time5:24.70Pace10:49.40
With Stephen.
Leg 6:Distance5.500Time39:42.50Pace7:13.18
Alone.

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

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Thu, Nov 27, 2014

Race: Orem Thanksgiving Earn Your Turkey 4 Miler which I suspect to be 3.96 (3.96 Miles) 00:22:33, Place overall: 12, Place in age division: 1

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
8.51	0.00	3.96	0.00	12.47

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-11-27 07:37:57
Workout Totals: Distance1.250Time9:39.30Pace7:43.44
Orem Earn Your Turkey 4 miler - 22:33, 12th overall, 1st master, earned a turkey. So did the rest of the family - Benjamin (3rd overall, 20:59.9), Jenny (4 miles, 30:39, 1st in 12-14), Julia (1 mile, 6;36, 1st in 11-12 girls), Joseph (1 mile, 6:00, 1st in 9-10, won the race outright, beat all older boys), Jacob (800, 2:51, first in 7-8) , and William (800, 3:28, first in 5-6) earn turkeys by winning the age division, Stephen got a pie for 2nd place (400 in 2:10), Matthew managed to win the youngest participant again even though he was a year older and finished 5th in the 100 meter dash in 47 s.
Leg 1:Distance1.250Time9:39.30Pace7:43.44

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-11-27 08:03:44

Workout Totals: Distance10.268Time1:13:10.60Pace7:07.60

Leg 1:Distance5.660Time37:10.00Pace6:33.99

My race, plus running back to pace Sarah.

Split 1:Distance3.960Time22:34.40Pace5:42.02
Cumilative:Distance3.960Time22:34.40Pace5:42.02

My race. The mile markers were messed up. I measured most of the course the next day so I know my splits.

So here is the chart:

Miles	Feet	Description	My split	Benjamin's Split
0.250	1320	east side of driveway of 776 w 165 s
0.273	1444	corner of 165 s and 800 w
0.463	2447	corner of 800 w and center	2:26
0.500	2640	east end of house 775 w center
0.750	3960	7 feet before the last tree on the MV High parking lot stretch
0.953	5030	official mile marker 1 year 2014	5:08	4:59
0.955	5042	corner of center and 400 w
0.966	5103	official mile 3	5:15	5:05
1.000	5280	5 feet after first green pole on 400 w
1.250	6600	west end of 248 s 400 w
1.440	7605	corner of 400 w and 400 s	8:01
1.493	7882	0.5 to go mark year 2014
1.500	7920	first green pole on 400 s
1.688	8911	turn off to the finish
1.750	9240	west end of house 650 w 400 s
1.939	10238	corner of 400 s and 800 w
1.953	10310	official 2 mile mark year 2014	10:51	10:21
2.000	10560	40 feet ahead of 25mph sign, start of side walk leading to enterance of 359 s 800 w
2.233	11791	corner of 165 s and 800 w second loop
2.926	15450	official mile marker 3 (2014) second loop	16:41	15:55
3.452	18229	0.5 to go mark (2014) second loop	19:44
3.952	20869	Finish (did not measure this segment, assumed the distance from 0.5 to go to the finish was really 0.5)	22:34	20:59

according to my calculations Benjamin ran around 4:56 last mile. This is also confirmed by the fact that he gapped one competitor by about 40 seconds (5th place), and the other 20 seconds (4th place) over the last mile. I asked him why he did not go with the second place (Jayden Asay) when he made his move in the second mile. He said he felt the pace was fast (although the pace over that mile was only 5:17) and he did not want to risk his chances of making the turkey winning top 5. Then in the next mile the pace of the pack slowed down to 5:43 but he did not move because there was some headwind and he did not to lead. Then with 1 mile to go he was concerned that the runners he was with were more physically mature due to their age and would have a better kick, so he made a move which they could not match.

Split 2:Distance1.700Time14:35.60Pace8:35.06
Cumilative:Distance5.660Time37:10.00Pace6:33.99

Sarah finished in 36:17. I ran back to her and then paced her. Benjamin ran with me and paced Jenny.

Leg 2:Distance0.062Time0:47.80Pace12:50.97

With Matthew. He had quite a crowd of pacers - myself plus all of his siblings except Mary.

Leg 3:Distance0.248Time2:10.80Pace8:47.42

With Stephen. He had the ability to win, but not quite the drive. But his talent and training got him second place.

Leg 4:Distance0.498Time3:27.20Pace6:56.06

With Jacob, then waited for William to finish. Jacob crushed the competition - 36 second gap on second place with a new course record. William was third overall, just a second behind the 7-8 second place, and first in his division (5-6) - not sure by how much.

Split 1:Distance0.498Time2:50.20Pace5:41.77
Cumilative:Distance0.498Time2:50.20Pace5:41.77

Split 2:Distance0.000Time0:37.00Pace0:00.00
Cumilative:Distance0.498Time3:27.20Pace6:56.06

Leg 5:Distance1.000Time6:36.30Pace6:36.30

Paced Julia as Benjamin paced Joseph. Julia won her race and was 3rd overall losing only to Joseph and another boy.

Joseph, who is 9, did not take the lead of the 11-12 year old race until about half way through, but he ended up beating the next competitor by about 30 seconds. His time according to Benjamin's watch was 5:59, officially they had him at 6:00. When he finished we heard whispers that expressed a suspicion that he cut the course or started early - that was quite funny.

Leg 6:Distance2.800Time22:58.50Pace8:12.32

Back to the house with Benjamin.

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

Comments(4)

Fri, Nov 28, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
13.30	0.00	0.00	0.00	13.30

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-11-28 08:16:55
Workout Totals: Distance13.300Time1:42:00.70Pace7:40.20
13.3 total. Kids ran usual distances except for Jenny and Julia who were sore after the race.
Leg 1:Distance3.000Time22:48.80Pace7:36.27
With Joseph and Jacob.
Leg 2:Distance9.300Time1:10:51.30Pace7:37.13
With Benjamin.
Leg 3:Distance1.000Time8:20.60Pace8:20.60
With William.

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

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Sat, Nov 29, 2014

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
16.85	0.00	3.10	0.00	19.95

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2014-11-29 08:49:50
Workout Totals: Distance19.955Time2:28:40.40Pace7:27.03
Total of 20. Benjamin did 14. Other kids ran their usual distances. Benjamin paced me through a 5000 time trial on the track at Orem High in 17:44.
Leg 1:Distance3.000Time23:01.40Pace7:40.47
With Joseph and Jacob.
Leg 2:Distance2.600Time20:40.90Pace7:57.27
Warm-up with Benjamin.
Leg 3:Distance3.105Time17:44.50Pace5:42.83
5000 time trial at Orem High Track. Benjamin paced me. Splits by 1000 below. This was a good fitness test which I think confirmed the result of the Thanksgiving race - somehow I have lost fitness and need to do something to regain it. I think with age I am getting more sensitive to disruptive events - lack of sleep, not eating meals on time, not doing enough speed work, running to slow on aerobic runs. Over the last year I have observed larger than normal fluctuations in performance in workouts and races that appear to relate to those things.
Split 1:Distance0.621Time3:30.50Pace5:38.97 Cumilative:Distance0.621Time3:30.50Pace5:38.97
Split 2:Distance0.621Time3:32.00Pace5:41.38 Cumilative:Distance1.242Time7:02.50Pace5:40.18
Split 3:Distance0.621Time3:30.70Pace5:39.29 Cumilative:Distance1.863Time10:33.20Pace5:39.88
Split 4:Distance0.621Time3:38.00Pace5:51.05 Cumilative:Distance2.484Time14:11.20Pace5:42.67
Split 5:Distance0.621Time3:33.30Pace5:43.48 Cumilative:Distance3.105Time17:44.50Pace5:42.83

Leg 4:Distance1.250Time10:53.40Pace8:42.72
Cool-down to the house with Benjamin.
Leg 5:Distance7.000Time54:13.00Pace7:44.71
More distance with Benjamin.
Leg 6:Distance3.000Time22:07.20Pace7:22.40
Alone. Death march at the end.

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

Comments(3)

Totals

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
72.31	0.00	7.06	0.50	79.87

Black Crocs Miles: 12.07

Night Sleep Time: 23.00	Nap Time: 1.50	Total Sleep Time: 24.50

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