Breaking the Wall

Week starting Dec 07, 2025

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:

Ukraine Can Win With Crowdfunded Drones!

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Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	123.35	Year:	2926.50
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:						3424.44

Totals

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
63.35	0.00	0.00	0.00	63.35

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

Mon, Dec 08, 2025

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
10.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	10.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2025-12-08 10:20:53
Workout Totals: Distance7.000Time56:44.00Pace8:06.29
10 total. Easy pace.
Leg 1: Distance2.000Time16:31.60Pace8:15.80ZoneEasy Miles
With Bella and Leigha.
Leg 2: Distance1.000Time8:57.30Pace8:57.30ZoneEasy Miles
With Mary.
Leg 3: Distance2.000Time15:26.40Pace7:43.20ZoneEasy Miles
With Benjamin and Matthew.
Leg 4: Distance2.000Time15:48.70Pace7:54.35ZoneEasy Miles
With Benjamin.

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2025-12-08 14:50:24
Workout Totals: Distance3.000Time23:26.20Pace7:48.73

Leg 1: Distance3.000Time23:26.20Pace7:48.73ZoneEasy Miles
Alone.

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

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Tue, Dec 09, 2025

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
10.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	10.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2025-12-09 10:01:36
Workout Totals: Distance9.999Time1:23:19.20Pace8:19.97
10 total. Matthew did a mile time trial on the track. It was going well for the first 1K and then he started to panic and lost it. so he ran 5:35 missing his PR by 1 second. Benjamin paced him, I cheered giving him his splits.
Leg 1: Distance2.000Time16:58.40Pace8:29.20ZoneEasy Miles
With Bella and Leigha.
Leg 2: Distance1.300Time10:56.80Pace8:25.23ZoneEasy Miles
To the track.
Leg 3: Distance0.699Time5:35.80Pace8:00.40
Cheering for Matthew's mile time trial.
Split 1:Distance0.089Time0:42.80Pace8:00.90ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.089Time0:42.80Pace8:00.90
Split 2:Distance0.086Time0:41.20Pace7:59.07ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.175Time1:24.00Pace8:00.00
Split 3:Distance0.084Time0:40.50Pace8:02.14ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.259Time2:04.50Pace8:00.69
Split 4:Distance0.084Time0:40.40Pace8:00.95ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.343Time2:44.90Pace8:00.76
Split 5:Distance0.086Time0:41.30Pace8:00.23ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.429Time3:26.20Pace8:00.65
Split 6:Distance0.089Time0:42.70Pace7:59.78ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.518Time4:08.90Pace8:00.50
Split 7:Distance0.092Time0:44.10Pace7:59.35ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.610Time4:53.00Pace8:00.33
Split 8:Distance0.089Time0:42.80Pace8:00.90ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.699Time5:35.80Pace8:00.40

Leg 4: Distance1.000Time8:59.90Pace8:59.90ZoneEasy Miles
Back home.
Leg 5: Distance1.000Time8:50.40Pace8:50.40ZoneEasy Miles
With Mary.
Leg 6: Distance4.000Time31:57.90Pace7:59.48ZoneEasy Miles
Alone.

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

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Wed, Dec 10, 2025

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
10.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	10.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2025-12-10 10:23:35
Workout Totals: Distance10.000Time1:18:18.20Pace7:49.82
10 total. Easy pace.
Leg 1: Distance5.000Time38:32.00Pace7:42.40ZoneEasy Miles
With Benjamin and Matthew.
Leg 2: Distance5.000Time39:46.20Pace7:57.24ZoneEasy Miles
Alone - if I remember right.

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

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Thu, Dec 11, 2025

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
10.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	10.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2025-12-11 10:15:48
Workout Totals: Distance10.000Time1:19:59.20Pace7:59.92
10 total. Easy pace. Joseph is back from his mission in Bulgaria. He did his first run after the mission. He ran but not as consistently as Benjamin and not as much. So I was expecting he would struggle keeping 8:00 for 4 miles, but he did OK and even pushed the pace in the middle. My calf tightness came back and made the last 5 miles of the run quite miserable. Nevertheless, I set a goal of averaging 8:00 for 10 miles. In the last 3 miles I was about to give up on the goal but then I thought of a trick and figured out how I could run 7:40 without stressing my left calf. It was a small victory and maybe even not very smart but it was important to me psychologically - I felt like giving up, I had every excuse - healthy I can run 8:00 no problem, then the solution came, and I was able to meet the challenge. I have to keep reminding myself that pace will vary depending on the day, and will get eventually slower with the age, but it is the attitude and the spiritual lessons that I learn from each run that matter.
Leg 1: Distance4.000Time30:50.10Pace7:42.52ZoneEasy Miles
With Benjamin and Joseph.
Leg 2: Distance1.000Time7:45.30Pace7:45.30ZoneEasy Miles
With Benjamin.
Leg 3: Distance2.000Time17:27.90Pace8:43.95ZoneEasy Miles
With Matthew, Mary, Bella, and Leigha.
Leg 4: Distance3.000Time23:55.90Pace7:58.63ZoneEasy Miles
With Matthew.

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

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Fri, Dec 12, 2025

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
10.23	0.00	0.00	0.00	10.23

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2025-12-12 08:58:19
Workout Totals: Distance10.233Time1:23:10.20Pace8:07.66
10 total. Matthew did a redemption mile time trial. Benjamin paced him. Joseph and William joined. Matthew redeemed himself with 5:27, a new PR. Mostly even splits and much better mental focus, no panic. Joseph ran 5:37 keeping up with him for the first 2 laps. William kept up for the first lap (82), but then faded and basically jogged another lap finishing 800 in 3:08. His goal was to try to run the first 800.
Leg 1: Distance1.300Time10:35.30Pace8:08.69ZoneEasy Miles
To the track.
Leg 2: Distance0.683Time5:27.80Pace7:59.94
Cheering for Matthew.
Split 1:Distance0.091Time0:43.70Pace8:00.22ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.091Time0:43.70Pace8:00.22
Split 2:Distance0.085Time0:40.70Pace7:58.82ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.176Time1:24.40Pace7:59.55
Split 3:Distance0.084Time0:40.50Pace8:02.14ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.260Time2:04.90Pace8:00.38
Split 4:Distance0.084Time0:40.40Pace8:00.95ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.344Time2:45.30Pace8:00.52
Split 5:Distance0.087Time0:41.70Pace7:59.31ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.431Time3:27.00Pace8:00.28
Split 6:Distance0.086Time0:41.30Pace8:00.23ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.517Time4:08.30Pace8:00.27
Split 7:Distance0.086Time0:41.30Pace8:00.23ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.603Time4:49.60Pace8:00.27
Split 8:Distance0.080Time0:38.20Pace7:57.50ZoneEasy Miles Cumilative:Distance0.683Time5:27.80Pace7:59.94

Leg 3: Distance1.250Time10:28.90Pace8:23.12ZoneEasy Miles
To the house;
Leg 4: Distance2.000Time16:41.10Pace8:20.55ZoneEasy Miles
With Benjamin and Matthew.
Leg 5: Distance2.000Time16:06.60Pace8:03.30ZoneEasy Miles
With Mary, Bella, and Leigha.
Leg 6: Distance3.000Time23:50.50Pace7:56.83ZoneEasy Miles
Alone.

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

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Sat, Dec 13, 2025

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
13.12	0.00	0.00	0.00	13.12

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2025-12-13 11:32:17
Workout Totals: Distance13.118Time1:44:57.40Pace8:00.06
13 total in San Diego.
Leg 1: Distance10.000Time1:20:00.80Pace8:00.08ZoneEasy Miles
Alone.
Leg 2: Distance3.118Time24:56.60Pace7:59.99ZoneEasy Miles
Transportation running.

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

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Totals

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
63.35	0.00	0.00	0.00	63.35

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

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