Thatcher's Running Blog

Today I ran an easy 7 miles with Gemachu. We ran on pipeline for about 50:00. It felt good, nice and easy. It wasn't too hot up there either.  My legs feel good.

I did sprints later with some other guys at the track. I did six 70 meter sprints. My fastest was 9.032. I felt pretty good, but I was tired by the end. I warmed up and did a pretty good cool down.

Today I wasn't going to go too hard, but I did a short fartlek in the middle of my run. I started out and ran to Sugarhouse Park. That was about 3.75 miles at 7:30 pace.

I then did two laps around Sugarhouse Park for my fartlek, ending my last lap on the road to finish my push. I did 4 minutes easy, 3 minutes hard four times. I averaged 6:29 for 4.3 miles. My pushes were about 5:20 pace. I then went and got a drink and ran back home.

The total for the run was about 90:00. 7:19 pace. It felt pretty good, but my legs are tired. That's one of my longest runs ever. I saw Alta's cross country team running there. It looked like they had quite a few guys there.

I ran eight easy miles today. My legs feel pretty good, a little sore. I went down with Gemachu and went over the course a little bit. I averaged about 7:58 per mile.

Today I ran in a local 5k. There is usually not a lot of competition, but there are usually a few pretty good guys. I ran from my house for a warmup. I felt pretty good, but my stomach was hurting and my legs were still a little sore. But I was ready to go. I thought I could win, but there have been some pretty good people before.

It starts out downhill for about a half mile, then flat and downhill. My first mile was 5:00. One person was with me for a half mile, but after that I was alone. I then pushed it pretty hard, but it was hard to do it by myself. I had a big enough lead, so I pushed it enough to win. I felt really strong the last 400 and pushed it in. My second mile was 5:31, and my third was 5:29. It was a pretty good race. I then cooled down about a mile.

I wasn't feeling great today. I was planning on doing more, but it didn't happen. I ran four on the treadmill at about 7:40 pace.

Today I ran up the canyon for 70 minutes. My pace was slower than last week for the first 40, but I was faster overall. I ran by myself today, and I felt pretty good. I made it 9 miles in about 70:00. That was about 7:47 pace overall. I should make it up to the top next week in 70 something minutes. I jogged up a little bit more to Dog Lake Trail, and I got a ride down from there. I also warmed up a little bit, and cooled down a little bit for about 11 miles.

Later I lifted weights. I did two sets of four dead-lifts at 265 pounds. I also did push-ups and abs.

I just ran an easy eight miles today. I felt good, not really sore. I went out by Churchill onto the trail, and back. My mile splits were 6:52, 7:25, 7:11, 7:43, 7:40, 7:10, 7:10, 6:55. I slept in some, but it wasn't too hot outside.

I went to the track later to do some sprints. I did four 95 meter sprints. I felt pretty good, but they weren't very fast. My fastest was 12.54. I warmed up three laps and cooled down about three laps.

Today I did five 1000 meter intervals. I was going to try and do them at 5:00 pace, but that didn't happen. I just didn't feel very good the whole workout. The intervals started out uphill, then had a little downhill, and ended up mostly flat. I went to Cottonwood Complex.

I started out warming up about two miles, and found a pretty good 1000 meter course. I was shooting for under 3:07. (Under five minute mile pace) My first one was 3:19. I felt pretty good the first 400 or so, but after that I just ran out of energy. The next one was about 3:20. I felt the same way as I did on the first one. I just didn't have the energy to go any faster. The third one was once again 3:19. I felt the same way as the first two. On the fourth interval I changed the course. I went where we did 800 meter intervals last year, but added some on. This one was about 3:17. I felt a little better. On the last one, I pushed it hard and got 3:10.

These are my first intervals so far on grass, so I guess I can't expect too much. Hopefully I feel much better next time.

When I was done, I cooled down about 2.5 miles around the park.

I lifted weights later. I lifted a new max deadlift tonight, and did it two times! I did two reps at 270, and five reps at 240. I also did push-ups and ab work.

Today I ran with Gemachu. I met him at his house, and went from there. We went to the end of 2700, down to 2300 and back up 4500 to 2700. I dropped him off and added a little bit more. It was easy, and I felt good. My splits were 8:10, 7:23, 7:21, 7:12, 7:23, 7:17, 7:17, 7:32, and 3:25 for the last half mile. It was a fun, smooth run. We had fun imitating other people's running form. There were some funny ones.

 Later I went to the track to do some sprints. Today I did six 75 meter sprints. My fastest was about 9.6. There was a strong cross-wind, which made it difficult. I switched directions part-way through. I warmed up about a mile, and cooled down about a mile.

Today I ran with Shalaya, Gemachu, and Sean. I warmed up a mile, and then we went down into the pit and back to Skyline. I then added on a few more miles to Churchill an back. The total was about 9.8 miles. It felt easy and pretty good. I averaged 7:25 pace. My left heel is hurting a little bit, but besides that, I feel fine.

This afternoon, I lifted weights. I did three sets of three reps at 255. It wasn't too bad. I also did push-ups and ab work.

I was in Provo, so I ran with Sasha and Jeff. It was my longest run yet, but it wasn't too bad. I think my longest run before this was about 13 miles. I felt good and relaxed. The pace was about 7:34 per mile for 14.1 miles. We started out nice and easy, and then did most of our miles around 7:15 after that. It was a fun run, and nice running with Sasha and Jeff.

Today I did a four mile tempo run. I drove to Liberty Park and warmed up about two miles there. I then did some stretching and drills before I started. My goal was to do four miles under 5:30 pace.

I started out a little too fast. I guess I had a little too much adrenaline. My first mile was 5:12. My second mile felt a little harder, 5:26. My third mile I felt okay, but I was feeling pretty tired from the fast first mile. It was 5:29. I was struggling a bit on the last mile, but I pushed it in for a 5:29. Overall, it was a good tempo run. I did better than expected and was able to do well after starting out fast. My overall pace was about 5:24. I then cooled down about four miles. My achilles isn't really sore anymore, and my heel is fine, but I will ice them to be safe.

Today I ran with Gemachu on pipeline trail. I was sore from yesterday's workout, but it felt pretty good. We went out for 30:30, and back in 26:30. So on the way out we went 7:40 pace, and on the way back we went 6:38 pace. We ran eight miles in 57:00.

Later, I went to the track and did sprints. I did eight 75 meter sprints. They were slower than last week, but I forgot my spikes. I think my fastest was 9.954. I started out slow, but I felt good at the end. I warmed up about 1.5 miles and cooled down on the grass about 1.5 miles. It felt good.

Today I went and ran 800's at Sugarhouse Park. I did six with the team. We warmed up about a mile or so and did some strides.

The first one was 2:32 with a big hill to start out and then flat. The next one was about 2:42 which had some downhill, flat, and then ended on a really steep hill. The third one was about 2:32, mostly flat. The fourth one was about 2:33 with a long hill and some downhill. Gemachu joined us on this one, and he did about 2:25. The next one was flat, and I did about 2:25. Gemachu was right in front of me. The last one was hard, mostly flat, about 2:32.

So here were my times:

2:32

2:42

2:32

2:33

2:25

2:32

It was a pretty hard workout, but I know I could of done better. I wanted to do around 2:30, so I was pretty close. My legs are still sore from Monday, and pretty tired from last night. I then cooled down with a couple of laps around the park.

I was really tired today, so I slept in. I went up to pipeline later and did nine miles in 65 minutes. It was about 7:13 pace. It felt pretty easy, but my legs are pretty sore. It was a good run though.

Later, I went to the track and did sprints. I did eight 75 meter sprints. I warmed up about a mile and cooled down about two miles. My legs felt better, but still sore.

My legs were pretty tired, so I didn't do too much. I warmed up a mile, then did a 40 minute fartlek. I did four three minute pushes. The overall pace for the run was 6:25. It was hard, but not too hard. I think the pushes were around 5:30 pace. I cooled down about 1.5 miles.

Today was once again my longest run ever. I did 16.3 miles today. It wasn't too hard, but it was long. I averaged about 7:02 pace. My legs were tired by the end of the run, but they feel better then yesterday.

Today I went up to Jeremy Ranch Road to run with the Skyline team. We were doing ten miles. (It ended up a little more)

The first mile was pretty easy, 7:11. The second, third, fourth, and fifth were also pretty easy but we picked it up. It was comfortable, but pretty quick. (6:38, 6:37, 6:41, 6:47)

On the way back we kept it relaxed, but slowly picked it up as we went on. We went 6:47, 6:44, 6:34, 6:24 for miles six, seven, eight, nine. Morgan dropped off at about eight miles, and I was with Gemachu from then on.

The last mile was fast. We were going pretty fast, and Gemachu decided to push it hard the last half mile. It was hard, but I stayed with him. I think the last half mile was 2:33, and the last mile was 5:35. It was a good run, and it wasn't too hard except for the last couple miles.

My legs feel good, not sore from Saturday, and no injuries.

I got up a little later than I should have, and it was pretty hot. I warmed up a mile, then ran 7.5 miles easy. About 7:50 pace. I then did some strides and cooled down about a mile. It was slow, but I wasn't feeling very good. I was pretty tired. My legs weren't sore, but a little tired.

I ran with Ben through the pit and back to Skyline. We kept it pretty easy. About 7:30 pace. I was originally going to do more today, but since I wasn't feeling great yesterday, I decided to back off. I felt fine today. I'm ready for the 10k tomorrow!

Today was the Des News 10k. I was excited. I had put together a Fast Running Blog team for the high school division. The team was composed of Hayden Hawks, Neal Ferrin, and Nate Jewkes. (I was on the team as well) We were excited and wanted to beat the Utah team, and try to beat the US team. I had two personal goals: break 31:00 (which I thought would be a stretch), and beat some guys who already have spots on the BYU team. I went with Neal, and we got there about 5:20. We warmed up about 1.5 miles and did some stretching. Our team then met together and went to the start. I also met Michelle at the starting line. (I think it was Michelle)

The race started and I was in the pack near the front. It was mostly high school age and some older guys. I knew it was going to be fast. My first mile was 4:39. That was faster than I wanted, and than I expected. I knew I was going too fast, so I backed off a little bit.

The next mile I was running mainly with Karl, and I passed him near the end of it. But it was still fast. It was a 4:47. That beat my best two mile time by ten seconds! I was just hoping to keep going.

The next mile was a 5:09. This was where it was getting harder, and I was starting to regret the fast start. My three mile time was 14:36. That is also a 5k pr. I guess about 15:10 for the 5k.

For the fourth mile, I ran a 5:18. On this mile, one of the US all-star guys passed me. I tried sticking with him, but I didn't for too long. I was hurting more this mile.

The fifth mile is where I really started suffered for going out so fast. This is also where the course flattened out more. I ran a 5:32. At this point, I was just trying to hang on.

The sixth mile was really hard. I was really trying to keep the pace faster, but I didn't have much left. It was a 5:43. At this time, I was thinking how much I wished I had gone out slower.

I didn't have much left for the finish, and it seemed like it took forever to get there. Hayden caught me with about 150-200 meters left, and I tried to stay with him, but he beat me by a second or two.

Overall, it was a pretty good race, and a good learning experience. I wanted to do better, but I am satisfied. I learned how not to race a 10k, and it will help me in the future. I haven't raced a 10k in a couple of years, so I guess I forgot how long it was. So far, I'm not too sore, but my right hip hurts and I have some blisters on my feet. I cooled down with Hayden and a bunch of other high school guys, and it hurt. Our team also beat the Utah team, so that was pretty cool. I didn't break 31:00, but I did beat Trevor Sharp and George Barlow, who both have spots at BYU.

I was pretty sore today when I woke up. I was sore all over, but mostly in my calfs. It took me a while to warm up, but by the end of my run, I felt pretty good. I did 8.5 miles at 8:00 pace. It did hurt a lot to run downhill. It was an easy run, and I felt better than I thought I would.

Later I ran on the treadmill. I was planning on going outside, but it was too dark. I warmed up slow a half mile, then did three at about 7:10 pace, and finished with a half mile cool down. My legs felt better, but my calfs are still sore.

I'm in Tahoe now until Friday. We didn't get here until late, so I didn't have very much time to run before it got dark. I ran with my mom for 6.7 miles at a 8:13 pace. My legs felt pretty good, even though my calfs are still sore. But I felt really sick to my stomach the whole run. I was going to do some more miles on the treadmill, but I felt too sick. Hopefully by Monday, my legs will feel 100% and I can build my mileage back up to what it was before last week. I want to hit 70 miles the next couple of weeks.

Today I was going to do hill intervals, and I found a good hill in Tahoe to do them on. It was pretty steep for a good 800 meters, so I did 800 meter intervals. The first half or so isn't too steep, but the second half was incredibly steep.

Here is the hill.

I warmed up about a mile and a half and did some drills before. I started out not knowing what to expect, and it was hard. My first interval was 3:34. That was hard, so I tried to keep them around that time. The second interval was 3:35. It felt all right. The third was 3:35. The fourth was hard, it was 3:34. I was really tired after that one. The next one was 3:37. The sixth was 3:37. After this one I was really lightheaded, but was all right to do a couple more. The seventh was the slowest, and the hardest. It was 3:39. The last one was the fastest, 3:33.

When I was done, I cooled down 3 miles. It made for a total of about 12 miles. I think that this was a good workout. I felt strong, and pushed hard on the hill. One thing I liked was that left at seven and it was a little bit chilly outside. My hands were cold when I started out. That was a nice change. I didn't really notice the higher elevation, and I wonder if it made a difference.

I went and ran at trail behind the South Lake Tahoe High School. It was a nice trail, but not very long. I did five miles at about 7:00 pace. I am going to do a longer run later, hopefully I can find a better trail. I feel pretty good, a little sore from yesterday.

I went out again later and ran 8.25 miles. I ran a 6:55 pace. I kept it really easy, at least it felt easy, and I felt good. I noticed my fifth mile was at about 6:30 pace about a half mile in, so I decided to do about a half mile push. I felt great and did that mile in 6:08. Overall, this is the best I've felt in a while. It was a great run and I felt very strong.

I felt good this morning and kept it fairly easy on the way out and pushed it going back. I averaged 7:00 for the run, and 6:40 on the way back. I ran on a bike path right by our hotel. It was nice outside, but I could see my breath when I started!

I later went with my dad to a gym we found near our hotel. (one where we could do deadlifts) I did some push ups and ab work, as well as doing three sets of three reps at 265 pounds for my deadlifts. It felt good. I then ran back from the gym to my hotel. It was about 5.5 miles. I ran at a 7:45 pace. The run didn't feel too good. I was sick to my stomach after eating not too much before. But I wasn't too tired.

Today I also hiked about 4 miles, which was pretty easy. My sister and I also went swimming to this island in the middle of Eagle Lake. The water was cold! I realized I am not a very good swimmer. Once I got in the cold water and started swimming, I got really tired!

I'm not sure on the mileage today, because my garmin didn't have a signal. We drove to a trail called "Powerline Trail" today. It was a pretty good trail, but had quite a few hills. The total time was about 85 minutes. I didn't push it too hard, but it wasn't really easy. On the way back, two bikers asked me if I had seen the bear! I hadn't, and I didn't want to, so I got a tempo run in as well. I felt pretty good, but was a little sore from weight lifting.