Breaking the Wall

April 20, 2024

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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: 870.94
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
11.500.009.500.0021.00

A.M. Started with Gary, but he only ran with me about 3 miles and turned around as he was not feeling well. So I ran alone the rest of the way. It was total of 21. After 4.75 warmup I did a 7.5 mile tempo run - 2.5 down the canyon, then back up and down again. The wind was strong today, but not the worst. My splits were: 5:33, 5:33, half mile in 2:49 - 13:55, then 6:18, 6:22, half mile in 3:16 (15:56, 29:51), 5:35, 5:30, 2:38 for the last half mile - total time 43:34, last quarter in 76. Felt odd, not sure what to make of this run. Definitely struggled into the headwind, and I think more than I should have. Sergio think is has to do with the stability of the pelvis.

Did some more jogging, then ran the last 2 miles hard. It might have been more than 2 miles, but I call that stretch 2. The first "mile" was 5:51. In quotes because I never measured it, but it is close enough to be called a mile, and I timed a measured quarter in 87 in the middle, so it was close. It was down a small grade. Then the second mile was 6:07, and it was uphill. The last two miles were difficult because I was low on fuel, but I got through them.

Then I came home and ate a snack - pita pocket with peanut butter and jam. I remembered the can of jam from The Other Side of Heaven book/movie that helped Elder Groberg survive the famine. Then I ran a mile with Jacob and Joseph.

P.M. Recovered the family computer that was sacrificed to be the Fast Running Blog server.  This involved getting a new system, doing a maneuver to pull the family hard drive out of the running server, which I managed to do without shutting it down, a major mechanical accomplishment for somebody as clumsy as myself, and then putting it into the new computer and sorting out issues. The only issue I had to sort out was the video driver, but it was not too bad. 

Green Crocs 2 Miles: 21.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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