Breaking the Wall

March 29, 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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to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 133.01 Year: 776.88
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
15.300.000.000.0015.30

Ran at 4:45 AM with Ted. His foot was hurting bad, he turned around after going about 0.6 with me. I was sleepy as usual, but not record sleepy. The punishment of a handwritten dictation has been helping me get to bed on time. Without Ted's help I managed 7:40 pace in the first 4 miles. It was raining, and the rain was cold. That finally woke me up enough to where I wanted the run to be over more than I wanted the comfort and relaxation of a slow pace. So I started speeding up and hit the turnaround (5.02 miles) in 37:38. I've considered catching the 1:10:00 guy, but that would have meant 6:24 average on the way back, and I did not want to go that fast. Then it started hailing. This made me pick it up a bit. I realized that I was going 6:24 pace anyway and decided to keep it. HR at first hovered around 131, then got up to 134. Towards the end I picked it up a bit more to make sure I got the 1:10:00 guy and hit the headwind, this brought HR up to 139. Finished the run (10.04) in 1:09:50. The pace felt quite easy, it was a nice compromise between a recovery run and getting out of the cold fast.

Ran with the kids in the afternoon and a little bit more on my own to reach the goal of 15 total for the day. Benjamin impressed me on his run. We ran the first mile in 8:20. Then he sped up to a bit sub-8:00. With 0.4 to go he told me the pace felt like a jog. I gave him a challenge to catch the 8:00 mile guy. He had 20 seconds to close. His last two quarters were 1:48 and 1:43 with the last mile in 7:31, and the total time of 15:51.

Ate a lot at dinner - three full plates of buckwheat. It felt like the food was being digested the moment I swallowed it. Last time I remember eating like that was back in 1985 when I was 12 at the Znamenskiye track school summer camp in Vyazniki about 200 miles east of Moscow. It was not uncommon for us to train three times a day, and I would go with Oleg Kuleshov who was 16 at that time on his morning runs. We would go about 7.5 miles, and one time we clocked a kilometer on the highway, it was 3:57. So come breakfast time, I was hungry. The cooks called me "the boy that eats a lot".

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Comments
From Lybi on Thu, Jun 07, 2007 at 01:48:44

I think you should start putting your eating PRs up their with your running ones. Can you really eat 4 bananas in a Marathon without slowing down? Somebody call Guiness!

From Superfly on Thu, Jun 07, 2007 at 11:40:48

Thanks for the offer Sasha. I thought about comming and running with you guys. But I am planning on leaving Orem first thing tomorrow morning and driving up to Rexburg then doing a short little run once I get up there to help me get use to things up there.

From RunnerGirl on Mon, Jun 11, 2007 at 17:50:13

Hi Sasha,

I just have a question about heart rates. I just can't believe you have such low heart rates. I just started using a heart rate monitor, and an easy pace for me gets my heart rate around 160. When I am pushing it, my heart rate stays around 175 - and goes up to 185 or so when I'm sprinting.

I know heart rates are determined by a number of factors, but anything you can share would help. I am 22, with exercise-induced asthma. Would asthma have anything to do with it?

Anyway, my numbers just seem really high, and sometimes I even feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest. Should I just see a doctor to find out more?

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Jun 11, 2007 at 23:20:28

RunnerGirl - your heart rate patters sound fairly normal. The easy pace heart rate is a bit high, possibly because the pace is not really as easy at it feels. In fact, your patterns seem to parallel those of Cody, another runner on the Fast Running Blog.

As far as the heart beating out of your chest, it may be some heart problem, but it also may very well be just not quite being in shape, or being dehydrated, or diet related. If you are worried, talking to the doctor won't hurt, aside from the bill from his office.

From Cody on Mon, Jun 11, 2007 at 23:59:06

RunnerGirl,

I agree with Sasha that your heart rate is pretty normal. It is Sasha who has the crazy heart rate. I noticed that when I was just starting out running (20-30 miles a week), my HR was around 165 on easy days and 175-180 on harder days. I think most of that was I was not in as good of shape as I thought. Over time the HR has dropped, but it may still be considered high, compared to the elite guys. I try and keep it around 140-155 for easy days. It is now about 170-172 for my marathon pace (compared to 180 a year ago at a slower pace). When I race shorter races, such as a 5K, my HR generally is about 185-190 the whole time with it spiking up over 190 at the end. It feels like it is working overtime, but that is normal because I truly am pushing my body to its limit. I wouldn't worry about it, and over time the HR will drop as your fitness increases.

From RunnerGirl on Tue, Jun 12, 2007 at 16:10:29

Thanks so much for the help! That makes me feel a lot more at ease. I know I am not as in shape as I could be, but I am getting there. I was just worried I was exercising at unhealthy levels. It does feel better when I am at around 160 - feels really comfortable. It is just frustrating to me sometimes when I feel like my heart can't go as fast as my legs!

I also had a hole in my heart when I was born that healed itself miraculously - so that could have something to do with it. I'm not sure.. maybe it's not quite as efficient as others' hearts.

From RunnerGirl on Tue, Jun 12, 2007 at 16:22:10

Thanks so much for the help! That makes me feel a lot more at ease. I know I am not as in shape as I could be, but I am getting there. I was just worried I was exercising at unhealthy levels. It does feel better when I am at around 160 - feels really comfortable. It is just frustrating to me sometimes when I feel like my heart can't go as fast as my legs!

I also had a hole in my heart when I was born that healed itself miraculously - so that could have something to do with it. I'm not sure.. maybe it's not quite as efficient as others' hearts.

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