Breaking the Wall

Week starting Mar 18, 2012

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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: 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
77.5010.009.000.0096.50
Green Crocs 3 Miles: 96.00
Night Sleep Time: 52.50Nap Time: 1.00Total Sleep Time: 53.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Day of rest. Went to church. We had a sister that just returned from a mission speak to us. She was originally from Guatemala but came to the US at the age of 10. She said she remembered poverty and third-world living conditions. The talk was on the Atonement of Christ. Then the lesson in Sunday School was on on 2 Nephi 26-27 where Isaiah is quoted and explained. The lesson in the Elder's Quorum was on sustaining our leaders.

Night Sleep Time: 8.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.000.000.000.0015.00

A.M. The winter came back for a brief (hopefully) visit. I ran 7 with Benjamin, then added 3 myself, and 2 with Jenny and Julia.

P.M. 3 total. 1 with Jacob and Joseph. 

Green Crocs 3 Miles: 15.00
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.000.000.000.0015.00

A.M. 7 with Jeremy, 2 with Julia, 3 alone. Jenny did 1 mile. Benjamin had sprained his foot, so he took a day off.

P.M. 1 with Jacob and Joseph, 2 more alone, total of 3. 

Green Crocs 3 Miles: 15.00
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.500.005.000.0015.50

A.M. Ran mostly alone. Benjamin did the first 0.5 mile with me then turned around and wobbled back, totaling 1 mile for the day. I did a different workout than before this time breaking up the tempo into two parts. First 2 mile up into a significant but not completely disastrous headwind in 11:56.7 with the splits of 5:57, 5:59. Then a mile uphill jog to recover, and 3 miles back down from Nunn's park to the mouth of the canyon in 15:49.2 with the splits of 5:13, 5:21, 5:15. I was pleased with the result, as I was expecting something in the range of low 16:00 maybe no more than 3 seconds under through a gutsy effort. Then I came home and ran with Jenny and Julia. Jenny did 1, Julia 2. I ended up with 12.5.

P.M. 3 miles total. 1 with Joseph and Jacob. 

Green Crocs 3 Miles: 15.00
Night Sleep Time: 7.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
16.000.000.000.0016.00

A.M. All the morning run kids were out of commission today. Benjamin has a sprained foot, Jenny has some foot problem as well, Julia was rollerblading and hurt her knee. Jenny tried to run, and managed to do 1 mile. So I did that with her, and then 11 more alone. I actually got going on the way back down the canyon and was hitting a fairly consistent 6:24 pace, which was still in the range of easy, but I did some math and realized that this is on pace for about 2:48 marathon. So it was encouraging to be on pace for 2:48 and think of it as a jog. Of course, I would much rather actually run 2:20 and think of it as a long grueling sprint. There is little glory in imagining that the moderately fast but not record setting pace is easier on you than it really is. But I got into the rhythm, and I did not have anybody to talk to, so I just cruised along to get the run over with.

P.M. 1 with Joseph and Jacob. 3 with Julia going with me on a bike. 4 total. 

Green Crocs 3 Miles: 16.00
Night Sleep Time: 7.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.50
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.000.002.000.0015.00

A.M. 12 total. 2 with Jenny and Julia. 10 with Benjamin on a bike. Did a 2 mile tempo in 10:35 down the canyon. Wanted to just shake my legs, but ended up pushing harder than I anticipated having been lured by hitting slightly sub-5:20 pace from the start, and not wanting to let go of it.

P.M. 1 with Jacob and Joseph, 2 more alone. Total of 3. 

Green Crocs 3 Miles: 15.00
Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 1.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.0010.002.000.0020.00

A.M. 20 miles alone in 2:07:58. Ran on a new course. 10 miles from the house to somewhere in the middle of the South Fork, and then back. With a small variation, basically the Provo River 10 miler course out and back with the difference that on the way back the first downhill mile is removed, and then at the end you have an uphill mile to the house. So maybe 20-30 seconds slower than Provo River 10 miler on the way back. On the way up did a 2 mile tempo in 12:01 into a headwind. Then on the way back I realized that I picked the wrong time to run this course because around 10-11 AM the wind often changes directions, and it did today. So I ran back into a headwind as well. The time was 58:13. I was expecting fuel problems due to the fact that I had not done 12 miles total of tempo in a while, but I did not get any. Instead, I felt that my heart was weak.

Jenny and Julia ran 2. Benjamin took Joseph for 1 mile, and then Jacob for 1 mile in the evening. 

Green Crocs 3 Miles: 20.00
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
77.5010.009.000.0096.50
Green Crocs 3 Miles: 96.00
Night Sleep Time: 52.50Nap Time: 1.00Total Sleep Time: 53.50
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