Breaking the Wall

Week starting Apr 03, 2011

Previous WeekRecent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesSasha Pachev's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageMonth ViewYear View
Graph View
Next Week
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
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:

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 25.00 Year: 668.87
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
61.4013.5010.500.0085.40
Gold Crocs 2 Miles: 82.40
Night Sleep Time: 54.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 54.50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Day of rest. Two more sessions of the General Conference. The single young men of age to marry kept hearing about their problem. This time from Elder Scott. There was also a lot of discussion of the Church welfare plan. If only our government adopted it, we would never see poverty. It is based on the principle of self reliance. No man ever gets fish without taking fishing lessons first if he capable of taking them. As I heard those talks I wondered about the poor people that live righteously, keep the commandments, pay their tithing, live within their means, and are still struggling to provide for their needs. There are some of those, relatively not too many, but they do exist. For one reason or another have not been given the talent of financial prosperity. How will the promise of having enough for their needs is fulfilled for them?

I often think of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 117 about Oliver Granger, of whom the Lord said: "and when he falls he shall rise again for his sacrifice shall be more sacred unto me than his increase". It is a test our faith when we see Oliver Grangers around us - the Lord wants to see if we have enough of it to take care of them. That is how this promise is fulfilled.

Night Sleep Time: 9.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 9.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.500.003.000.0012.50

A.M. Felt sluggish. Did the usual 12.5 including kids runs. 3 with Benjamin, 2 with Jenny and Julia, 1 with Joseph, and 0.5 with Jacob. Did a 3 mile tempo at the end in 17:26 on the last 3 miles of my Bridal Veil 20 miler course.

Gold Crocs 2 Miles: 12.50
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.504.001.000.0015.50

A.M. Did the kids runs - Benjamin 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob 0.5. Then jogged another 2 miles and did the Fast Running Blog 5 miler tempo in 28:50.6 - splits: 5:48, 5:47, 5:44, 5:51, 5:41. Legs felt empty, had a hard time keeping the Android buzzer quiet. Again focused on keeping it quiet vs pushing the pace, and was rewarded by finding some zip in the legs in the last mile. Total of 15.5.

Gold Crocs 2 Miles: 12.50
Night Sleep Time: 7.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.50
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

A.M. Early 8 miles before going to the temple. Towards the end of my run my normal wake-up alarm set for 6:30 AM went off. It was a beautiful hymn - The Morning Breaks. I did not want my buzzer to disrupt the hymn so I tried to run with better form.

Jenny and Julia ran 2. Jacob did 0.5. Benjamin and Joseph waited for me to get back from the temple.

P.M. Did 3 with Benjamin, and 1 with Joseph.

Gold Crocs 2 Miles: 12.00
Night Sleep Time: 6.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 6.50
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.500.003.000.0012.50

A.M. Did the warm-up with the kids. 3 with Benjamin, 2 with Jenny and Julia, 1 with Joseph, and 0.5 with Jacob. Then jogged 3, and ran the 3 mile tempo over the last 3 miles of the Bridal Veil 20 miler course (from my house to Bridal Veil and back). Felt strong, did 16:53.7. Last mile, which was the most normal of the 3 was 5;32. The entire course has some form of obstacles to speed along the way, mostly turns, tunnels, and bridges, but that is the best I can do with the constraints of the trail construction, running with the kids, sleeping a decent amount, and starting work at some reasonable time.

Gold Crocs 2 Miles: 12.50
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.500.003.000.0012.50

A.M. Did the warm-up with the kids. 3 with Benjamin, 2 with Jenny and Julia, 1 with Joseph, and 0.5 with Jacob. It was raining today. I recalled a Russian song that says that nature does not have bad weather and every weather is a blessing. Thus all of the joys and troubles of life should be received thankfully. I taught Benjamin the words while we ran under a mix of snow and rain and jumped of the puddles. I did not recognize the Russian word for "bad", so I took my chance to give him a bit of a teasing, and said to him in Russian: "What, you've lived to the ripe old age of 12 and do not know such a simple word?"  It is interesting that he understood this phrase perfectly in spite of not knowing a simpler word.

Then I jogged 3, and ran the 3 mile tempo over the last 3 miles of the Bridal Veil 20 miler course (from my house to Bridal Veil and back). I felt strong, but it was difficult to keep the pace due to the rain and slippage under the tunnels. I ended up with 16:57.9.

Gold Crocs 2 Miles: 12.50
Night Sleep Time: 7.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.50
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.409.500.500.0020.40

A.M. The weather today tested my belief in the Russian song I quoted to my children yesterday about nature not having such thing as a bad weather. A steady stream of snow was falling on me the entire 20.4 miles.Fortunately it was warm enough that it did not stick to the road. Also, fortunately, there was no significant wind either. Of the two adversaries I would chose wet snow over wind any day. I ran a 2 mile warm-up, and then a 10 mile tempo on my favorite course - two times the Fast Running Blog 5 miler. I organized a free race a couple of years ago on that course, thus the name. Unfortunately, the race has not shown a whole lot of interest. With the hard economic times, almost every house that is for sale is a short sale or foreclosure, people out of jobs, gas prices going through the roof, etc, you would think that there will be plenty of people that will come to run a race with no frills  just to race, but go figure - they prefer "added value" for added price - food, fancy shirt, music,  etc even when perhaps they cannot really afford it. So given the lack of interest on the part of the participants, and the lack of time on my part as well - the economy has changed my job situation to where I cannot devote as much time to the blog as I used to, I have not done that race since. But if I am wrong and there is now enough interest, I'll do it again. Send me a message with proposed dates if you would like to run it.

The tempo went like this: 5:52 - 5:50 - 5:53 - 5:49 - 5:54 (29:18) - 5:49 - 5:48 - 5:53 -5:53 - 5:41 (29:05) total time 58:23, 5:50.3 avg. I felt OK, but could not get myself to go faster. Part of it was the snow, part was not having anybody to run with, part fatigue from the week, and part just plain lack of fitness. I was happy that I was able to turn my legs over some in the last quarter, and hit 81 in spite of all the negatives.

Then I ran home, and finished the remainder of the 20.4 with the kids. Benjamin did 3, Jenny and Julia 2, Joseph 1, and Jacob 0.5.

Gold Crocs 2 Miles: 20.40
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
61.4013.5010.500.0085.40
Gold Crocs 2 Miles: 82.40
Night Sleep Time: 54.50Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 54.50
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: