Breaking the Wall

Week starting Jul 26, 2015

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:

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to Ukraine's Armed Forces

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

Totals

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
73.70	0.00	9.00	2.24	84.94

White Crocs 2 Miles: 84.95

Night Sleep Time: 21.00	Nap Time: 4.00	Total Sleep Time: 25.00

Sun, Jul 26, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00

Day of rest. Went to church.

Night Sleep Time: 7.00	Nap Time: 2.00	Total Sleep Time: 9.00

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Mon, Jul 27, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
12.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-07-27 07:25:28
Workout Totals: Distance12.000Time1:33:16.40Pace7:46.37
Usual run. Total of 12. Kids ran usual distances. Joseph picked up a bit of a cold, so we ran slower.
Leg 1:Distance4.000Time32:13.10Pace8:03.27
With Joseph and Jacob. Jenny and Julia ran the first 1.5 with us.
Leg 2:Distance8.000Time1:01:03.30Pace7:37.91
With Benjamin.

White Crocs 2 Miles: 12.00

Night Sleep Time: 7.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 7.00

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Tue, Jul 28, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
10.13	0.00	3.00	0.00	13.13

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-07-28 07:21:50
Workout Totals: Distance13.130Time1:38:40.20Pace7:30.89
Today Stephen set a new mile record at the Orem High Track - 8:29.7. His splits were 2:03, 2:10, 2:08, 2:04 - the balance going to the 9.34 meter tax. This is our new family record for the 4 and under age division. Stephen ran 0.7 faster than he did on the little boy course which was our road record, but the track record of 8:40 belonged to William. I discovered that at the age of 5 and younger the road times on a known out and back course end up being better than the track - I think because a little kid has a hard time knowing how far away he is from the finish on the track, but on the road he knows exactly. Otherwise we had usual runs, except William did only 1 due to a cold, and Benjamin and I did a 3 mile tempo run at the end of ours in 16:52.3 - splits 5:28 (down the canyon), 5:38 (flatter, rolling), and 5:46 (uphill). I felt great - I originally told Benjamin to pace me at 5:50 but ended up asking him to speed up a few times, and only asked him to slow down on the last hill when he started to smell the barn and instinctively crank it up into the Benjamin gear. I felt like I was turning back the clock and getting younger. I think the strength came from taking two naps in a row - one on Saturday, and one on Sunday. Now if only I could figure out how to do this more often...
Leg 1:Distance3.718Time29:44.70Pace8:00.02
With Joseph and Jacob. Jenny and Julia did the first 1.5.
Leg 2:Distance1.200Time9:38.00Pace8:01.67
With Benjamin running and Stephen in the stroller to the track.
Leg 3:Distance0.150Time1:36.00Pace10:40.00
Warm-up with Stephen.
Leg 4:Distance1.062Time8:29.70Pace7:59.94
Stephen's time trial.
Leg 5:Distance0.100Time0:52.40Pace8:44.00
Cool-down with Stephen.
Leg 6:Distance0.900Time7:29.90Pace8:19.89
Back to the house with Benjamin running and Stephen in the stroller.
Leg 7:Distance3.000Time23:57.20Pace7:59.07
Warm-up with Benjamin.
Leg 8:Distance3.000Time16:52.30Pace5:37.43
Tempo run.

White Crocs 2 Miles: 13.13

Night Sleep Time: 0.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 0.00

Comments(3)

Wed, Jul 29, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
12.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	12.00

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-07-29 07:27:08
Workout Totals: Distance12.000Time1:33:22.80Pace7:46.90
Usual 12. Kids did usual distances.
Leg 1:Distance4.000Time31:29.60Pace7:52.40
With Joseph and Jacob. Jenny and Julia ran the first 1.5.
Leg 2:Distance8.000Time1:01:53.20Pace7:44.15
With Benjamin.

White Crocs 2 Miles: 12.00

Night Sleep Time: 0.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 0.00

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Thu, Jul 30, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
11.16	0.00	0.00	1.12	12.28

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-07-30 07:40:26
Workout Totals: Distance12.286Time1:34:35.80Pace7:41.96
Tried a mile time trial today at Orem High track. Started OK, but then fell apart royally. Could only get 5:21.8. Splits were 74,77,83,85. Joseph and Jacob team left me in the dust in the last 800. Jacob got 82, Joseph 78. Part of the problem was the wind, part lack of sleep. This was quite an attention getter for me. A nap on Saturday, a nap on Sunday, and I am running like a new man on Tuesday. Then two days no naps and sleeping 6.5-7 hours at night + a bit of work stress - even though nothing compared to the industry standard, and my ability to deal with anaerobic fatigue is gone. Kids ran their usual distances.
Leg 1:Distance1.346Time11:03.60Pace8:12.91
Warm-up.
Split 1:Distance1.050Time8:45.60Pace8:20.57 Cumilative:Distance1.050Time8:45.60Pace8:20.57
Warm-up with Joseph, Jacob, and Benjamin, strides. Joseph and Jacob did not do the strides/in-between jogging.
Split 2:Distance0.062Time0:17.50Pace4:41.80 Cumilative:Distance1.112Time9:03.10Pace8:08.36
Split 3:Distance0.062Time0:43.40Pace11:38.87 Cumilative:Distance1.174Time9:46.50Pace8:19.49
Split 4:Distance0.062Time0:17.80Pace4:46.63 Cumilative:Distance1.236Time10:04.30Pace8:08.80
Split 5:Distance0.110Time0:59.30Pace8:59.09 Cumilative:Distance1.346Time11:03.60Pace8:12.91

Leg 2:Distance1.000Time5:21.80Pace5:21.80
Time trial.
Leg 3:Distance1.100Time9:25.10Pace8:33.73
Back to the house.
Leg 4:Distance1.800Time14:48.30Pace8:13.50
More distance with Joseph, Jacob, and Benjamin.
Leg 5:Distance5.000Time39:00.40Pace7:48.08
With Benjamin.
Leg 6:Distance2.040Time14:56.60Pace7:19.51
Alone.

White Crocs 2 Miles: 12.28

Night Sleep Time: 0.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 0.00

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Fri, Jul 31, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
13.02	0.00	0.00	1.12	14.14

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-07-31 07:06:45
Workout Totals: Distance14.146Time1:45:06.20Pace7:25.78
For an experiment decided to do a mile time trial again. Got slightly better sleep, and took a little 10 minute catnap on the floor in the afternoon the day before. Was able to run 5:19.4, a little bit faster, but I think the improvement was more solid than the clock shows. The wind caused quite noticeable variation of pace, I saw the difference of as much as 3 seconds per 200 between the good wind 200 and the bad wind one. Overall I felt stronger, more in control. Part of it may be attributed to the slower start in 77 instead of 74, but at the same time that 77 was 40/37. Benjamin paced me. Joseph and Jacob stayed home this time, I did not think it would be wise for them to run hard again the next day. Splits were 77,77,82,81. Kids ran their usual distances.
Leg 1:Distance1.606Time13:18.90Pace8:17.35
Warm-up/strides with Benjamin.
Split 1:Distance1.050Time8:26.00Pace8:01.90 Cumilative:Distance1.050Time8:26.00Pace8:01.90
Split 2:Distance0.062Time0:17.60Pace4:43.41 Cumilative:Distance1.112Time8:43.60Pace7:50.82
Split 3:Distance0.062Time0:39.60Pace10:37.68 Cumilative:Distance1.174Time9:23.20Pace7:59.65
Split 4:Distance0.062Time0:18.60Pace4:59.52 Cumilative:Distance1.236Time9:41.80Pace7:50.60
Split 5:Distance0.370Time3:37.10Pace9:46.76 Cumilative:Distance1.606Time13:18.90Pace8:17.35

Leg 2:Distance1.000Time5:19.40Pace5:19.40
Mile time trial.
Leg 3:Distance1.500Time13:44.60Pace9:09.73
Cool-down.
Leg 4:Distance4.000Time28:56.20Pace7:14.05
With Joseph and Jacob, Jenny and Julia did the first 1.5. - they were on the move today. Benjamin ran with Stephen in the meantime.
Leg 5:Distance2.040Time16:08.40Pace7:54.71
With Benjamin and William on the little boy course. William closed with a 7:39 uphill mile and set a PR for the course.
Leg 6:Distance4.000Time27:38.70Pace6:54.68
With Benjamin. Half way through I suggested we should not get beat by little boys, so we ran the last 2 miles in 11:50, last mile uphill.

White Crocs 2 Miles: 14.15

Night Sleep Time: 0.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 0.00

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Sat, Aug 01, 2015

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
15.39	0.00	6.00	0.00	21.39

Fast Running Friend Workout - 2015-08-01 07:24:54
Workout Totals: Distance21.391Time2:43:07.30Pace7:37.54
Today was an unusual day - Jenny, Julia, and Joseph took a practice ACT at the Orem Library, so they modified their runs all running 3 miles. William did 3, Jacob did 5, Stephen 1. Benjamin did a total of 15, I got a total of 21. He and I did a workout - 2 miles up the canyon, and 4 down. We had some significant headwind on the first one, Benjamin got 11:50, I got 12:27. On the second interval Benjamin ran 20:47 (5:05, 5:12, 5:15, 5:08), I got 22:26 (5:33,5:36,5:42,5:35). The tail wind did help, but as usual when it gets warmer it dies down, so we started out with cool air and a nice tail wind, and then transitioned into warmer air and less of a tailwind. I was pushing the stroller when I ran with Jacob. Of course, in my 18th mile for the day and after a workout he decided that it would be a great idea to run sub-6:40 pace up 6% grade. With Mary and Matthew in the stroller I could not do it, and got dropped. I must not forget that even though he is only 9 his 5 K PR is 20:07, so he is not that far behind me.
Leg 1:Distance2.280Time18:09.00Pace7:57.63
Warm-up with Benjamin.
Leg 2:Distance2.000Time12:27.80Pace6:13.90
Tempo run with Benjamin up the canyon.
Leg 3:Distance2.431Time19:26.80Pace7:59.97
Leg 4:Distance4.000Time22:26.30Pace5:36.57
Tempo run with Benjamin down the canyon.
Leg 5:Distance1.600Time15:15.90Pace9:32.44
Cool-down with Benjamin.
Leg 6:Distance1.000Time7:54.40Pace7:54.40
More distance with Benjamin.
Leg 7:Distance1.000Time8:56.80Pace8:56.80
With Benjamin, Jacob, and Stephen.
Leg 8:Distance2.040Time17:33.70Pace8:36.52
With Benjamin, William, and Jacob running, and Mary and Matthew in the stroller.
Leg 9:Distance2.040Time16:09.20Pace7:55.10
With Jacob running, and Mary and Matthew in the stroller. Jacob dropped me on the hill at the end.
Leg 10:Distance3.000Time24:47.40Pace8:15.80
With Joseph in the evening.

White Crocs 2 Miles: 21.39

Night Sleep Time: 7.00	Nap Time: 2.00	Total Sleep Time: 9.00

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Totals

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Total Distance
73.70	0.00	9.00	2.24	84.94

White Crocs 2 Miles: 84.95

Night Sleep Time: 21.00	Nap Time: 4.00	Total Sleep Time: 25.00

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