Breaking the Wall

Week starting Dec 03, 2006

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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: 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
53.6515.506.500.0075.65
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.200.000.000.0010.20

Ran early in the morning from our new house. Was supposed to meet Ted on the way but missed him. Eventually found him and we ran a couple of miles together. Not enough sleep, so was not very motivated for most of the run. At 5 miles noticed I was 1:20 behind the 7:00 guy. Decided to chase him. Surprisingly, shifting gears to 6:30-6:40 pace came rather naturally, without too much concentration. Finished the run in 55:57.

Ran with the kids in the evening.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.901.000.500.0012.40

Ran with Ted in the morning on the Provo River Trail from my house, dropped him off, then ran a 1.5 mile tempo in 8:39, total time for 10 miles - 1:07:45. Ran with the kids in the evening.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.700.005.000.0010.70

Slept in this morning and missed Ted. Ran on the Provo River Trail in the afternoon. It got warmer, so I decided to do a health/fitness test - standard 5 mile tempo from Geneva Road to the Utah Lake and back. Got 28:18. Splits - 5:38 - 11:12 (5:34) - 14:01 (2:49) 16:57 (2:56, 5:45) - 22:39 (5:42) - 28:18 (14:17, 5:39). HR took 2 miles to work its way up to 161. Then after the turnaround my legs quit. The upper quads were feeling overworked. HR dropped to 153. I regrouped and brought it back up to 158. Then I figured out a trick that allowed me to get back up to 5:40 pace. Hamstrings and quads are antagonistic muscles. So if you contract one, the other will relax. I tried lifing my feet up higher to make the hamstrings work more. This should have given the quad more of a break, and it did. I figure the trick was worth about 5 seconds per mile in that situation.

Came home, ran with the kids.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.700.500.000.0012.20

10 miles with Ted in the morning from my house to the end of the Provo River Trail and back in 1:11:55. Picked up to 6:00 pace on the last 0.5. In the afternoon took our station wagon (Zhu) to CompuTune to fix the broken water pump. Ran back on the trail with the kids. Benjamin ran all the way (2.2 miles), Jenny and Julia took turns riding in the stroller.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.405.000.000.0014.40

Ran 2.25 in the morning to pick up the station wagon (Zhu) from Computune. Then ran 10.04 miles in the afternoon in 1:03:19 with 2x2.5 tempos in the middle on the standard 5 mile tempo parts. First one was 14:34, HR stabilized at 151 with occasional bursts to 155. On the second, got 14:31. HR stabilized at 153, then drifted up to 159 on the last mile, which is uphill at 0.5 grade, and then I cheated on the last 200 (40 seconds) to get a negative split, and it maxed out at 163. Last mile in the tempo was 5:46.

Kept a good pace before, in between, and after the tempos, which helped give a decent time for the entire run. Ran with the kids later in the afternoon.

Yesterday Benjamin solved 3 math problems from the SAT test. This is a good sign. He should be able to handle the whole thing by the time he is 10. We need to work on his geometry skills.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.759.001.000.0015.75

Tempo run on the Provo River Trail. 10 miles, double the standard 5 mile tempo run. Total time 58:27. Splits by 2.5 - 14:51, 14:44, 14:28, 14:24. Last mile in 5:46 ( 0.5 % grade up). HR did not get up to 150 for the first two miles, but the pace felt the fastest I wanted to go. Then it hovered around 152 up to 5 miles. Then I sped up and it climbed to 155, and I was also feeling better. On the last mile it was around 159, and maxed out at 163 on the last 200 (41 seconds). Total of 12.7 for the run with the warm-up and cooldown.

Ran with the kids in the late afternoon.

I believe I've observed this HR laziness phenomenom before. This happens when you are training hard day after day. I see this as an indication of proper response to training. The body is trying to pace itself and will not work unless you give it a really good reason to.

Somehow managed a 75 mile week. Did not really intend to do it, but I'll take it if it comes naturally.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
53.6515.506.500.0075.65
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
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