Breaking the Wall

Week starting Dec 21, 2008

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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
88.500.000.000.0088.50
Brooks T4 Racing Flat Miles: 60.00
Night Sleep Time: 48.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 48.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Day off. Went to Church. Maurine (Tarzan) came over to pick up Sarah's pants and to visit with us in the afternoon.

Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
14.000.000.000.0014.00

A.M. 5 with Daniel and Mary Ann in 40:56. Then 2 with Benjamin and Mary Ann in 17:53. 4 more alone in 33:57. Still slippery. Less slippery at the start, more later on. 3 VPBs, one more non-virtual. And no, I do not consider this a health abnormality, I felt fine except in moments of urgency.

P.M. 1 with Julia in 11:54, 1.5 with Jenny in 15:51. 0.5 running errands. 

Brooks T4 Racing Flat Miles: 11.00
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.500.000.000.0013.50

A.M. Still slippery. 5 miles with Daniel and Mary Ann in 46:07. 2 more with Benjamin and Mary Ann in 17:54. 4 alone in 34:32.

P.M. 1 with Julia in 11:31, 1.5 with Jenny in 14:58.

Brooks T4 Racing Flat Miles: 11.00
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.000.000.000.0013.00

A.M. Still slippery. 5 with Daniel and Mary Ann in 44:47. 5 more with Chauncy and Mary Ann in 43:55.

Interesting dreams. I dreamt that Jacob was 10 years old and I was trying to catch up to him. I was pushing as hard as I could but could not close the gap. Jacob so far has shown more running talent and motivation than any other kid in our family at his age. He is 2. So this dream may very well come true and not because I get slow.

Sarah had a dream that a drunk defecated on our front porch. I hope her dream does not come true literally. However, according to a Russian tradition, her dream means we are going to get a significant amount of money from an unexpected source. I hope that part will come true.

P.M. 1 with Julia in 11:14, 2 with Benjamin in 18:58, Jenny ran 1.5 in 14:25. Slippery.

Brooks T4 Racing Flat Miles: 10.00
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.000.000.000.0013.00

A.M. Merry Christmas to everyone. We got a Merry Christmas from Provo City as well - they have finished the construction project on the trail and everything is back to normal. Not counting the slippery roads, of course. Now the fish are happy and so are the runners. Both can travel through their natural habitat.

Ran 5 with Daniel, 5 more alone. Total of 10 miles in 1:27:31. I could go 8:00 on better parts, but there were parts where 10:00 pace was all I could do.

Soon after I finished, 2 with Benjamin in 19:33, Jenny did 1.5 in 15:03, then 1 mile with Julia in 11:34.

Brooks T4 Racing Flat Miles: 13.00
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.000.000.000.0015.00

A.M. 10 miles in 1:26:22. First 5 with Daniel. Still slippery. Did some sprints in the middle whenever I had traction. Cheating like this allowed me to run the last 2.5 at sub-8:00 average.

P.M. Cross-country skiing with Benjamin in at the Jolley Ranch in the Hobble Creek Canyon. 2 miles. I did laps, and so did he, so we could be together while going our own speeds.  On the way back I managed to drive VanGoGo into a snow drift. The snow stuck to some parts inside that affected steering and breaking. So I thought I was stuck pretty bad, when in fact I just did not think to turn the wheel hard enough. With some guidance from people that were kind enough to stop and help I was able to steer it out. However, steering and breaking was very difficult the entire way home. I tried to clear out the snow, was able to make things better, but it is pretty deep. The breaks seem to work fine, but steering is still difficult. Will hope the snow melts over the weekend.

P.M.-2 1 with Julia in 11:11, 2 with Benjamin in 17:31, Jenny ran 1.5 in 13:25.

Brooks T4 Racing Flat Miles: 10.00
Night Sleep Time: 8.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 8.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.000.000.000.0020.00

A.M. 17 miles in 2:23:14, first 5 with Daniel. The road kept getting more and more slippery as the temperatures rose. So I decided to try something new - spikes. For a while it was better. I was able to average 7:00 pace on my magic 2.5 mile stretch. But then I went on a less traveled portion of the trail going along the lake, and it was very bumpy. Plus the rising temperatures kept increasing the slippage. So I slowed down to around 9:00-9:30 pace. When I got out I sped up to around 9:00. The last mile was 7:51 - hard packed snow helped. I learned that good traction is only a part of being able to go fast. Little snow bumps on the road can be a very serious factor in slowing you down.

The long run was not that long distance-wise, but I think effort-wise it was just right - I was out there for about as long as it takes me to run a good marathon putting in a decent effort.

P.M. 1 with Julia in 11:43, 2 with Benjamin in 19:01, Jenny ran 1.5 in 14:37.

Brooks T4 Racing Flat Miles: 5.00
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
88.500.000.000.0088.50
Brooks T4 Racing Flat Miles: 60.00
Night Sleep Time: 48.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 48.00
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