dedication, perseverance, self-discipline

I ran with Sasha this afternoon.  We did a warm-up followed by a 10 mile tempo at just under 6:00 pace, running the 5 mile tempo twice.  We started off a little fast, hitting the first mile in 5:44.  We then slowed it down, and ran 5:55, 5:55, 5:51 over the next three miles.  Sasha then asked if we could slow down just a little bit, and I slowed it down too much, going through the next mile in 6:05 (29:30 through 5 miles).  I then picked it back up a bit to make up the lost time, and we ran the next 4 miles in 5:53, 5:53, 5:56, 5:52.  Sasha was hurting, probably due to running quarters yesterday, so I was trying to motivate him to keep up pace so that we could at least hit the second half in the same time as the first.  We only needed a 5:56 over the last mile in order to make that goal, and we were slightly faster than that pace with 400 left.  I then picked it up to try and pull Sasha a bit faster, and we finished the last mile in 4:48 to finish the last 5 miles in 29:22 (58:52 total for 10 miles).  We then did a cool down to finish.  My cool down was a little longer because we met a guy named Scott on the trail and I ran with him for a little ways before running home.  I finished my run with a total time of 1:47:36 for 15.85 miles.

for those of you that know my brother Andrew (probably from the Wasatch Back Relay) he ran at his district meet yesterday to try and qualify for the state championships next Saturday. It is a huge meet, and it can be quite difficult to qualify. Andrew has been running times all year that have indicated that he had a very good shot at qualifying this year. However, he got sick a couple of days ago, and despite having run a 16:44 5k last week on a course that is not the fastest around and being on a much faster course yesterday, he ran his worst race of the year, finishing in 17:50 for 5k, good for 93rd place. His teammate whom he beat by 3 seconds last week, qualified for state fairly comfortably finishing in 17th (30 qualify for state). Races like that really suck. You train for so long to try and reach certain goals, and you feel like you should be able to reach those goals, yet then at the last minute a wrench gets thrown in your face and it feels like all of your preparation is for naught. I know I have had races that turned out that way, and I am sure that Andrew feels that way now. I feel bad for him.

I ran 10 miles this afternoon after school.  I went a little faster than normal in part because I was talking to one of the guys on the Cross Country team, and I didn't realize how fast we were going.  After running 6 miles with Mark, I finished up the run on my own, finishing 10 miles in 1:08:35.  I also biked home today, getting in an equivalent of 3 running miles (10 miles total biking).

Today was a weird day.  The plan was to run 6 miles and then come back and run with Kimia while she biked for 4 miles.  I accidentally overshot my mark and ended up getting in 6.25 miles by the time I made it home.  I was not surprised to see that Kimia was not ready to leave yet when I got there, but I was surprised when she immediately pulled me inside to talk.  Her employers did not want her to leave (we were going to move) and they offered an incentive for her to stay.  So, we talked about that for a while, and by the time we finished she did not want me to run any more and she begged me to stay at home.  So, no more miles for me, but I did ride my bike home, and I rode it pretty hard, so it is not all bad (3 mile equivalent from biking).

I ran with Sasha this morning.  I needed to get back to the house sooner, so I was only able to run 6 miles this morning.  We did it pretty slow, finishing in 52:04.  I was planning on getting another run in the afternoon, but by the time I finished biking home, I needed to get ready to go somewhere else and I did not get back until it was too late to get a second run in.  Darn, two days in a row without that many miles.

I ran with the cross country team today. We did a workout, where we did a little loop on the high school grounds before going hard up a hill. We would take the downhill easy, and then pick it up once we started the loop again. It was a total of 2 miles, but I probably did no more than 1.5 miles of it at marathon pace. I then ran more on my own at the end to finish up with 10 miles on the day.  Total time was a little over 1:13:00.

I ran on my own today, as I got to practice too late to run with the team.  They only ran about 3 miles so it really wasn't a big deal.  I ran a big loop up into mapleton and then out to hobble creek canyon before heading back to the high school to finish up 10 miles in 1:15:00.

I ran with a bunch of people this morning. After about a 2.5 mile warm-up Sasha and I started a 10 mile tempo. Michelle came with us for the first mile, and then did a few more mile repeats (sometimes 2000 repeats) with us at certain points of the tempo. We ran the 5 mile tempo twice again and we finished in 56:30, (56:38 for Sasha) which is much faster than last Saturday. Here are our mile splits (miles with the same coloring were run along the same portion of the 5 mile tempo).

5:47 - Just getting warmed into the tempo (1:32 first quarter)

5:43 -

5:40 - First turn around halfway through

5:46 - Slowed a bit so Michelle could stay with us

5:43 - Halfway split 28:39. Second turn around at the end of this mile

5:37 - Michelle ran the second half with us, but we actually sped up a bit (2:49, 2:48)

5:40 - Slowed a bit the first .5 for Michelle and then sped up (2:52, 2:48)

5:31 - Last turn around halfway through

5:37 - Slowed down just a little the first half mile and then sped up the second (2:51, 2:46)

5:26 - Was on pace for about 5:33-5:34 but ran a 1:16 last quarter to finish off the workout. Finished the second half in 27:51.

Overall I think that it was a really good workout.  I did not feel like I was really pushing it that hard, and I was able to progressively speed up without really increasing the effort much (not counting the last quarter).

I don't know it it was something that I ate, or if my body just shut down because I haven't gotten much sleep lately, (probably a combination of the two) but I woke up feeling like garbage this morning.  I couldn't function at all, and on top of it I was super congested (change in weather?) and had a headache and a stomach ache.  After making a few attempts to get going and failing miserably I finally decided to call in sick and stay home.  So, I slept all morning and by evening the stomach ache went away (but not until after I had finished my run).  I kept the run easy, finishing 11.1 miles in 1:23:25 with a standing vpb in the middle where I didn't stop my watch.

I slept so much yesterday that I had trouble falling asleep at night, but I felt fine today.  I ran 10 miles, getting in the first few miles with the cross country team, and then finishing up on my own.  I finished in 1:14:57.

I ran with Sasha this morning. We took our run really slow as we were discussing discrimination and whether or not straight men should be allowed to form civil unions if gay men (or women) are allowed to. We accidentally passed our mark so I think that we ran farther than 7 miles, but not by much. We finished our run in 58:45.

In the evening I ran another 6.25 miles alone in 48:56.  Nothing special to report. 

Today I ran with the cross country team.  After a warm-up we ran 5x800 with 200 recovery plus some standing around (about 2:30 for the recovery).  We took it out pretty slow, and got through the first repeat in 2:40.  This was followed by a 2:32, 2:23 (short by about 10 seconds or so) 2:33, 2:27.  I just stayed with the top guys on the team on all of them except the last, and on that one I was still trying to keep the distance close, so I wasn't going all out.  We ran all of them on grass, with some winding trails mixed in on a few of them.  After this I talked with some of the guys for a while before running approximately 8.75 miles home from the high school in 1:04:15.  I guessed the mileage based on maps, and mileage markers that are on the road so I think I am pretty close.

I took it pretty easy today.  I ran up hobble creek canyon for five miles, and then ran back down to the high school.  I finished in 1:18:36.

todays run was really kind of weird.  I started the run with the intention of holding about 7:00 pace and maybe speeding up to as fast as 6:40 pace.  I did not feel up to running a long tempo like I have been lately.  Instead, my first mile was under 7:00 and I felt like I was holding back.  After that, I averaged between 6:10 and 6:27 for the next 8+ miles until I made a turn around so that I could end at 15 miles for the day.  The whole time I really just felt like I was cruising.  I didn't feel like I was pushing the pace at all.  When I turned around, I decided that when I hit my next turn around in two miles I would run a two mile tempo just to see how it felt.  The next thing I know, I have sped up unconsciously and I run a 6:02 mile, followed by a 6:03.  I still felt like I was not even trying to push the pace at all.  So, when I hit my last turn around a little over 11 miles into my run I really turned it on, and I went flying back down the river trail.  It was dark, so it made it harder to judge speed, but I was able to catch my mile times.  I hit the first mile in 5:16.  It still felt relatively easy.  I could tell that I was pushing the pace, but I felt like I could sustain that pace forever.  The last mile was a 5:12.  This mile was really odd because it felt comfortable, but I felt like I couldn't really speed up.  Every time I tried to speed up I did and it did not feel like it was too hard to speed up, but I felt like I really needed to focus hard in order to do so, and I couldn't focus hard enough to maintain the speed.  It was very odd, and I don't really know why I couldn't maintain the speed when I went faster and I couldn't concentrate hard enough to do it.  I finished my run with about 2 more miles after this, and made it back to my house running 15.1 miles in 1:34:48.

I ran easy today.  I ran the first few miles with the cross country team, and then added on more after they finished.  Total of 11 miles in 1:21:51.

I ran mile repeats with the cross country team today.  I just stayed with the guys at the front, so it wasn't all out.  We finished the first in 5:24.  We started out too fast, and then needed to speed up the second half.  I ran the next two in 5:18.  The first and third repeats were run on the track, and the second was run mostly on the grass.  We had about 4:00 rest between repeats.  I then talked with the guys for about 20 minutes before finishing up, running a few extra miles to get to 10 for the day.  After finishing I found out that Kimia wasn't going to be able to pick me up, so I had to run most of the way home before she was able to make her way over to where I was at to get me.

I ran 7 miles with Sasha this morning.  We ran pretty slow, and finished in 58:33.  I was feeling kind of tired all day, probably due to running almost 16 miles yesterday, so I didn't run again after I rode the bike home.  The biking gave me a three mile equivalent.  I hope to be able to get in 11 or 12 miles tomorrow.

I ran hill repeats with the cross country team today.  They were short, and I didn't run too hard on them because I was thinking about my workout on Saturday, and I didn't want to kill myself sprinting up a hill.  Afterwards I ran more to get a total of 12 miles.  While I was running, a dog decided to try and play with me and it ran up by my side.  I tried running with it, but it kept running into me.  Finally I started playing with it;  I threw a stick, and when it looked the opposite direction I took off sprinting.  The dog tried to follow, but it was not fast enough to keep up.  After about a quarter mile, once the dog gave up, I slowed down again.  Total time was a little over 1:32:00.

I had to get up early this morning in order to work on a project for school that I didn't find out about until last night, so I didn't sleep much.  I felt fine, so I hope that I am not too tired tomorrow.  I just ran 8 miles, because I am trying not to get my mileage too high right now.  I want it to be in the 70's, but I don't want it too high.  Maybe early next year I will start getting my mileage up into the 80's again.  I finished my run in 57:36.

Today's workout was brutal. I ran with Sasha, and after a warm-up of about 2.75 we went into our tempo. We ran it on the same course as the 5 mile tempo. Sasha ran the first 10 miles, and I ran 15, which meant that I had to go back and forth on that 2.5 mile stretch 6 times (5 turn-arounds... yuck). Anyhow, here are my splits:

5:43 - Just getting warmed up

5:36 - Sasha is pushing the pace

5:39 - I take the lead at 2.5 (first turn-around in 14:08) and it stays that way

5:33 - Not trying to push the pace too much.

5:37 - Second turn-around at the finish of this mile (splits: 2.5 miles - 14:00; 5 miles - 28:08)

5:28 - Got confused and thought we had slowed down, so I ran a 1:19 final quarter to this mile

5:41 - Sasha wanted to slow down just a little so he could recover from the previous mile

5:33 - Third turn-around (2.5 mile split - 13:56? not completely sure)

5:32 - Feels good

5:36 - Fourth turn-around at the end of this mile (splits: 2.5 miles - 13:54?; 5 miles - 27:50; 10 miles - 55:58)

5:25 - Alone now, starting to push the pace a little more (half mile splits: 2:44, 2:41)

5:26 - Backed off a bit the second half (splits: 2:41, 2:45)

5:23 - Last turn-around halfway through (splits: 2.5 miles - 13:33; 800 splits - 2:42, 2:41)

5:23 - Originally thought it was a 5:24, but realized that I was wrong when I figured out my splits later. Tried to push it faster, but couldn't. (splits - 2:40, 2:43)

5:27 - Really started to fade this mile. Sasha joined me for half of the last mile, and half of this one, but it didn't seem to make a difference. (quarter splits - 1:23, 1:22, 1:22, 1:20) (other splits: 2.5 miles - 13:31; 5 miles - 27:04; last 10 miles - 54:54; 15 miles - 1:23:02)

All in all, this was a really good workout. Hopefully this will help my body to store more fuel so that I don't crash in my next marathon. I actually ran the last 5 miles just 13 seconds slower than my PR for the 5 mile tempo, so I am pleased with that. I am not happy that I faded as much as I did the last 1.5 miles. It was all I could do to not slow down any more than I did, and the last quarter (1:20) was all out. Afterwards, we did a short cool down to Sasha's house, after which I ran home. Color markers indicate corresponding sections of the 5 mile tempo either for 1 mile, 2.5 miles, or 5 miles, as well as for 10 mile splits.

My legs still feel thrashed after my Saturday tempo.  All I did was ride the bike home, and then run 5 miles in a little over 39 minutes.

The Springville Cross Country team ran a 1600 time trial today.  My original plan was to run it with them, but my legs are still feeling tired after Saturday, so I decided to only do the second half of it with them.  I ran a 2:18 second half (1:11, 1:07) to help pace the top runner for the team to a 4:37.  It is his pr by 1 second.  After doing this, I ran more miles to finish with 10 for the day.

I ran with Sasha, Derek, and one other guy today. We ran 8 miles, and then Sasha and I ran 2 more to finish up with 10 miles.

The race this morning was very competitive.  There were a bunch of the top guys from the blog, as well as some fast local guys, and some guys that go to BYU and UVU.  The race started off fast.  I was up at the front with Sean Sundwall, Nick McCombs, Reagan Frey (BYU), Josh Rohatinsky (dropped out at 3 miles), and some guy that runs for SUU (didn't cross the finish line).  A little over a mile into the race, the other guys dropped me and I fell 30-50 meters behind.  I decided that I would be patient and wait until about 2.5 miles before I would make a move to try and catch them all.  So, at 2.5 I made a move and slowly started catching the rest of the guys.  My problem is that I let them get too much of a gap on me before I started trying to catch them.  Anyhow, I slowly gained ground on them, and I caught Reagan a little ways past the 3 mile mark.  He stayed with me until we made it to about 3.5 and then dropped off.  I then tried to catch Nick, and I made it to within about a second of him with 400 left.  At this point I had almost nothing left, and he gained just slightly on me over the last 400.  So, I finished in third at 20:02.1 while Nick finished in 19:59.8 and Sean finished in 19:55.  The SUU guy beat us all, but he never crossed the finish line because he was banditing the race.  Overall it was a good race, and I am pretty happy with how I did, but I wish that I could have gotten those 2 extra seconds to finish under 20:00.

nothing special

I was super tired today, with moving and all, so I just ran an easy 12 with Sasha.  I took a 3 hour nap in the afternoon

I am feeling really drained.  I took a 3 hour nap after church today