Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

January 2013

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Location:

Provo,UT,

Member Since:

Apr 07, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K - 17:11 (Cougar Run)

10K - 34:35 (Deseret News)

15K - 57:33 (Utah Running Club)

1/2 - 1:22:26 (Mountain View Trail)

50K - 4:22:31 (Sapper Joe)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Sub-2:45 at Saint George Marathon

Win the Antelope Island half marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

I'd like to run the Angeles Crest 100 at some point. And I'd still like to go sub-4 at a trail 50k. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/4808912

Personal:

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<iframe height='454' width='300' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/athletes/4808912/latest-rides/184689bbf831149f2053e60709730c07651232d3'></iframe>

I was a competitive cyclist for years. In 2009, after racing in the Tour of Utah, I decided I had plateaued as a cyclist--I could continue to improve, but I wouldn't break through to a new level. So, I started looking for a new challenge.


I thought that challenge would be mountain biking, but I'm a terrible bike handler. I married Catherine in January 2010 and a couple of weeks later I entered the SLTC Winter Training Series with her. A couple of weeks after that I decided I'd like to run ultras, so I signed up for a couple of 50Ks to get started.

Those first races came and went, with varying results. I was looking forward to running more and possibly pushing into the longer distances, but I injured my knee in June 2010 and I've never been consistently healthy since.

I started law school in August 2010, which meant less time for training. In June 2011, Baby Elliott was born, which meant even less time for training. But she's worth it. 

Baby Nora joined us in October 2013, with the same effect on training as Elliott (who, incidentally, is no longer a baby). 

I (finally) finished school in April 2014 and now I'm an evil corporate lawyer in Salt Lake. I have no illusions that I'll ever get back into the shape that I once was, but I'm perfectly at peace with that. I still have many goals to accomplish and many years in which to do it. 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Total Distance
128.90
MR10 (3) Miles: 78.60MR10 (2) Miles: 45.30
Weight: 0.00
Total Distance
5.00

Today was day 2, and it was an easy one. Five miles easy, that is. Because it was such a bitter cold morning, I ran on the treadmill again. From here till sometime in the spring, You can assume that indoors running is the default. to avoid too much monotony for my legs, I threw in some gentle inclines and declines, never more than 2 percent.

MR10 (3) Miles: 5.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
2.00

I was going to go skiing with Catherine today, but Elliott threw up again last night. Our pediatrician told us to bring her in today if she wasn't any better, so I stayed home with Elliott and Catherine went skiing with her brother. I woke up with a sore throat today, so it may be for the best that I stayed home. 

According to the doctor, Elliott has just come down with two sicknesses in a row. He said she should be better in a day or two, and it looks like he may be right. Elliott is much happier as I write this than she has been in a while. If she can make it through the night without puking, I think we'll have turned the corner.

As for running, today I was supposed to do five 800s with 200m recoveries. Or as close as I can come to that on a treadmill at the gym. But because I'm sick I ran a little slower than I was supposed and a lot shorter. Not good to cut a workout short on day three, but sometimes life happens.

By the way, I went back and deleted yesterday's miles. I had forgotten until today, but this year I won't be tracking miles. I think distance is a good metric, but it's not the most important one. And when you're always counting miles, it's hard not to let the count get in the way of more important considerations. Or maybe that's just my way I've hiding my low mileage :)

MR10 (3) Miles: 2.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
0.00

The days not over yet, but I'm sure enough that I won't be running to go ahead and post. I've been coming down with what Elliott had for a couple of days, and today it hit in full force. Mercifully, the sore throat and deep lung cough are gone. But my head hurts and I'm always cold and I feel weak and wobbly every time I stand up and walk around. I can't imagine running tonight, so I won't. Who cares about consistency for consistency's sake?

It's discouraging to be missing days so early into my plan. But sometimes it's just a bad idea to run. And if this ends up being all I miss, I'll be glad that the down days happened at the beginning of the training cycle rather than disrupting it in the middle. 

And looking on the bright side, I'll probably lose a few pounds by the time all of this is over. And I don't even have to pick up an eating disorder to do it.

Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
0.00

Last night, when I felt like garbage, my temperature was around 100 degrees. I had a fitful night, tossing and turning and sweating while always feeling too cold, but I woke up feeling a bit better. And although I still do feel a bit better, it turns out my temperature is up to 101 degrees. I still feel perpetually cold, and I get weak and shaky every time I stand up or walk for a prolonged period. I say all of this to justify the fact that I missed another day of running tomorrow. 

I will run tomorrow, even if all I can manage is a one-mile shuffle. 

Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
1.00

As promised, I ran today. I even thought I would do the whole 7 miles I had planned. But about a minute into my run I could tell I was still sick, so I called it after a mile. A fitting end to my first week of training. 

MR10 (2) Miles: 1.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
5.10

I'm more or less back on track today. I was supposed to run my mile repeats this morning at about 6:00/mile, but I quickly realized that that wasn't going to happen, so I slowed them down to about 6:30. I'm still feeling a bit congested and I have the occasional phlegmy cough, but otherwise I feel okay and my run reflected that. I hope to be back up to full speed by next week, if not sooner, but for now I'll be happy to keep completing my workouts a little more slowly.

MR10 (3) Miles: 5.10
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
5.00

I was sort of still on track today. But I overslept, and since we were going to be out tonight and there would be no time to run later, I had to make do with what I could. I was supposed to run six easy miles, but instead I ran five and I ran them faster than normal. I can still feel that I'm sick, but I'm getting better. I hope to have this kicked by the start of next week. 

I've heard that it's supposed to warm up sometime this week. I hope that means I get a chance to do my long run outside this weekend. 

MR10 (3) Miles: 5.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
4.30

My lower legs have been pretty sore for the last few days, which is troubling. I probably shouldn't be out hammering hard until that gets better. But with as bad a start as I've had over the past week and a half, I couldn't bear to miss another workout, so I ignored the pain and ran my 800s as planned. I ended up with a bit of heal striking to reduce the discomfort, and I got through the workout in one piece. For the rest of the week I have nothing but easy miles planned, so I'll take them very easy, then rest on Sunday, and hope things are better on Monday. If they're not, I may have to miss a few more days next week. 

MR10 (3) Miles: 4.30
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
5.00

Today was a lot like Tuesday. I was supposed to run six miles easy, but instead I ran five. But unlike on Tuesday, it wasn't because I didn't have time. It was because I didn't have motivation. And also my leg still hurts. 

Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
4.00

Another four miles, and I felt a little better than I did the last few nights. That's because my leg didn't hurt as much. That sounds like it could be a good thing, but the reason that my leg didn't hurt was that my leg has gone numb. I noticed a few hours ago that it felt like it had gone to sleep, and it still feels that way. That can't be a good thing, but I don't know what to make of it. 

MR10 (3) Miles: 4.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
0.00

My leg was still numb today, and I had a headache. I sinus infection, from the feel of it. Plus, we're giving talks at Church tomorrow, which means we had to prepare for those. By the time it came down to it, I just didn't want to run tonight, so I didn't. 

My training is looking pretty dismal so far. 

Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
6.60

Today I was back up to full speed and full distance. I ran five one-mile repeats at 6:00 with 400m recoveries. I felt fine, except for my lower leg. Although it hasn't felt sore at all for a couple of days, the pain was back almost immediately when I started running. I think I'll make my easy runs "runs" this week and do them on an elliptical, just to let my leg recover. At least the numbness seems to be gone. Or maybe I've just gotten used to it. 

MR10 (3) Miles: 6.60
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
6.00

I decided that if I'm going to make this consistent training thing work, I'm going to have to be okay with sometimes counting cross training. 

My lower legs still hurt, so instead of running six miles today I ran three and then finished the balance on the elliptical. I hate that machine. It's not the activity (which is super boring) as much as it is the machine itself. The stride is too short, which I understand that they can't fix because then it would be too long for almost everyone else. But there's no reason that the machine has to have a bar perfectly placed for me to smack my knees into. That's just poor design. 

MR10 (2) Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
7.60

That was harder than expected. Today's workout called for eight 800m repeats (5:46) followed immediately by six 400m repeats (5:34) with 200m recoveries. I finished the set completely, and I probably could have done a couple more, but I was ready for it to be over by the end. I think that's a good way to finish a workout. 

My lower leg felt better today. There's still some pain, but I was mostly able to forget it while I ran. I'll start on the treadmill tomorrow, and if anything bothers me I'll finish on the elliptical again. But I'm starting to feel pretty good about my chances of being fully recovered by the weekend. 

MR10 (3) Miles: 7.60
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
6.00

Six slow miles on the treadmill, which was about as exciting as it sounds. 

MR10 (3) Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
4.00

Four easy miles at the end of what's been a pretty solid week, by my current standards. My legs have been feeling pretty sore after the  hard workouts earlier this week, so it was nice to shake them out a bit this morning. Tomorrow I'm supposed to run nine. If I do that it will be my highes mileage week in longer than I care to admit. 

MR10 (2) Miles: 4.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
9.00

Nine miles at the gym this morning.

I got a late start, so I felt worse than I would have liked to, but the longer I stuck with it the better I felt. It was supposed to be an easy run, but with no TV and no Cardio Cinema and no iPod, the idea of nine steady miles was more than I could bear. Basically I ended up surviving four and a half steady miles. Then I cranked up the speed and finished with a reverse progression run. By the end I was doing nine-minute miles. I figured the only way I could win the mental game today was if I knew things were getting easier.

Anyway, I hit all my workouts this week. Awesome. 

MR10 (2) Miles: 9.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
6.50

By the time I got to the gym, this workout seemed easier than it did the first time I saw it on my schedule. But by the time I was done it seemed harder. One mile warmup, five miles at "marathon pace" (I won't embarrass myself by stating the pace), then a half mile at 5K pace tacked on immediately after. It was pretty good. And the basic principal that when you run faster the miles go by faster is a real bonus on the treadmill.

I am a little worried that my right knee is starting to hurt, though. I expected it to happen at some point, but if it really is happening now it's a little ridiculous. At the very least it's an indication that I'm not made to be a runner. McDougall my say otherwise, but I'd say most of us aren't born to run. It's been so long that we as a species have had any real need to run that I'm pretty sure many of our running adaptations have found their way out of the gene pool. We may be fatter, but I'll bet we're a lot smarter than prehistoric humans, too.

MR10 (2) Miles: 6.50
Weight: 0.00
Comments(5)
Total Distance
6.00

My patience with the treadmill is starting to wear thin, so Catherine suggested I head to campus and run on the indoor track this evening. I did, and it was a good evening. It smells funny and it's crowded, but it was nice to be able to run and actually go somewhere, even if it was just in circles. I think for the next while I may do all my steady miles on the track and save the treadmill for intervals and tempo. 

MR10 (3) Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
2.80

Today's workout was relatively short in both time and distance (though more so in distance), but it was still pretty tough. The workout schedule called for .10 mile hill repeats with .10 mile "recoveries" back downhill at marathon pace. But I had no idea how to make that work on a treadmill (even though the gym treadmills go downhill, it takes forever for the machine to move up and down). So instead, I set the treadmill to 12 percent and ran my intervals at 7:00 and walked my recoveries at about 17:00. It was much harder than I thought it would be, and by the end I was having trouble breathing after each interval. So I guess that means it was a good workout. 

MR10 (2) Miles: 2.80
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
6.00

Six easy miles at the indoor track. Almost the exact same as Tuesday's run, only in the morning. 

MR10 (2) Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
4.00

I have a pretty fierce sore throat today. Believe it or not, that means that at least one person in our house has been sick since Christmas day. I figure we're due for a break soon.

Anyway, I still ran. I just plodded along at a 9:00 pace on the treadmill, late at night. Sigh. 

MR10 (3) Miles: 4.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
9.00

Oh, for shame. The schedule called for nine miles, but I only ran 9. I was on the short indoor track at BYU, and I'm still feeling a bit sick, so I had had it pretty early. I chugged along fora  while, but after 64 laps I was done. The remorse for quitting early hit early and hard. So much so that I may sneak out for another mile or two tonight, just to make things right. Or as right as I can make them after the fact. 

MR10 (3) Miles: 9.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
8.00

When I woke up, the runny nose, cough, and sore throat--all the good stuff--were still there. I almost decided to skip my run, and I was certain that I wouldn't be able to complete my intervals, at least not at full speed. But as long as I was running I pretty much felt fine, and I was able to complete my entire workout without a hitch. I actually felt better at speed than I did all last week.

Six miles at 6:00 with quarter-mile recoveries in between. All on a treadmill, of course. 

MR10 (3) Miles: 8.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
6.00

I was supposed to run six easy miles today, so I went to the indoor track to avoid dying of boredom (yes, it is better to run in small circles than it is to run in place). Anyway, we had Elliott's Well Child appointment at 8:00, so I ran a bit faster than I normally would for an "easy" run. Average pace was just under 7:00.

Elliott is now in back down to the 5th percentile for weight, but she's climbed up past the 75th percentile for length. Tall and skinny--we're shocked.

MR10 (3) Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
4.00

Not as bad a workout as I thought it would be. Five 2-minute repeats at 5:30, with 2-minute recovery intervals, which I ran at 10:00. The whole thing, including s quick warm up and cool down, was over in less than 30 minutes. 

MR10 (2) Miles: 4.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
6.00

A haiku: 

Six miles today.

Run steady on a treadmill.

So very boring.  

MR10 (2) Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
128.90
MR10 (3) Miles: 78.60MR10 (2) Miles: 45.30
Weight: 0.00
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