Big Man Runnin'

Utah Valley Marathon

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Location:

syracuse,Ut,United States

Member Since:

Jan 31, 2012

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

Half Marathon- 1:45 (Provo Halloween Half) 1:43:37 @ Thanksgiving Point 2012  1:42:51 @ Ogden Full 2012 Porter Rockwell 1/2- 1:31:52 (Aided)

Marathon- 4:58 (TOU) 3:43:57 @ Ogden 2012

3:34:19 @ Ogden 2016

5k- 23:37 (Hunter High Run For Funds) 22:06 @ Magna 4th of July 5K 2012 20:55 @ Draper Days 2012

10k 42:52 @ Legacy Midnight Run 2012 

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

Run A Sub 3:30 Marathon

Get Back into REAL shape.

Long-Term Running Goals:

  •  Win the Clydesdale division in a marathon
  • Qualify for and run Boston
  • Run a sub 3 hr. Marathon

 

 

Personal:

I am a former collegiate football player (offensive lineman) who took up running to lose weight, and in the process I have become addicted! I started running at 290 lbs.  I am married and we are expecting our first child in September 2014. 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Orange Gel-nimbus Lifetime Miles: 598.21
Brooks Launch Lifetime Miles: 395.50
Speedgoat Lifetime Miles: 232.15
Launch 3 Lifetime Miles: 364.80
Brooks Puregrit 4 Lifetime Miles: 136.40
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
201.6153.40255.01
Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 158.45Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 65.56Nike Lunarmax+ Miles: 3.00Asics Gel Frenzy Miles: 2.00Mizuno Wave Rider 15 Miles: 3.00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.003.0010.00

AM: extended basketball today.  It was an epic finish to the school year and to the old guys basketball association I play in at the school where I work.  Good solid workout to start the day off.

PM: decent run on a treadmill.  I hit the first two miles at an 8:34 pace, then dropped down to an 8:20 for 2 more miles.  I then decided I need to start finishing stronger so I hit the last 3.5 at a 7:45 pace.   

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 7.50
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.003.008.00

And let the justification begin . . . . . . . .

So today was the Ute Shoot (7 on 7 high school football passing tournament) And so from 7 until 4 I was doing what I do best, coaching football.  Our team played pretty well, and we made it to the quarter finals, which isn't very bad considering we are a run oriented team.

Anyways, so coaching really takes it out of me and I was running all over the place and yelling, so I used a lot of energy and wore myself out.  This lead me to the treadmill where I had the minimum goal of 5.5 miles (to hit 50 for the week) and a max of 10.  I settled for 8 and just pushed the tempo and the incline for a couple of the miles.  The legs were tired and I did not want to be there!!! I got through it and I am just glad the day is over! 

Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 8.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.003.0013.00

Early PM: 10 treadmill miles.  First 7 @ 8:26 then the last 3 were 7:41, 7:30. 7:00.  Good Monday workout, and a good way to start a marathon week.

Late PM: basketball Monday! Played about 32 minutes, and got a great workout.  It was a very high tempo game with lots of fast breaks, so I will call it 3 miles tonight.  My legs are a bit dead, but it feels good! 

 

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 10.00
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.501.5010.00

The first seven miles were on my own and a bit different for me.  I ran them at Hunter Park in my new soccer cleats that I am trying to break in for a tournament at the end of the month.  During the seven miles around the park I did 6x400 up hill.  That felt really good!.  My average pace at the park was an easy 8:35.  

After the park I hurried home and met my wife and we went out for a three mile jog.  I was so proud of my wife.  It was the hardest she has ran in about a year, and she is finally starting to become motivated!  It will be a lot of fun if she keeps it up :) 

Nike Lunarmax+ Miles: 3.00
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.003.007.00

Started the run off around the outdoor track at the fitness center, but then got a bit ambitious and ran up 5600 W from 3100 S to 4100 S.  I really pushed it the first 3 miles and kept my pace pretty low. I then did a loop back to the fitness center where I finished my run.  Average pace was 8:19, and the legs felt pretty good.

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 7.00
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.000.000.00

One of those days where nothing went as planned :) Hopefully it will turn out to be a good thing that I didn't log any miles today. 

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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.300.002.30

Nice easy run tonight with my buddy Nick (who we are staying with).  The legs feel ready for the day tomorrow.  Not expecting anything great, but I am going to enjoy the run.

Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 2.30
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Race: Utah Valley Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:52:09
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
26.200.0026.20

Oh what a day! I actually stuck with what I said and took it pretty easy today.  I wasn't super slow, but I wasn't all that fast either.  The goal for today was to get through it feeling pretty good.

The whole reason I signed up for this race was to run it with one of my good friends.  The only problem was that he waited too long to sign up and there were no more spots.  So I was stuck with a race entry, and no one to run with.  That being the case I decided to just take it easy and enjoy the run today, which was good because I don't know if my legs would have made it.

Now to the race!  Got on the bus and up to the start pretty early, and I was happy that it was pretty warm because I had forgotten my sweats.  When the race got going I hung back a little bit, and then started with the 4:30 pacers.  I had to fight myself to not take off and start running hard, but I did it! My first mile split and my last mile splits were exactly the same, with some faster and slower ones in between.

The only thing that I didn't like about the whole race was the SUPER strong headwind.  It made all those good down hills too hard.  At times running an 8:15 felt like the effort required to run a 7:30.  It was a bit frustrating, and I was just happy that I wasn't trying to PR.

A few of the noteworthy things that happened during the race:  The wind! Saw a guys calf cramp so bad that he screamed and dropped like he had been shot.  I actually saw his calf seize up, it was crazy!  I didn't know what to do, so I just kept running.  I kind of felt bad after, but I didn't know what to do.  The only other thing that was noteworthy is that RAD was in a "cape" yelling at everyone at the end about giving them super powers or something . . . . it was awesome! Oh, and wayyyyyy to much BYU gear around for my liking, but it is Provo.  Oh, and did I mention the wind blew hard?  Oh, and one of the pacers stopped pacing, so that was interesting.  Lots of people struggling, at least that's what it seemed like to me.

Anyways . . . . That's all I have for now.  I don't know that I really want to run this one again, but we shall see 

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 26.20
Comments(5)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.200.006.20

The legs were a bit tight today, especially my hammy, so I didn't go at it too hard.  The first 3.1 was by myself and my splits were 8:40, 8:29, 8:35.  The second 3.1 was with Katie and it kept me real slow, but that is what I needed today.  During this 3.1 is when I actually felt my hammy loosen up.  Overall a solid day, oh and I did play link up tag at school with my skills for life class, so that counted as some running too ;)

Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 6.20
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.004.0010.00

A bit of a progression run on the treadmill today.  First 2 miles @ 8:27, followed by 8:13, 8:00, 7:47, 7:35, 7:25.  I would have kept going but my hamstring started to grab a bit and so I held back and finished with 3 miles @ 8:34. Other than the bit of tightness in my hammy everything felt really good.  I really got my sweat on!

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 10.00
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.106.9011.00

First 9 on the treadmill again . . . warmed up @ 8:34 and 8:27.  Stopped and stretched, and then got back on and ran a 5k with the first 2.6 @ 6:49, then dropped it down to 6:18 for the last .5.  Everything felt pretty good considering I have never ran that fast for that long.  The next 2 miles were @ 8:20, then I hit 1 mile @ 7:30 then the last mile on the tread was at an easy 8:53.

After the treadmill workout I hurried home for 2 more miles with my wife at here pace.  I feel like I put in some good work today. 

 

Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 11.00
Comments(4)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.302.207.50

On the treadmill again today, BLAH!! first 3 miles @8:30 .5 @7:30 .5@ 6:44.  The next 2 back at 8:30 and the last 1.5 at a 7:20 average.  Tomorrow is the start of a bunch of Friday workouts that I am going to be doing with the Hunter High XC team.  The goal is for it to make me faster, and get me used to the hurt of the middle distances! 

Another thing worth noting is that tomorrow night/Saturday morning I will be pacing my bro and sis in law during their night runs at Ragnar.  It should be a lot of fun.  This week has been so much fun!

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 7.50
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
0.005.105.10

AM: 5.1 uptempo miles around Hunter Park with the XC team.  I kept up pretty good, and it was a good workout.  My heart rate was pretty high the whole time, which was weird because we weren't going that fast.  I mean it was fast just not uber fast.

PM/Tomorrow Morning: Ragnar pacing . . . . depending on the teams desire and my legs it could be anywhere from 14-26 miles . . . .  Don't freak out though because most the people I will be running with will be going plenty slow :) 

Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 5.10
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Race: Ragnar Relay (14.25 Miles) 02:20:00
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.250.0014.25

Well, I have officially experienced Ragnar, as a pacer and a volunteer.  It was definitely an experience.

First leg ended up being 4.25.  It was supposed to be 3.6, but they moved the start and forgot to tell us.  This leg was with my sister-in-law, who had a baby about 1 month ago.  She did great!  The leg started with about a 1/4 mile up hill and I let her go to fast and she got out of breath, then there was about a mile of down hill before a 650 ft climb the rest of the way.  It got pretty steep, but she was a trooper and I definitely felt like I helped her.

Second leg was about an hour after I finished the first one.  This time with my brother-in-law.  It was 10 miles and it was the farthest that he has ever run.  He let the distance psych him out early on.  It started up hill for about the first 3 miles, and we went out at the pace that he had wanted.  After 3 miles he started to invent pain and I could tell he was stressing about the distance.  We slowed down significantly the next 2 miles and walked a couple of times.  Then during mile 6 I told him to stop worrying about the distance, because we were going to get there.  He had nothing to worry about.  When we hit mile 6 he said, "YES, we are finally half way!"  This surprised me because I had told him at mile 5 we were half way, when he realized it was mile 6 he got really happy and started to relax.  In his mind he had skipped a mile, and he new that he could make it the rest of the way.  He finished really strong until the last 200 m when there was a really steep uphill.  We couldn't see the end, but I could here it.  He wanted to walk, and I pretty much went all football coach on him and yelled at him to run up that hill because the finish was at the top.  He was too scared to walk anymore and we finished strong.  

It was definitely an adventure to be running from basically 2 AM until about 5 AM.  It was actually kind of fun.  I kind of want to do this again, but I just don't like other people determining how fast I finish something.  I like it to be my own fault when I am slow :)  And sleeping in a van down by the river is no fun either . . . . at least there was no government cheese around ;) 

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 14.25
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.004.7513.75

AM: First day of real two-a-day workouts . . . .BLAH! Still a bit tired from Ragnar and I felt like I was moving much faster than I really was.  4.25 up to the high school where I ran a few laps then turned around and came home.  Other than being really tired things felt pretty good.

PM:  8.01 on the tread :) first 20 min warmed up @8:27, second 20 min @8:00, next 10 @7:40, next 5 at 6:48 followed by a 1 mile cool down.  Things felt pretty good, especially considering that this morning my legs didn't work very well.

Late PM: Monday night basketball game . . . . .  Nice easy game, didn't run much so we will call it 1.5

Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 12.25
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.505.0018.50

AM: Did a loop around the neighborhood.  I started off real slow, but then the legs loosened up and I was able to run at a decent pace without too much effort.  Avg pace was 8:45 splits were 9:16, 8:53, 8:42, 8:26, 8:26, 2:12 the last 1/4.

PM:  10 on the treadmill at SLCC.  3 mile warm-up @8:34, 3 @8:00, 1.5 @7:30, .5 @6:48. With a 2 mile cool down @8:34.  

After the tread run I went home to a wife that wanted to run 3 miles today, and I couldn't say no because it happens way to little.  So I went out with very tired legs and we did a 3.25 mile loop.  I love how she is getting more enthusiastic about running, I would love it if we got to run together more often!

One more thing is that I NEVER would have thought that I would get an 18.5 mile day on a random Tuesday in June.  If the health stays I will be ready for a great marathon on October 6th :) 

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 18.50
Comments(3)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
11.101.0012.10

AM: 4.1 without a watch.  The idea was for this to keep me from pushing the tempo, and to let my body recover a little bit.  The legs felt like they were in mud, but there was absolutely no soreness.  Looking forward to see how they respond this afternoon.

PM: 6 miles on the tread.  The legs reacted pretty well, but I didn't want to push it too much considering the big mileage day yesterday and considering that I have to go to soccer practice later tonight.  Warmed up 1 mile @ 8:53, followed by 8:34, 8:13, 8:00, 7:39, and a cool down mile @ 9 min. A nice little progression run :) 

Late PM: Soccer practice :) wore my Garmin while we scrimmaged. Clocked it exactly at 2.0, the legs felt tired but I will be fine.

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 10.10
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.000.002.00

A bit disappointed in myself today.  I didn't get out this morning because I wanted to sleep in, and I thought I would have time this afternoon, but that didn't happen as I scrambled to get everything ready for the soccer tournament in Cedar City.  We got here at about 10, and the house we are staying at is in the middle of no-where!  So I scrambled to find a flashlight and took off down the dirt road.  Got about 1 mile in and heard four warning barks from dogs and had to turn around.  I kept hearing random noises and decided I might as well just pack it in.  I only got 2 miles and am actually pretty upset about it, but 2 is better than 0 . . . .

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 2.00
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.001.208.20

AM: I took it pretty easy on the way out, but on the way back I slowly sped up. The last mile was @7:15, followed by a sprint up the hill to the house.  Everything felt good, but I am not looking forward to playing for soccer games today, BLAH!!

4 soccer games, probably more running than 4 miles, but I just decided to do 1 mile per game. I am so tired of being in the sun! From 1:30-7:00. It was so hot and windy! 

Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 4.20
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
2.000.002.00

Didn't get my long run in today because we were waiting for the summer games to call us and tell us when we played today, but they never called, so it was a wasted morning.  Then in the afternoon we decided to go on a cool hike up a slot canyon, it was about 6 miles round trip.  On the way back I had to hurry back to the trail-head for a bathroom emergency and ran about 1.5 miles back to the car.  It was a cool trail run.  Then after the emergency I ran back to the group I was with.  So around 2 miles total. It really was a lot of fun today.

Asics Gel Frenzy Miles: 2.00
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Well, let the excuses begin . . . After the weekend of soccer, hiking, fishing, running, and driving I was really tired.  So the alarm went off for my morning run, and I said "no thanks" and went back to bed.  Then as the day went on I was reminded of a wonderful date I had with the dentist.  That took a good couple of hours, and gave me a huge headache.  I mustered up the courage to get my butt outside and run, and I got in 3 miles that were actually pretty solid.  No watch, but judging by the clock when I started and when I finished I was around an 8:10-8:20 pace. After the run it was off to the semi-finals of rec basketball where we got hosed by the officials and lost by 3.  I played a lot of very very hard minutes, and tried to get in a few fights, but there were no takers :) 

Anyways, looking forward to really getting after it tomorrow!  Gonna go get it! 

Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 3.00
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.251.7516.00

AM: Looped down to 35th over to 60th up to 47th then home.  The first mile I  warmed up and it came in @ 8:53, then mile 2  @ 8:39 with the last .25 being the base of the hill. Mile 3 was all up hill, and a pretty steep hill at that and was @ 9:06.  The first .75 of mile 4 was all up hill.  It came in @ 8:31 because it ended down hill where I let it loose! Mile 5 was 6:52, and the last .64 was 4:17 (6:42 pace)  Good morning run today! Overall average pace was 8:13.

PM: Out and back run on the Jordan River Pkwy.  10.4 miles total so that I would hit 16 even for the day.  It was kind of slow going because I really don't do well in the heat.  In fact I absolutely HATE the sun.  It makes me think too much of my football playing days, and it automatically makes me feel like a 290 lb offensive lineman again!  Anyways, here are the splits; 8:36, 8:23, 8:36, 8:45, 8:38, 8:42, 8:53, 8:49, 9:29 (got stopped on a bridge by a bike traffic jam and dropped my water bottle this mile), 8:55, then I cooled down with .4 at a trot.  Not bad for a 290 lb o lineman :)

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 16.00
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.412.008.41

AM: A very hard and slow loop around the neighborhood.  It was all I could do to average 9 min miles, but every mile I got a little bit stronger.  It really was good to be out, but all I could focus on is that my little sister is leaving on her mission today.  It is going to be an emotional morning for my family.

PM: I really didn't want to go run this afternoon, so I kept putting it off.  When I finally started it was late and I had to get it done pretty quick.  I ended up down at the WVC fitness center outdoor track/trail.  I got 4.16 in.  Started out pretty slow then sped up for 2 miles before I cooled down a bit.  My splits were; 8:27, 7:44, 7:37,8:47, 1:23.  

Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 8.41
Comments(2)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.306.0015.30

AM: 5.3 miles as hilly as I could make them.  I was trying to make my legs work as hard as possible with all the rollers.  Everything felt good. 9:03, 8:41, 8:57, 8:31, 8:38, 2:20.  Average pace was 8:45.

PM: First treadmill run of the week, I just couldn't handle the 100 degree heat! Heading into the run I just wanted to get through it.  I hit the first mile in 8:47, and thought "this is way too slow, I'm not even breathing hard!" next mile at 8:34, and I decided I would do a progression run for a while.  The rest of the splits were; 8:20, 8:00, 7:47, 7:41, 7:30, 7:19, then I started to cool down a bit with 7:51 and 9:13 to finish.  Overall I am very pleased with how this workout went. 

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 15.30
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
8.100.008.10

AM: Kind of a hard 5.1 this morning.  I got out a bit late and it was kind of hot, but I think the biggest issue is that it took me a while before I sucked it up and stopped being a baby. Ended a lot better than I started.  9:38, 9:44 (STEEP uphill) 8:47 (mostly downhill), 8:45, 8:36.  Avg pace 9:10 BLAH!!!!!

PM: 3 slow miles with the wife at her pace.  Felt good to be out in my brand new shoes with my wife :) 

Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 5.10Mizuno Wave Rider 15 Miles: 3.00
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
14.100.0014.10

This run was an adventure from the very start! I decided to head up to the Jeremy Ranch Road. The initial plan was to run to the end and back.  The run started out great, at a nice leisurely 8:30 pace.  Lots of elk and deer out, it was really cool to hear the elk bugling back and forth.  

About 3.5 in I saw a sign to watch for livestock guard dogs and thought nothing of it.  Then I came around the corner and just ahead of me, stopped in the middle of the road was a livestock guard dog.  I startled him, and he startled me so I stopped and tried to get a feel for what he was going to do.  I called for him to come, and he came at me pretty hard, barking and showing his teeth.  It scared me enough, so I found a loose stick and started waving it at him and slowly backed away.  He started to come at me again and I had to yell at him, then he stopped and after what seemed like an eternity he went his way, and I turned around and went mine.

After the adrenaline rush of the confrontation my pace slowed down significantly, and I began to wonder why I had driven up here just to get chased off by a dog.  When I got back to the start of the dirt road I decided to run to the freeway and then come back.  When I got to the freeway it was way closer than I remembered, so I just kept going towards the elementary school.  Just before the school I saw a sign that said East Canyon Creek Trail-head. I decided since I had already slowed way down that I would go check out the trail, and maybe do a short trail run.  

At the Trail-head they had a very informative map that showed that I could very easily make it back to where I was parked by following the trails, so I decided to go for it.  At the top of the first climb I lost focus and took a big spill, cutting up my hands and knees pretty good.  Shortly after I ran into a mountain biker who was stopped and made sure I was headed the right way, and I was.  I kept on trucking right along, and about 1 mile later I fell again, this time not near as bad, but it was enough to make me angry :)

The rest of the way was pretty uneventful.  I did get lost once, but then quickly realized it and turned around.  Overall I am a bit disappointed that my run didn't go as planned, but I did have some fun and got some good SLOW hill work in.  I think I might go back out later for a short run at a faster clip, but maybe not :) 

Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 14.10
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201.6153.40255.01
Saucony Triumph 9 Miles: 158.45Brooks Ghost 4 Miles: 65.56Nike Lunarmax+ Miles: 3.00Asics Gel Frenzy Miles: 2.00Mizuno Wave Rider 15 Miles: 3.00
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