Rob Murphy

Boston Marathon

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Location:

Salt Lake City,

Member Since:

Feb 11, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

I had some success in high school and college. Winner 1985 Rod Dixon Run 

Had a fair amount of success as a Masters runner for most of my 40s. 

Short-Term Running Goals:

Have fun with running, explore more trails, stay healthy.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Keep running and racing consistently for as long as I can. Find what is sustainable for me over the long run.

Personal:

I teach AP European History and other courses at Alta High School. I coached the track and cross country teams at Alta for 16 years.

Married, two kids - Abby and Andy

My Twitter  @murphy_rob

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Miles:This week: 6.50 Month: 86.25 Year: 340.47
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
213.8516.001.000.00230.85
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.000.000.000.002.00

AM: Got to the gym at 6 AM ahead of our flight this morning. Did an easy warm-up on the treadmill and then a very hard weight/core workout.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.000.006.00

Beautiful morning here in Simi Valley. Heading to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum with the kids now. Really excited about touring the real Air Force One they have there.

I'll probably do a few easy miles on the beach this afternoon. The hotel where we are staying is on a cliff overlooking the ocean and there's this very long set of wooden stairs going down to the beach. I'll probably run those a few times as well.

Planning on about 18 miles tomorrow with a few miles close to race pace just to get a feel for sea level running. 

PM: Six miles up and down Pismo Beach. 

Nice night. We had Abby babysit while Ann and I went down to Del's - "a Shell Beach tradition since 1973"- to pick up a pizza. We had a glass of chianti at the bar while we waited. A 30 minute date! Del's is an old school Italian restaurant. Red checkered table cloths, candles, heavy on the red sauce entrees. No Northern Italian Tuscan #!*& for Del! You can envision Deniro,  Pesci, and the Rat Pack dining there.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
20.250.000.000.0020.25

Nice run this morning from Pismo to Avila Beach and back. 16.25 miles in two hours. Lots of hills that I ran fairly hard.

Taking Abby to Moondoggie's Surf Shop now to start three days of surfing lessons.  

PM: Four miles on the beach in 32 minutes just to work up an appetite before dinner. 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.250.000.000.004.25

AM: Easy 4.25 on the treadmill. Weights/core at the Pismo Beach Athletic Club.

I fell in love today. With the treadmill at the gym. It's a brand called Woodway and it's truly awesome. I plan to do a longish MP run on it tomorrow. It will be hard to go back to the 24 Hour Fitness POS after this.

Clam chowder for lunch today from the Splash Cafe.Served in these huge bread bowls with the cut out piece for dipping. Yum!

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.003.001.000.0010.00

Ten miles with three at 6 minute pace and one at 5:40

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.252.000.000.0010.25

Last run here at Pismo Beach. 10.25 miles with a couple at 6 minute pace.

Heading down south now to get close to the airport for the flight back tomorrow. Hope to show the kids the house I grew up in in Anaheim. 

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Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Sitting at the airport in Long Beach now and checking the 10 day Boston forecast...

High of 63, Low of 47, cloudy, on race day. Not too bad although I'd rather see a high of 53. 

Probably no run today. Up at 4:30 to get to the airport, Ann has to work tonight. Maybe get in a few laps around the block after the kids go to bed.

I think I'm going to pack it in for a while after Boston. Probably take a couple years off of serious training and racing. The training (more precisely, the worrying and fretting about the training) is starting to wear me down and there are some professional and family issues that need attention.

I'll be back when I'm fifty.


Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(10)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.009.000.000.0015.00

Fifteen miles - mid afternoon, 74 degrees and sunny. Mostly circling the horrendous crowds and traffic at Sugarhouse Park. But I watched the Duel in the Sun on youtube this morning and that's pretty much what it was like for Salazar and Beardsley back in the day. So a good Boston simulator!

1 mile easy warm-up

13.1 mile progression run in 1:24. Ran the last mile in 5:48.

1 mile cool down.

Right heel aches. Right hamstring very iffy and will be aching badly around mile 18. Both knees ache. Left achilles sore and had to stop and rub it some during the cool down.

Other than that, I'm ready for Boston. 

The new Salazar autobiography is out Tuesday. Just in time for Boston no doubt. Maybe I'll get it and read it on the plane for motivation. Might make me want to score some Prozac? 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

Seven trail miles in the Dimple Dell Gully.

Glad to be getting the warm weather runs in. Today was 10 degrees warmer than the Boston forecast.

 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.000.000.000.002.00

Brisk two mile walk this morning. Decided to count it as one mile of easy running.

This was just to keep from getting fat as I reduce my miles the rest of the week. Easyish gym workout this afternoon. 

PM: One mile easy, weights/core workout. Lifted a little harder than I had planned. No more of that silliness before Boston. 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(13)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.002.000.000.007.00

Seven miles on the treadmill. Worked my way slowly up to marathon pace and then back down.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.750.000.000.004.75

4.75 miles easy.

Many of my achy parts are feeling better. Right hamstring that started acting up during the Salt Lake 15k is bumming me out. I haven't really tested it and in the marathon I'll be running slower than I was in the 15k, but I'm not sure how it will feel in the later miles.

Only one way to find out I guess. 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.250.000.000.003.25

Easy run plus several fast striders in the road in front of my house.

It's been a hectic day. This is the weekend of my annual Alta High AP U.S. History seminar where we bring in a famous historian/author to spend a weekend with our students. This year Randy Roberts from Purdue University in Indiana is here. Just got home at 9 PM. When I scheduled this back in November I forgot that this is Boston Marathon weekend. 

I haven't even had time to think about basic issues like how I'm getting places this weekend.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.250.000.000.003.25

Easy run around our hotel with Steve and Walter plus a few fast striders at the middle school across the street.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
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Race: Boston Marathon (26.2 Miles) 03:12:30, Place overall: 8000, Place in age division: 2000
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
26.200.000.000.0026.20

Today I ran the Boston Marathon. This is a very old and apparently quite prestigious race in one of our nations' most historic cities.

I started out kind of slow and ran at increasingly slower speeds as the race progressed.Often I walked - beginning at 16 miles I took regular walking breaks. Had some great conversations with spectators who felt sorry for me. The best part was when it ended.

Hats off to Jeff Shadley who ran a truly inspiring race.

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Comments(29)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Way less sore this morning than usual after a marathon. I guess that's what happens when you race at your training pace.

My foot really hurts though and I think it will be a while before I can run again. Checking the weather - looks like tomorrow will be perfect for running the Boston Marathon.

I'm going to do a lot of thinking over the next few days about where I am going to go with my running. I really want to be doing this for the next thirty or forty years.One thing for sure is that the marathon won't be the focus of my training and racing. If I ever run another good one , It will be completely by accident.

 

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Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Rest day. More sore today than yesterday.

I'm jealous of those folks who can run a day or two after running a marathon. 

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Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Didn't run again today. Instead I took Abby to swim practice at the Fairmont Pool and Ann and I fed the ducks and walked around the park with Andy. Actually Andy did most of the duck feeding. There were already some ducklets.

I did some stretching while Andy played in the sand with a boy he met at the park.

Might go for a walk later although even walking hurts my foot. 

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Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

No workout of any kind today. Juggling Ann's work schedule, Abby's swimming, and Andy's baseball.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
16.000.000.000.0016.00

Fifteen miles of cross training.

5 miles on the elliptical in 35 minutes.

10 miles on the Lifecycle in 27:45.

PM: Walked to gym. Swam one mile. 2/3 freestyle, 1/3 other strokes. Walked back. Sixteen miles of cross training. I should start counting it as "running" so I look better on the mileage board.

Foot hurt on the walk! 

Been in a funk today reflecting on the fact that I wasted four months of training and a couple thousand dollars to run a 3:12 marathon and aggravate an injury to the point where I might not be able to run/race for a couple months. Great decision making all around. 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
28.000.000.000.0028.00

Walked to gym.

Six miles on the elliptical. One mile warm-up, five miles in 36 minutes.

Walked home

Eight miles of cross training. 

PM: 20 miles on the stationary bike in 55:30 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.250.000.000.001.25

Donned my speedo today for 80 lengths of the 24 Hour Fitness pool. Seriously.

PM: Walked a couple miles. No noticeable improvement in my foot. I rarely get injured, but when I do it's never something that gets better in a week or two. 

I'll just keep plugging away with the cross training. 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(8)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

AM: Two mile walk. 125 push-ups, 125 sit-ups.

Had a delicious and nutritious smoothie for breakfast. 

PM: Five miles of actual running on the treadmill which is much nicer on my heel than the roads are. Cautiously optimistic but I'm still going to mostly cross train for a couple weeks.

 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

I'll call today's workout a "cardio medley". 

1.5 miles easy running on the treadmill.

200 floors on the Stair Master torture device. Apparently this is a distance of about 4.25 miles although I'm not sure what that means.

4.25 miles pretty darn hard on the elliptical.

Allie, if you're reading this, the new auto spell check function keeps making me spell elliptical correctly. Bummer.

Or maybe "cross training potpourri". 

 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.000.000.000.009.00

AM: Four easy miles on the AHS track. Lots of rain. felt good.

PM: Five miles at 8 minute pace while Abby was at swim practice.

I dug down about two years into my shoe pile and pulled out an old pair of Brooks Ghost's to run in tonight. Felt way better on my achy right foot than my newer, more minimalist shoes. So it's back to the Ghostesses. 

 

My breakfast smoothie recipe.

One frozen banana in chunks.

A bunch of berries or cherries.

A pile of low fat, plain yogurt.

Two scoops protein powder.

Two tablespoons wheat germ. 

A cup or two of juice - but not acidic citrus juice.

Blend.

You're welcome.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(7)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.250.000.000.006.25

6.25 miles on the treadmill averaging 8 minutes/mile.

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
14.500.000.000.0014.50

8.5 miles on the treadmill. Foot not getting any better or any worse.

PM: Six miles around Sugarhouse/HH track.

14.5 miles of running today!

We are celebrating Andy's adoption day today as usual by going to Bucca di Beppo for dinner. After we finalized his adoption six years ago today we all went there and so we've been doing it every year since.

I ran a lot so I can eat a lot. Isn't that why we all run? 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.400.000.000.009.40

Six miles of ancillary training.

1 mile warm-up on the elliptical

225 floors on the stair master 

PM: 3.4 mile walk with Ann in 57 minutes. Pretty speedy for me as I'm not a good fast walker. We declared child #1 old enough to babysit child #2 while we go for walks. It's a good cheap date too.

Spent a lot of time working in the yard today and it looks pretty decent. I need a new hammock though and can't believe how expensive a decent one is. Mine was a father's day present about ten years ago.

I'll be sad when Andy stops using the word "lawnmower" as a verb. For example "dad don't lawnmower over that tennis ball".

By the way, "ancillary training" is the official coaching term for cross training.

Grilling some burgers now with some sweet potato fries and cold "soda pops". 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(8)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.250.000.000.0010.25

AM: 4.25 easy miles on the Alta track. Close to a perfect morning for a run.

Thinking I might try a seven or eight mile trail run this afternoon. 

PM: Six miles on the treadmill. Worked up to 9 MPH for a while. Heel is more of a dull ache now rather than a sharp pain. Good news. 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
213.8516.001.000.00230.85
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
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