Rob Murphy

Run For The Children 10k

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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
242.501.006.210.00249.71
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

Same thing as yesterday. Seven on the treadmill at 8.2 mph.


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Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.000.000.000.0015.00

15 miles in 1:55 on the road at Jeremy Ranch. I discovered that the dirt road ends at 7.25 miles on the east side of Big Mountain/Des News Marathon starting line. I'm going to drive from the Jeremy Ranch start to Ruth's Diner someday to see how far it is.

It was warm and humid up there today and I was feeling the lack of water at the end. Nice long soak in the river when I finished. 

Read some excerpts from Scott Jurek's book coming out this week. I think I'll pick it up next time I'm at the book store. I can use the motivation.

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Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
14.500.000.000.0014.50

Basically the same run as yesterday up at Jeremy Ranch except I waited until 3 PM when it was 85 degrees to do it today. Hard, hot, dusty (lots of cars up there tearing up the dirt road - I have grit in my teeth). Ran the uphills pretty hard so I could get my heart rate up without too much stress on the legs. Don't really know how hard exactly as I did the run without a watch or Garmin.

I'm really knackered and my foot hurts but it feels good to run hard so I don't care too much. 

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Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

AM: I'm going to credit myself with an hour of strength training this morning as it's yearbook day here at school and I spent about that long hefting and stacking heavy yearbook boxes. Plus the AC appears to be broken so it's extra hot.

No running today. This ends a 10 day streak which is a lot for me. I generally need a day off every week or two even when running slow and easy. 

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Nada, zilch, zero.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.000.000.000.007.00

Seven miles in The Gully with my good buddy Steve Anderson. Steve was in the neighborhood after dropping of his son Bentley at the LDS church's Missionary Training Center in Provo to prepare to convert all the residents of Nashville Tennessee. Nashville is the HQ of the Southern Baptist Convention so it would be a bit like being a Baptist missionary in Provo.

Last day of school. Year seventeen is in the books. Cross country practice starts on Monday. Can't wait! 

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Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.250.000.000.006.25

6.25 miles in 47 minutes around Sugarhouse. Threw in a few "fast"striders.

 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.250.000.000.004.25

Easy run on the treadmill.

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
10.500.000.000.0010.50

10.5 miles around Sugarhouse Park.

Exciting yard sale action at the Murphy house. Abby has decided to go into the hand made greeting card business and she has spent the last three days making cards to sell at our yard sale. It's making me a little sad that they aren't selling very well so now I'm having to go around the neighborhood asking people to buy them. 

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Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

AM: Walk/jogged to the gym and back on maybe the most beautiful morning of the year. Lifted pretty hard at the gym along with some core exercises and plyos. Did some lunges which I'm sure to regret tomorrow. Nothing makes me more sore than lunges. Probably because I don't do them enough - I think you need to do them all the time or not at all.

 I'm going to try to get in a longish trail run up in Park City this afternoon but Vacation Bible School starts at church at 4 PM so I'll be a little pressed for time.

I was reading the Tribune this morning and I found myself getting really annoyed at the new "Fit & Active" section they have on Sunday's. I had high hopes for this section a few months ago, but it's been a huge disappointment. It's mostly aimed at helping sedentary/obese people become a little less sedentary and obese. Why does everything have to be aimed at the lowest common denominator? 

PM: Pretty great run. Ann and the kids dropped me off at the Jeremy Ranch Road. I did the 7.25 miles to the end of the dirt road then I turned left at the paved road towards Big Mountain. It's 5.5 miles from the end of the dirt road to the top of Big Mountain and it's unrelenting uphill the whole way. But I wimped out and bailed on the run after 10 miles. A pretty hard 10 miles though.

It would be about 13 miles from the Jeremy Ranch trailhead to the top of Big Mountain. I think there is a trail running option that follows the old Mormon/Pony Express trails to the top of Big Mountain that begins at Mormon Flats. Lots of undiscovered options up there.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
1.000.000.000.001.00

One easy mile warming up and setting up cones for cross country practice in the gully. I'm sore everywhere from the lifting and hardish running yesterday. Might take the rest of the day off.

Close to fifty kids showed up for the first day of practice. Not bad at all and they seemed excited and ready to go. 

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Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.500.000.000.009.50

9.5 miles on the treadmill averaging 8 mph. Got it up to 9 mph for a while. Beautiful day, but I'm being cautious with the foot before the trail run up at Alta tomorrow.

I finished Scott Jurek's book. I'll have to write a review soon.

 

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Comments(10)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.500.000.000.0012.50

My review of Eat & Run by Scott Jurek.  

I am predisposed to like Scott Jurek. To begin with, he's from Minnesota and I generally like Minnesotans. My wife is from the same area of Minnesota, I got married there and lived there for a couple years. Secondly, he's a very sincere guy who genuinely wants to better himself and make the world a better place. Third, he's a Wendell Berry fan and anyone who likes Wendell Berry is high up on my list of people I like. Fourth, even though he's a preachy (he tries not to be but is anyway) vegan, he still drinks beer. Finally, he was always a good son to his mother who was suffering from Multiple Sclerosis for most of his life. That counts for a lot.

So I couldn't wait to read this book for the obvious reason - he's won about twenty-five 100 plus mile races and this is obviously someone I can learn a thing or two about running from. I also felt like, based on other things I had read about him, that he was a genuinely thoughtful person who has acquired a bit of wisdom along the way. I found that to be mostly true. The problem is, it takes a certain amount of time to become wise. Most folks in their twenties have very little wisdom. Their job is basically to shut up and look good. Most people (like Jurek) have  acquired some wisdom as they approach forty. The problem is, they often confuse their little bit of wisdom with a lot of wisdom. But I give Scott credit for trying and he really works hard to reach for the deeper meaning in things.

OK, some things I liked about the book...

1. The recipes. And it didn't bother me at all that they were sprinkled through the text rather than all lumped together at the end. I think he wanted drive home the idea that eating a certain way is central to his life and not an afterthought. We Americans tend to regard food and the whole eating experience purely in functional terms. We have to cram in the calories. We always eat on the run, eat in our cars, at our desks. Food is purely fuel. I think Scott looks at it the way a lot of Europeans do - as a part of a life well lived and deserving of a lot of care and reflection.

2. The race descriptions. He is one intense competitor. Anyone who can run a 65 minute 15k from like mile 85 to 95 of Western States blows me away. I have to admit that as I approach my first trail ultra in December, I'm more fired up than ever now. A little more humble and terrified too.

3. His description of his friendship with his friend and pacer, Dusty Olson. This would be a book in itself and it makes you think about all the things that go into success at the highest level, in any endeavor, beyond pure talent. 

In short, Eat and Run was well worth my time. I found it to be much better than most running biographies I've read including Alberto Salazar's recent effort.

Y'all should read it. 

P.S. After reading this back to myself, I think I might write another one where I just make fun of vegans. It would be satisfying to pass Jurek about 80 miles into, say the Hardrock 100, knawing on a turkey leg. 

AM: Washed and vacuumed car, mowed lawn and trimmed bushed, Jogged to the gym and back and lifted weights. 

Medium-long trail run up at Alta Ski Area at 6 PM with the Alta XC team for anyone who wants to come.

PM: Did me an eleven mile trail run up at Alta. Only had to run through a couple small snowdrifts. 

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Comments(13)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Just about four miles of walking this morning at cross country practice at Sugarhouse Park. My runners are really working hard this week and have a great attitude.

We are heading to Colorado today for my sister's wedding this weekend. 

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Comments(3)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

Eleven miles from Frisco, Colorado up to a place called "Officer's Gulch" and back. Uphill for 5.5, downhill for 5.5.

I'll have to look it up, but it feels like we are up around ten thousand feet. 8:30 was difficult on the uphills. 

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Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.250.000.000.006.25

Nice, easy run around my sister's neighborhood in Larkspur, Co.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
18.000.000.000.0018.00

AM: 4.25 easy miles on the POS hotel treadmill - early while everyone else was still sleeping. Now down to the spiffy Hampton Inn breakfast!

PM: 13.75 on the Mineral Belt Trail in Leadville, Co.

This definitely ranks as one of my five most unique and enjoyable runs ever. The Mineral Belt Trail is a twelve mile trail that circumnavigates the town of Leadville and all the closed down silver mines. www.mineralbelttrail.com.

The awesome awesomeness of this place can not be over stated. More tomorrow after I do some running on the Leadville 100 course. 

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Hectic travel day. Unable and unwilling to squeeze a run in like I planned.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.000.000.000.005.00

Drove home from Grand Junction today. Had a cheeseburger at Ray's Tavern in Green River along the way. Best burgers in Utah and it's probably worth a drive to Green River just for that. Also went to the John Wesley Powell Museum which is really nice. Topped it all off with a spin through the Prehistoric Museum at the College of Eastern Utah in Price. Cool if you like dinosaurs and prehistoric stuff.

Tired when I got home, but managed a couple laps around Sugarhouse Park. Was pleased to find it not 100 degrees like it was yesterday in Colorado.

Think I might need to think about training for something. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
16.000.000.000.0016.00

AM: Met James, Allie, Fritz, Jake, and Andrea at Highland High this morning for an easy seven. Nice to run with a group after a week of solo running.

Chilly this morning. Almost needed gloves. 

PM: Nine miles at Alta - up and around the Albion Basin campground three times and back down. Nice to have Jake and Kevin along. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

Today I walked four miles around cross country practice at Sugarhouse and to and from the gym. This while wearing a heavy backpack loaded with books and gym gear. Imagine!

At the gym I rode 20 miles on the lifecycle in 55:30. Generated gallons of sweat.

I counted all of this as 10 miles. 

Yes, my foot hurts. Why doesn't this injury go away? 

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Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
8.250.000.000.008.25

8.25 miles on the treadmill at seven minute pace. Decided to pay attention to my heart rate a little bit. It stayed at 132-135 the whole time.

Looking forward to the trials 10,000. Also excited about my long trail run planned for tomorrow. Or, long for me these days. 

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.000.000.000.0012.00

Twelve miles easy around Liberty Park. Hot already, but didn't notice the smoke from the fire like yesterday.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
11.000.000.000.0011.00

Eleven miles averaging 8.6 mph on the treadmill. My foot thanks me for using the treadmill and I think I'm going to do that for a while except for the Wednesday runs. We'll see how that works out. I am starting to feel a little zip returning.

Saw Fritz at the gym pounding out some miles on the bike the day after winning the Wasatch Steeplechase. For those of you that aren't from around here, Wasatch may be the toughest shorter trail race in the country. Spent some time with Steve Anderson yesterday and while I was talking to Fritz I was thinking about how great it is to have so many dedicated and talented runners so close who are also genuinely thoughtful and interesting people. Lots of folks to learn from and be motivated by.

Went by Whole Foods after the run and picked up some of their "California Quinoa" salad for lunch along with an assortment of olives from the over priced olive bar. Scott Jurek would approve.

FYI, I was on the Scott Jurek website checking out his speaking tour for his book. So far he's just visiting hippy, granola college towns (Boulder, Austin, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland) and I guess Salt Lake doesn't qualify. I sent his "people" an email urging them to put Salt Lake on the schedule but no response so far.

 

 

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Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
12.250.000.000.0012.25

Nice run this morning at cross country practice.

Arrived at the gully in Sandy a little before 8. It was already pretty hot and my motivation was not high. When my runners showed up I got them going on their various runs and then hung around a while waiting for late arrivals and seriously contemplating running into the air conditioned gym for a treadmill run. Then Celeste Gutzman, one of my recently graduated runners, showed up. Celseste ran a 5:14 mile on the track this year and is really running well. So I ran with her. She faded a bit on the big hill at the top of the gully but hung with me everywhere else. She's really excited about running in college next year and that makes me feel good. Anyway, she was a run saver for me this morning becasus I might have wimped out without her.

Stopped by Wasatch Running on the way home and chatted with the guys about what a beast Fritz is and picked up a new pair of Brooks Ghost's. I've decided that thinking I'm not a heel striker doesn't mean I'm not a heel striker and I like the cushioning in the heel the Ghost has - especially on the pounding downhills I run around here.

PM: Hot as Hades once again here in SLC. Took Abby to practice her swimming with the mighty Wasatch Front Fish Market team and then squeezed in five easy miles at the gym before picking her up. Enjoying some tasty olives now.

Very little heel pain this morning, but lots this afternoon. Going to take tomorrow off. Ann and I are going to check out the Avett Brothers at the Gallivan Center tomorrow evening. 

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Comments(19)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
10.000.000.000.0010.00

22 miles on the Lifecycle.

2 mile easy warm-up.

20 miles in 55:30. 

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Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
15.250.000.000.0015.25

Went to HH this morning for the group run but the group wasn't there. So I went to the gym and did 6.25 on the treadmill.

Big Alta run tonight. 

PM: 9 mile run up at Alta. Jake, Kevin, and Fritz joined up which was great. Some of my guys are really looking good. 

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Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
5.001.000.000.006.00

Six miles on the treadmill. Some of it kind of fast.

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Rest day.

Spent the day on a ladder picking apricots from our HUGE apricot tree in the backyard. Chopping them up and freezing them for use in smoothies.

We have way more than we can eat. Anyone who wants to come pick some can. 

I'm going to race a 10k tomorrow. 

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Race: Run For The Children 10k (6.21 Miles) 00:37:44, Place overall: 7, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.006.210.009.21

This race may have been just what I needed. I didn't even know about it until Thursday when I ran into Demetrio and Carol Cabanillas out at Sugarhouse Park at cross country practice. Demetrio encouraged me to run so I had to say yes.

The course is a rarity in Utah - pancake flat the entire way with the start and finish in Liberty Park. I showed up at 7:00 to pick up my packet and saw lots of the familiar USATF circuit fast guys plus Dennis S. jogging around. Turns out Dennis wasn't racing, just taking pictures of his wife who was.

I had no Masters competition and finished seventh overall. I think the second master was six and a half minutes behind me. I ran relaxed and comfortable the whole way - no suffering whatsoever. Wasn't aware of what I was running since I didn't wear a watch and they weren't reading split times at all.

I was pretty pleased at how I felt with no faster running for several months.Nice to pick up $75.00 for the masters win.

Abby and Andy both ran the kids mile. Abby finished first overall and won $10.00 and a Razor scooter. I told her she had to give me the money or I would report her to the NCAA and she would forfeit her college eligability. Andy got a medal and a gift card to Chuck-A-Rama, a place I've never been to but will now have to.

 So all in all, a successful return to racing. We'll see if it leads anywhere.

Icing my achy heel now. Not too bad but I should be careful. Probably will cross train on the bike later.

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
242.501.006.210.00249.71
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
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