Rob Murphy

March 28, 2024

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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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to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 11.50 Month: 121.75 Year: 375.97
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.250.000.000.006.25

6.25 treadmill miles. Swam a few laps and soaked for a while after.

Occasional treadmill running is really important to my success as a runner for several reasons. When I go a long period of time with no treadmill runs, my running suffers. True fact!

A follow-up on what I wrote yesterday...

Many of the great masters runners I know, or know about, either don't have demanding careers, or don't have kids, or their kids are grown.  Several of the truly great coaches I know here in Utah don't have kids. Lots of the great coaches I've known were once great runners themselves but their own running has taken a back seat to their coaching and family obligations in recent years.

It comes down to the old Bill Bowerman quote..."you can do two things well, but you can't do three things well". I think this is true for most people. I've been working hard the last few years to be a great husband/father, a great teacher/coach, and a great runner. I've just decided that one of the three has to take a back seat and it isn't going to be the first two.

 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments
From Jon on Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 18:53:46 from 107.203.52.135

How do treadmill runs help you?

From MarkS on Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 19:03:19 from 98.202.129.174

I don't know about you, but I find TM running more difficult than running on the road. Maybe it is because I am intimidated by the machine. I always get a feeling that if I can't keep up with the machine I am going to get sucked in.

I try to do at least one tempo run on the TM every week and I think i really helps. In fact tomorrow is my TM day.

From Rob Murphy on Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 19:11:00 from 24.10.247.181

I run with sustained intensity longer on a treadmill than I do on the roads where I tend to be wimpy and loose focus.

From Vis on Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 19:16:11 from 199.201.102.64

I'm with you on your current outlook. There are many things I love, but what's the use of doing all of those things at an unsatisfying level? Rob, you are a gentleman and a scholar.

From Jake K on Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 21:38:48 from 174.239.104.98

In college we used to say you couldn't be great at running, school, and girls at the same time. In real life I guess that becomes running, work, and family. I think you can nail all 3 well for periods of time, but it's very hard to do consistently. Something usually gives.

From Rob Murphy on Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 21:52:53 from 24.10.247.181

Hey Jake. I was thinking that a lot of this is about energy and a lot of that has to do with age. What I've written might not apply as much at 30 as it does at 50.

From Josh E on Tue, Aug 19, 2014 at 02:06:57 from 75.169.23.54

One thing you are not good at is aging yourself Rob. I've seen that you improved from your late 30s to your late 40s. That took commitment but I wonder what you felt like at 37 (my age on Friday). I am pretty sure you dealt with some of the same struggles and doubts then. Continue to age slowly and enjoy the ride without any more pronouncements that you are too old!

From Jake K on Tue, Aug 19, 2014 at 05:48:38 from 98.202.128.218

In my experience, it still hold true. Maybe the absolute numbers change a bit, but I've found if you spread yourself too thing, you don't have the energy to give your best to everything. I've done that to myself plenty of times. I find that I do better when I focus my energy on a couple important things, then let the things of peripheral importance fall into place wherever they do.

From Steve on Thu, Aug 21, 2014 at 20:07:33 from 66.87.83.22

Interesting you say that. There's a Chinese life tenet that says of the three most important things you choose at any point of your life, only two at a time will succeed, and it's not your choice which two.

Without a doubt though, the most successful older runners are the ones with simple lifes. Remember your comment after meeting Tracy Loken last year? It's funny that I was always jealous of the running strength I thought coaching brought to your personal racing. I'll bet this decision will get your running back on the track that you want after a while.

From Steve on Thu, Aug 21, 2014 at 20:08:32 from 66.87.83.22

Treadmill running is for hamsters.

From Rob Murphy on Thu, Aug 21, 2014 at 20:13:47 from 24.10.247.181

And Rob Murphy. Hamsterman. I think I'll change my name on the blog.

From Jon on Thu, Aug 21, 2014 at 20:19:53 from 107.203.52.135

Not much competition for the Hamsterman moniker.

From Quinn A. on Fri, Aug 22, 2014 at 17:40:34 from 71.37.125.207

I accidentally run faster than on the road mostly because there's nothing cool to look at and then there's ac when on the treadmill.

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