Rob Murphy

Gary Bjorklund Half 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: 11.50 Month: 121.75 Year: 375.97
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
55.000.0013.100.0068.10
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
16.250.000.000.0016.25

16.25 miles in 2:05. 

I probably should do something other than easy running at 7:30 to 7:45 pace. 

I'm having a relaxing Father's Day so far. Ann's parents live on 150 acres a few miles north of a little town called Pine River, Minnesota. They also have a small cabin on a little lake called Lake Lizzie - no running water or electricity, but comfortably furnished and it does have propane and an outhouse.

I like it here because I generally don't have to do anything other than sit around under a tree and read with occasional breaks to run and nap . Lots of people these days bring the same attitude to their vacations as they do their jobs. They view a vacation as an ACHIEVEMENT, and have a list of things that must be accomplished in order to make it a success and they often come home more tired than when they left. I have been guilty of this a couple times.

I've been sad the past couple days driving through rural food deserts in Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota watching people literally waging war on their bodies. Sometimes we who live in urban areas romanticize rural life but obesity, diabetes, over dependence on the government, and serial reproduction with multiple partners are rampant. Spending any amount of time in a convenience store or hotel breakfast buffet anywhere in rural America you get the feeling that people are almost literally trying to kill themselves with their pathologically unhealthy habits.  

But yeah, I'm having a great day! 

PM: three mile walk 

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
11.250.000.000.0011.25

AM: 2.25 mile walk. Lots of push-ups, sit-ups, core work.

PM:  This afternoon Ann and I took Andy into Pine River to fish from the dam in the town park. Ann and I got married in the same park in 1994. Andy caught 3 fish.

I ran once around the perimeter of the town (1.25 miles), and then back to Ann's parents house ( 10 miles) for 11.25 miles in 1:25.

Heading out to dinner with Ann now. Ann's sister took the kids to mini golf and dinner. 

No thoughts tonight on the decline of America. 

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
12.250.000.000.0012.25

AM: Three mile walk with Abby.

PM: 12.25 miles around Lake Ada. One of the ten thousand. I wonder if Minnesota runners have a goal of running around each of them? 

I remain atop the mileage board until Jake logs his afternoon run. Of course now I will begin three days of reduced running before Saturday's race. 

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
8.000.000.000.008.00

Super easy 8 miles at 6:30 am. Lots of deer, many turtles, fewer mosquitoes at that time.

I'll take tomorrow off. 

I've really learned a lot this week. The TV here seems to be stuck on Fox News and the radio dial is stuck on Rush Limbaugh. 

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
0.000.000.000.000.00

Rest day.

Non-stop rain today in northern Minnesota. 

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
4.250.000.000.004.25

Easy run around our friend's neighborhood here in Duluth, Minnesota. Followed up with some fast striders. I feel good. Maybe I have a good race in me?

It was nice to chat with Jake, Andrea, and Paul over at the elite athlete digs at the Hampton Inn. They were able to hook us up with some elite athlete coffee, cookies, and chardonnay.  It's great having speedy friends.

Looking good for the race tomorrow except maybe for the 100% humidity. 

 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(1)
Race: Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:16:52, Place overall: 31, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
3.000.0013.100.0016.10

I'm very happy about this race . Coming in I was a little concerned about my fitness and my disrupted routine and diet this week. I've also been a little concerned about my racing mindset lately and my willingness to compete with intensity in a longer race. In other words, I've been wimping out a lot lately.

But I ran a good, consistent race today - keeping every mile under six minutes and closing with a 5:45 and a 5:40. I also had a good group of guys to race with most of the way. Turns out several of them were masters runners from a Minnesota club. I also ran the last couple miles with a kid from Edina (a suburb of Minneapolis) with a NXN singlet which we chatted about for a bit. He seemed really happy that I recognized the significance of his shirt and I was really happy to be competing with a guy like that at my advanced decrepitude.

I got a big boost from Ann and the kids at around 10 miles. I wasn't expecting to see them along the course and it really helped at a tough point. I also appreciated Jake and Andrea screaming for me the last couple hundred meters. It's pretty nice to be 1500 miles from home and run into guys like Paul and Jake who seem genuinely interested in my efforts. I feel fortunate to still be able to compete in this great sport and I hope I can make it last a while longer. I don't really have any specific goals any more except to train hard and occasionally be rewarded with a race I feel good about.

So I ended up about 55 seconds slower than I ran in 2011 but I'm happy and I feel like I've made it back. I suppose I should make allowances for being two years older but I'm not totally ready to concede yet. 

I just saw that my "age graded" finishing place was 9th. :-) 

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
Comments(20)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
55.000.0013.100.0068.10
Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00Calories: 0.00
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