🌅Personal Briefing - Friday, April 24, 2026
Good morning. Here's your personal read.
🏃Training
🏃Today's Plan
🎯 5K - 2026-05-02 (8 days out) Phase: build → taper starts 2026-04-27 (3 days) This week: Aerobic base with one hard day (sprint or tempo Wednesday) and a Saturday long run. Next week: Finish taper and race-week shakeouts. Why today: Each easy day pads your aerobic base before the 5K; hard days sharpen; long run builds durability. After this: 10K on 2026-06-20 (57 days out)
🏃 Today (Friday): no run today · 15-min abs · 10-min stretch Friday rest from running - recharge for tomorrow's long run. Abs + stretch today.
Best window: Evening - 53°F, sunny, wind 13 mph
📊This Week
Sat: 35-min easy run · 5-min abs · 8-min stretch · pace 9:30–10:00/mi - long run day - 35 min easy Sun: no run today · 15-min abs · 10-min stretch - rest from running - 6+ run days this week
This week: 5 runs · 5.4 mi · 46 min Zone check: 25% easy - ⚠️ concern (build target ≥60%). Easy days are still too fast, RT. Slow to 9:30+/mi on easy days.
Recent runs:
- Sun 04-19 · 1.1 mi · 11 min · 9:09/mi (easy)
- Mon 04-20 · 1.1 mi · 10 min · 8:34/mi (Z3)
- Tue 04-21 · 1 mi · 7 min · 6:47/mi (Z6)
- Wed 04-22 · 1.1 mi · 9 min · 8:16/mi (Z3)
- Thu 04-23 · 1.1 mi · 9 min · 8:19/mi (Z3)
✓ Nice walk yesterday (29 min). 4 family walks this week - lifestyle win, not a run substitute.
☘️Notre Dame Sports
🏈Football
Jeremiyah Love went No. 3 overall to the Arizona Cardinals last night - the highest-drafted Notre Dame running back ever, and the first RB taken in the top five since Saquon Barkley in 2018. Love leaves South Bend as the Doak Walker winner, a Heisman finalist (third in the voting), and the back who powered the 2024 CFP run. Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort didn't blink at the positional value - they believe the 212-pound version of Love who finished with 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground plus 27-280-3 through the air is a foundational piece. He was the only Irish player taken in Round 1; Jadarian Price, Malachi Fields, Eli Raridon, Billy Schrauth, and Aamil Wagner all wait for Day 2 and 3 tonight and tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the 95th Blue-Gold Game. 2 p.m. ET kickoff, Peacock, Notre Dame Stadium - Tony Simeone on play-by-play, former QB Ian Book on color, Caroline Pineda on the sideline. Marcus Freeman has called this spring "very active, efficient, productive, and physical," and after the closed jersey scrimmage last weekend the staff is said to be unusually upbeat. Fitzgerald is the name coming out of camp as the receiver who can help cover the Malachi Fields departure; edge rusher Rodney Dunham has trended into the starting rotation after a strong spring. CJ Carr enters the fall as the unquestioned starting quarterback.
Upcoming:
- Sat Apr 25 - Blue-Gold Game, 2:00 p.m. ET (Peacock)
🏀Women's Basketball
The portal window closed at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and the Irish came out of it with two confirmed additions: Anaya Hardy (Louisville, sophomore - 4.9 / 4.2, 67% from the floor in 35 games, 27 starts) and Madison St. Rose (Princeton grad transfer - 13.2 ppg, 1.3 steals, two-time All-Ivy, NCAA Tournament all four years). St. Rose has a real chance to start next to Hannah Hidalgo in the backcourt, filling the hole left by Cassandre Prosper's WNBA jump and Vanessa De Jesus's graduation. Niele Ivey's rebuild is quieter than last spring's but the pieces are landing.
🥍Lacrosse
Men: Season finale is tomorrow at Arlotta Stadium. Noon ET, ACCNX - note the early start, well before the Blue-Gold kickoff. No. 1 Notre Dame (9-1, 2-1 ACC) hosts No. 5 Syracuse (11-3, 2-1 ACC). Syracuse leads the all-time series 12-11 and swept the Irish in both 2025 meetings, including a 14-12 upset in the ACC Semifinal. A Syracuse win combined with a Duke win over UNC hands the Orange the outright ACC regular-season crown and the 1 seed. For Notre Dame, it's the last regular-season resume line before the committee. Thomas Ricciardelli has averaged 14.25 saves per game in his last four ACC starts; the Irish defense is giving up only 9.5 goals a game against Syracuse's 13.21 ppg offense.
Women: The season wait continues. The NCAA bracket reveal is Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU. After the 9-12 loss to Clemson in the ACC Quarterfinals on Apr 22, USA Lacrosse's Bracketology has the Irish (12-5, 6-4 ACC) as a "last four in" team. It'll be a tense Sunday night in South Bend.
Upcoming:
- Men: Sat Apr 25 - vs. Syracuse, 12:00 p.m. ET (ACCNX), home
- Women: Sun Apr 26 - NCAA Selection Show, 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
📋Around the Program
- Softball opens a three-game home series against Boston College tonight at 6:00 p.m. at Melissa Cook Stadium (poster giveaway). It's the ACC regular-season finale before UIC and DePaul midweek tune-ups, then the ACC Championship at Virginia May 6-9.
- Baseball also hosts BC this weekend at Frank Eck Stadium - three games, starting tonight. Still jockeying for ACC tournament positioning; the tournament begins May 19 in Charlotte.
🔴Utah Utes
🏈Football
Spencer Fano is a Cleveland Brown. The Utes' right tackle went No. 9 overall in Round 1 last night - the first offensive lineman off the board and Utah's first first-round pick since 2023. The Outland Trophy winner, Polynesian College Football Player of the Year, consensus All-American - the résumé was top-10 material and Andrew Berry didn't let him slide past nine. Utah's offensive line culture under Jim Harding keeps paying.
Caleb Lomu is still waiting. The 6'6", 313-pound left tackle slipped out of Round 1 after spending most of mock-draft season as a back-half-of-first projection. Mel Kiper was one of the few analysts who had him falling; the rest of the league apparently agreed. Rounds 2-3 go tonight in Pittsburgh - Lomu should come off the board early. If he goes Day 2, Utah still notches two tackles drafted in the top 100, a rare outcome for any program.
Spring ball continues to churn around the draft weekend. Two new additions to note: Tanner Cragun committed after a year at UTEP, and Noah Bennee is transferring in from Weber State (23 catches for 264 yards in 11 games in 2025). Halfway through Morgan Scalley's first spring as the lead, the staff says the identity of this team is "starting to take shape" - translate that however you want.
🏀Men's Basketball
Alex Jensen's overhaul keeps going. Two more portal signings this week - TJ Burch (15.1 / 3.9 / 2.8 and 2.4 steals in his late-season stretch at his previous stop) and Taison Chatman, both announced Tuesday - on top of Alec Anigbata on Monday. After a 10-22 debut year, Jensen is essentially rebuilding the rotation from scratch. Familiar script in the portal era, but it's going to take the Huntsman faithful another full cycle to see the payoff.
🤸Gymnastics
Quiet offseason. Nothing new today after the April 16 Fort Worth semifinals ended the 49-year team streak at NCAAs and the individual all-around chances for Avery Neff and Ana Padurariu. The conversation has fully pivoted to 2027 roster construction.
🌰Ohio State Buckeyes
🏈Football
Four Buckeyes in Round 1. Ryan Day's program became the first in college football history to post back-to-back drafts with four first-round picks. The foursome from last night:
- Carnell Tate - WR, No. 4 to the Tennessee Titans (five straight drafts with an OSU receiver in Round 1)
- Arvell Reese - edge, No. 5 to the New York Giants (John Harbaugh's first pick as Giants head coach)
- Sonny Styles - LB, No. 7 to the Washington Commanders
- Caleb Downs - S, No. 11 to the Dallas Cowboys
The 59-year "four players in the top 10" milestone that Michigan State owned since 1967 stays with the Spartans - Downs slipped just one pick past the cutoff at No. 11. One spot shy of history, but still a generational draft night for one program. All four were cornerstones of the 2024 title run, and the pitch Day will make in living rooms for the next decade just got a lot easier to deliver.
Day also dropped a small injury note out of Saturday's spring game: safety Earl Little Jr. had a minor knee procedure and is out "a few weeks" - routine timing, no red flags.
📋Around the Program
- The scarlet-and-gray spring game wrapped Saturday, Apr 18, with the Gray defense winning 35-26 over the Scarlet offense in rainy conditions. Freshman WR Chris Henry Jr. caught a long touchdown from Tavien St. Clair; Julian Sayin held serve at QB1 but the competition isn't closed.
- Basketball portal keeps moving: Duquesne's Jimmie Williams (15.1 ppg, 2.6 apg, third-team All-A-10) is in as Jake Diebler's latest grab. Former LSU guard Jalen Reece and former Drexel guard Shane Blakeney both have visits on the books. Ohio State is one of three finalists for Notre Dame transfer Jalen Haralson along with North Carolina and Tennessee. On the other side: Devin Royal to Villanova for his senior year.
🏔️Treasure Valley
🎉Events & Things to Do
- Tonight (Fri Apr 24): Boise Off-Road & Outdoor Expo opens at Expo Idaho, 12–7:30 p.m. (3rd annual; $12 day pass, kids under 12 free) · The Big Paddle Party at Idaho River Sports, 6–10 p.m. (free - live music, food trucks, riverfront hang, raffle benefits local rivers) · Drew & Ellie Holcomb at Egyptian Theatre, 8:30 p.m. · Matroda at Treefort Music Hall, 8 p.m. · Trinket Trade at JUMP, 5–8 p.m.
- Sat Apr 25: Capital City Public Market returns for the 2026 season, Saturday morning at The Grove Plaza · Boise Off-Road & Outdoor Expo continues, 10 a.m.–7 p.m. · Shade City Brewfest at Idaho Botanical Garden, 1–6 p.m. ($45, 21+, craft beer + live music + food trucks) · Indie Bookstore Day at Rediscovered Books, all day (Golden Ticket hunt, exclusive releases) · Shakey Graves at the Ballroom at Shrine Social Club, 7 p.m. · Leslie Gulch-Mahogany Mountain Caldera field trip with the Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology, 9 a.m.
- Sun Apr 26: Banda MS at the Ford Idaho Center arena, 1 p.m. · NCAA Women's Lacrosse selection show (couch event), 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT on ESPNU.
🍽️Food & Drink
Floor & Decor is opening its first Boise-area store on W. Chinden Blvd at N. Linder Rd in Eagle - not a restaurant, but the kind of opening that draws weekend traffic. Restaurant pipeline watch is unchanged: The Boise Post (rooftop atop the AC/Element on Grove) still tracking for spring, Boise Thai Noodle House at 908 W. Main (former Alia's Coffeehouse) targeting spring, Hemlock steakhouse from the Spitfire Tacos team moving into the old Richard's space.
📰Local Headlines
- Capital City Public Market is back at The Grove Plaza starting Saturday morning - the 2026 season opener. If you're downtown for the long run, it's a good post-run wander.
- Idaho ranked 7th least-affordable state in the nation per Habitat for Humanity's latest cost-of-living analysis. Nothing in that reading reverses the Treasure Valley housing pressure; it just puts a number on it.
- Primary election reminder: Ada County Elections flagged that polling places may have changed for the May 19 Primary. Worth a quick check on your registration before the window closes.
🔗Worth Reading
- Cardinals draft Jeremiyah Love at No. 3 overall - Arizona Sports on the highest-drafted Irish running back in program history.
- Spencer Fano to Cleveland at No. 9 - Utah Athletics' official announcement of the Outland Trophy winner's landing spot.
- Four Buckeyes in Round 1 - second straight year - NBC4 Columbus on the program-first run.
- Previewing No. 5 Syracuse at No. 1 Notre Dame - Daily Orange breaks down tomorrow's noon finale.
- Blue-Gold Game viewer's guide - SI's how-to-watch for Saturday.
- This Week in Boise - Rooted in Boise's full weekend rundown.
Generated on Friday, April 24, 2026