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Personal Briefing

🌅Personal Briefing - Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Good morning. Here's your personal read.

🏃Training

🏃Today's Plan

🎯 5K - 2026-05-02 (4 days out) Phase: taper → race week starts 2026-04-30 (2 days) This week: Cut volume, one short race-pace pickup early in the week, then easy only the final 3 days. Next week: Finish taper and race-week shakeouts. Why today: Work is done - short pickups keep the legs sharp without digging in before the 5K. After this: 10K on 2026-06-20 (53 days out)

🏃 Today (Tuesday): 10-min easy run · 10-min abs · 5-min stretch Target pace: 9:30–10:00/mi (Z2, conversational) Taper - easy effort, keeping the legs fresh for 5K.

Best window: Lunch - 58°F, sunny, wind 7 mph

📊This Week

Wed: 10-min easy run · 10-min abs · 5-min stretch · pace 9:30–10:00/mi - final 3 days - easy only Thu: 15-min easy shakeout · skip · 10-min stretch + dynamic warmup · pace 9:45–10:15/mi - shakeout before 5K

This week: 1 runs · 0.8 mi · 6 min Zone check: 38% easy - ⚠️ concern (taper target ≥80%). Easy days are still too fast, RT. Slow to 9:30+/mi on easy days.

Recent runs:

  • 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)
  • Sat 04-25 · 3.2 mi · 32 min · 10:11/mi (easy)
  • Mon 04-27 · 0.8 mi · 6 min · 7:22/mi (Z4)

✓ Nice walk yesterday (28 min). 1 family walk this week - lifestyle win, not a run substitute.

☘️Notre Dame Sports

🏈Football

No news to report! Here's recent information in case you missed a previous newsletter:

The story of the offseason is the 2027 four-star safety Zayden Gamble committing on Saturday over Miami, Florida, and Ohio State - the 10th 2027 commit and the fourth defensive back in the class. Gamble's a Fort Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas) prospect ranked No. 13 nationally at safety, and he pulled the trigger after just one campus visit on March 21.

The other carryover line is the NFL draft tail: TE Eli Raridon's third-round pick by New England kept the program's tight end draft streak alive (every TE1 over the last 20 years has now been drafted), and undrafted free agents Jalen Stroman (49ers) and Aamil Wagner (still negotiating a UDFA home this week) close out the post-draft scramble. The Blue-Gold 41-40 walk-off was Saturday - CJ Carr cemented as QB1, Hebert ahead of Grubbs in the backup race, Devin Fitzgerald the breakout receiver.

Upcoming:

  • 2026 season opener - Shamrock Series vs. Wisconsin at Lambeau Field

Last Result: Blue-Gold Game - Blue 41, Gold 40 (Sat Apr 25)

🏀Women's Basketball

No news to report! Here's recent information in case you missed a previous newsletter:

The 2026-27 roster is essentially built. Niele Ivey closed the offseason with two portal additions - Louisville's Anaya Hardy (signed April 17 - 4.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 66.6% FG in 27 starts) and Princeton grad Madison/Natasha St. Rose (signed April 21 - 13.2 ppg, two-time All-Ivy League across 92 games and 83 starts). Combined with the No. 1-ranked high school class - Jacy Abii (No. 9), Jenica Lewis (No. 24), Bella Ragone (No. 30), Amari Byles (No. 37) - this fills the holes left by Cassandre Prosper (WNBA Draft), Vanessa De Jesus, Iyana Moore, and Malaya Cowles.

The 2026-27 schedule debut: ND will play in the Inaugural Eternal City Tip-off, a doubleheader event on Nov. 1 broadcast on Fox Sports.

Upcoming: Summer workouts begin in late May.

🥍Lacrosse

Men's lacrosse is three days from the ACC Tournament semifinal with No. 4 Virginia in Charlotte. The Irish (10-1, 3-1 ACC) are the No. 1 seed for a third straight year and ride a 16-11 win over Syracuse Saturday into the bracket. Friday at 5 p.m. ET on ACC Network - top seed, defense that held Syracuse to two third-quarter goals, the path to a third national title looking real.

Women's lacrosse continues to wait on the NCAA selection show this Sunday. The Irish (12-5, 6-4 ACC) are out of the ACC Tournament after the 12-9 quarterfinal loss to Clemson last Wednesday - USA Lacrosse bracketology had them in before the loss, but the question is whether the body of work survives the QF exit without leading scorer Kate Timarky.

Upcoming:

  • Men: Fri May 1 - vs. No. 4 Virginia, ACC Tournament Semifinal, 5:00 p.m. ET (ACC Network), Charlotte
  • Women: Sun May 3 - NCAA Selection Show, 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Last Result:

  • Men: Beat Syracuse 16-11 (Sat Apr 25)
  • Women: Lost to Clemson 12-9 in ACC Quarterfinals (Wed Apr 23)

📋Around the Program

  • Both tennis programs are NCAA Tournament-bound. The Irish men (21-7) drew the No. 23 overall seed and open Friday, May 1 at host Illinois (No. 14) against No. 24 Vanderbilt (17-12). It's coach Ryan Sachire's seventh NCAA appearance - and his first since 2022. The women's team also got a bid; bracket details still firming up.
  • Baseball hosts Central Michigan tonight at 5:30 p.m. ET (ACCNX) at Frank Eck - first of two midweek home games before the regular season closes; Milwaukee comes Wednesday at 6:30. Coach Stiffler hit 100 career wins recently.
  • Softball hosts UIC tonight at 5:00 p.m. (ACCNX) at Melissa Cook - Taylor Swift Night with friendship-bracelet crafting and Swift music throughout. Free admission. The Irish (23-27, 11-13 ACC) have won six of their last seven and just swept BC at home; DePaul comes Wednesday before the ACC Tournament (May 6-9 at Virginia).

🔴Utah Utes

🏈Football

Director of football sports performance Greg Argust resigned Monday morning - just weeks after being promoted to the role on January 7. Argust spent more than two decades with the program, dating back to his graduate-assistant days, but declined to comment publicly. Steve Saunders, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens (he left Baltimore in 2023), has been elevated to take over the role. The exit is part of a broader strength-and-conditioning shake-up under first-year head coach Morgan Scalley - longtime S&C coach Doug Elisaia followed Kyle Whittingham to Michigan earlier this offseason. Not a top-line story, but meaningful for the program's quiet rebuild of its support staff.

The bigger picture remains: spring practice closed without a spring game, Devon Dampier's command of Kevin McGiven's installed offense is the offseason's most-watched variable, and the rebuilt offensive line under first-year coach Jordan Gross is the ceiling-defining unknown for 2026.

Upcoming:

  • Sept. 3 - vs. Idaho (season opener, Rice-Eccles)

🤸Gymnastics

The Red Rocks held their annual team banquet Friday to close out a season that ended without a National Championship qualification - the first time in 49 consecutive years the program missed nationals, falling .125 of a point short at the Corvallis Regional Final. Avery Neff was named the team's 2026 MVP. Head coach Carly Dockendorf framed the year as "an opportunity for refinement … turning rejection into redirection," and pointed to the full-team return of three All-Americans (Makenna Smith, Avery Neff, Ella Zirbes) plus regular-season All-American Camie Winger as the foundation of the 2027 reset.

The 2026 team did still take the Big 12 conference title in back-to-back seasons, extending Utah's consecutive-conference-title streak to six. The recruiting story for 2027 - five-star Bailey Stroud arriving with the freshman class, and 2027 verbal commits Gabrielle Black, Ayla Miller, Madison Denlinger, and Emma Howells - remains the bright spot.

Upcoming: 2027 season begins in January.

📋Around the Program

  • Men's golf sits T-11th after Day 1 of the Big 12 Championship at Prairie Dunes (Hutchinson, Kan.) - the Utes shot 17-over 577 through 36 holes Monday, tied with Kansas State. Oklahoma State leads at -14, Arizona second at -7. Two 18-hole rounds remain Tuesday and Wednesday on ESPN+.
  • Men's basketball added Weber State senior center Malek Gomma Monday - 6-9 forward from Anchorage, 8.0 ppg / 6.9 rpg, started every game for Weber State last year. Joins guards TJ Burch, Taison Chatman, Jackson Holcombe (Utah Valley), 6-8 forward Alec Anigbata, and Israeli guard Noam Yaacov in Craig Smith's offseason rebuild.
  • Softball senior week: Utes host Utah Valley tonight at 6 p.m. MT (Dumke Stadium), then a three-game home series vs. No. 19/20 Arizona (Fri 5 p.m., Sat 12 p.m., Sun 12 p.m.) to close the regular season.

🌰Ohio State Buckeyes

🏈Football

The Buckeyes added 2027 four-star OL Davis Seaman on Monday afternoon - a 6-foot-5, 285-pound interior lineman from Bishop Watterson HS in Columbus, ranked No. 400 nationally and No. 15 in Ohio. Ohio State beat out Penn State, Auburn, and Tennessee for the local product. Seaman is the 11th 2027 commit and the fifth offensive lineman in the class - Tyler Bowen's recruiting run continues to look like one of the more durable wins of the post-draft cycle. Seaman's quote on the announcement: "God is good, Go Bucks."

A reminder for the running back room: BucksInsider's spring recap on Monday flagged the position as "walking wounded" through the offseason - worth tracking when summer camp opens. Otherwise, the offseason narrative is the same one Ohio State has been writing for two years: 25 NFL Draft picks across 2025-26 (tied all-time with Georgia), four picks in the first 11 in 2026 (first time in 59 years).

Upcoming:

  • Aug 30 - season opener (Week 1, opponent TBD on schedule)

📋Around the Program

  • Recruiting note for Notre Dame fans: Saturday's Zayden Gamble pledge to the Irish was a Buckeyes loss - Ohio State was one of the four finalists.

🏔️Treasure Valley

🍽️Food & Drink

No new openings or closures to flag this morning. The 2026 pipeline still in motion in the background:

  • The Boise Post (rooftop atop the AC/Element on Grove) tracking for spring.
  • Boise Thai Noodle House at 908 W. Main targeting spring.
  • Hemlock steakhouse moving into the old Richard's space.
  • Coa Cantina in Barber Valley, Cán Coctelería speakeasy above Amano, and Idaho Burrito all opening this spring.
  • Handel's Ice Cream first Idaho location, late spring/early summer at 1581 E. State Street, Eagle.

🎉Events & Things to Do

  • Tonight (Tue Apr 28): Twen at the Basement at Shrine Social Club, 7 p.m. (with Monsoon and Sove The Second). ND softball Taylor Swift Night (free admission) - TV-appropriate from afar.
  • Wed Apr 29: Terror at the Ballroom at Shrine Social Club, 6 p.m. (with Pain of Truth, End It, Start Today, Witness Chamber). August Burns Red at Revolution Concert House, Garden City.
  • Thu Apr 30: Built to Spill at the Ballroom at Shrine Social Club, 7 p.m. (with LOOLOWNINGEN and Braided Waves). Dead Meadow at the Basement, 7:30 p.m. Griffin House at the Sapphire Room (Riverside Hotel). Drunk Shakespeare at the Morrison Center, 5 p.m.
  • Fri May 1: Mersiv at Knitting Factory, 8:30 p.m.
  • Sat May 2: Capital City Public Market resumes its full season - every Saturday now through December at The Grove, 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Race day for the 5K - taper finishes here.

📰Local Headlines

  • Wettest April on record. Boise hit 3.83 inches of monthly rainfall last week - breaking the prior record of 3.83 inches set in 1912 (114 years ago). Bogus Basin reported 7+ inches of new snow in the same system. The contrast with a "mild and warm" winter has been particularly stark; weather looks to settle this week with mid-60s daytime highs and a mix of sun and partly cloudy skies through Thursday before showers return.
  • Boise State UDFA signings: Bronco standouts Matt Lauter and Zion Washington signed undrafted free-agent NFL deals over the weekend, joining Kage Casey (Broncos, 4th round) on the post-draft list.
  • Carryover reminders: Apple's permits filed at The Village at Meridian (still no opening date); former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne memorial details still pending - flags remain at half-staff.

🔗Worth Reading

Generated on Tuesday, April 28, 2026

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