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Personal Briefing

🌅Personal Briefing - Saturday, May 2, 2026

Good morning. Here's your personal read.

🏃Training

🏃Today's Plan

🎯 5K - 2026-05-02 (0 days out) Phase: race → recovery starts 2026-05-02 (0 days) This week: Race day - trust the training. Next week: Back to base building. Why today: Race day - go get it. After this: 10K on 2026-06-20 (49 days out)

🏁 RACE DAY - 5K (3.1 mi) Target: Sub-24 (7:43/mi avg) · stretch goal sub-23 (7:24/mi avg) Strategy: Go out 7:30–7:40/mi for mile 1, settle in, push at mile 2 if feeling good. Warmup/cooldown: Dynamic warmup pre-race · cool-down stretch after Trust the training. Go get it.

Best window: Lunch - 78°F, sunny, wind 12 mph

📊This Week

Sun: easy 10-min jog or full rest - your choice · light 5-min abs · 10-min stretch · pace very - Recovery day. Pack for London tomorrow. Mon: 12-min easy run · 10-min abs · 5-min stretch · pace 9:30–10:00/mi - recovery week - very easy

This week: 4 runs · 5.8 mi · 50 min Zone check: 43% in pace-Z2 (race target ≥80%). Recent easy paces: 10:11/mi, 8:49/mi, 9:02/mi. If those feel conversational, they may be fine - pace zones are proxies. HR data from the COROS will clarify your true zones once it's set up.

Recent runs:

  • Sat 04-25 · 3.2 mi · 32 min · 10:11/mi (easy)
  • Mon 04-27 · 0.8 mi · 6 min · 7:22/mi (Z4)
  • Tue 04-28 · 1.2 mi · 10 min · 8:20/mi (Z3)
  • Wed 04-29 · 2.6 mi · 23 min · 8:49/mi (easy)
  • Thu 04-30 · 1.2 mi · 11 min · 9:02/mi (easy)

✓ Nice walk yesterday (24 min). 4 family walks this week - lifestyle win, not a run substitute.

☘️Notre Dame Sports

🏈Football

Yesterday turned into the double recruiting win Marcus Freeman wanted. Both pieces dropped: 2027 four-star QB Wonderful "Champ" Monds IV announced for Notre Dame on the Pat McAfee Show (over Ohio State and Florida State), and 2027 four-star EDGE Aidan O'Neil of Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) committed earlier in the morning. Monds is the No. 1 QB in the reclassified 2027 class - 6'2", 225 - and becomes the 12th 2027 commitment, the fourth from Florida. O'Neil ranks No. 110 overall and No. 13 EDGE per the Rivals Industry Ranking and is ND's first defensive line pledge in the 2027 class, choosing the Irish over Kentucky and Penn State. The class jumps to 12 commits with the QB-of-the-future and a top-100 pass rusher in the same calendar day - about as good as a May Day gets.

Beyond recruiting, the post-spring landscape is what it is - Marcus Freeman officially turning the page to fall, replacing the Love/Price RB room (both first-round picks), and rebuilding depth. The Schefter-flagged 2026 class still includes WR Devin Fitzgerald (son of Larry), the breakout from the Blue-Gold Game.

Upcoming:

  • Sun Sep 6 - vs. Wisconsin, Shamrock Series at Lambeau Field (season opener)

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:

KK Bransford to UCLA is still the headline from Monday - the 2022 McDonald's All-American out of Cincinnati becomes Cori Close's fifth and final transfer addition for the defending champs after averaging 7.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.1 spg as an ND senior. With Cassandre Prosper (WNBA Draft), Vanessa De Jesus, Iyana Moore, and Malaya Cowles also gone, ND lost four of five starters from 2025-26.

The 2026-27 roster is essentially set: portal additions Anaya Hardy (Louisville) and Madison St. Rose (Princeton), plus the No. 1 high school class headlined by McDonald's All-Americans Jacy Abii and Jenica Lewis. Niele Ivey is also coaching Team USA's U18 squad at the FIBA AmeriCup June 8-14.

Upcoming: Summer workouts begin in late May.

🥍Lacrosse

The men's run ended last night. No. 4 seed Virginia upset top-seeded Notre Dame 15-10 in the ACC Tournament semifinal in Charlotte - the second loss to UVA this season, and an exit one round earlier than the Irish wanted. Truitt Sunderland scored four for Virginia and McCabe Millon piled up five points; Jake Marek made 12 saves in net. ND's Josh Yago, Will Angrick, Dylan Faison, and Will Maheras each scored twice, but the offense never got the consistent stretch it needed. Virginia plays North Carolina (which beat Syracuse 12-10 in the other semi) for the ACC Championship tomorrow at noon ET on ACC Network. The Irish (10-2) now turn fully toward NCAA seeding - still expected to host first-round play, but not the No. 1 overall they were chasing a week ago.

Women's lacrosse arrives at the moment of truth. The Irish (12-5, 6-4 ACC) sit out of the ACC tournament after the 12-9 quarterfinal loss to Clemson on April 23, and their NCAA case rests entirely on body-of-work strength against an uncomfortable RPI (29th). USA Lacrosse bracketology projected ND opening on the road against Denver with the winner playing top-seeded Northwestern - a tough draw if it lands that way. NCAA Selection Show is tomorrow (Sun May 3) at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPNU, with first-round play Friday May 8 and the championship May 24 at Northwestern's Martin Stadium.

Upcoming:

  • Women: Sun May 3 - NCAA Selection Show, 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
  • Women: Fri May 8 - NCAA First Round (if selected)
  • Men: Awaiting NCAA selection (May 10) - likely host site

Last Result:

  • Men: Lost to Virginia 15-10 in ACC Semifinal (Fri May 1)
  • Women: Lost to Clemson 12-9 in ACC Quarterfinals (Thu Apr 23)

📋Around the Program

  • Baseball is rolling. Notre Dame stunned a 2-0 deficit and dropped six unanswered to beat Stanford 6-2 in last night's series opener at Frank Eck. Game 2 is today and the series wraps Sunday before the regular-season finishing kick.
  • Men's tennis exits the NCAA Tournament. No. 23 overall seed Notre Dame fell to No. 24 Vanderbilt 4-1 in the first round in Champaign yesterday. Season ends 21-8 - the Irish's first NCAA appearance since 2022.
  • Softball is idle this weekend before heading to the ACC Tournament May 6-9 at Virginia (25-27, 11-13 ACC).

🔴Utah Utes

🏈Football

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

Spring practice continues without a spring game - Morgan Scalley's call. Devon Dampier's command of new OC Kevin McGiven's offense remains the most-watched offseason variable, and the rebuilt offensive line under first-year coach Jordan Gross is the ceiling-defining unknown for 2026. Most-recent personnel news from earlier in the week: director of football sports performance Greg Argust resigned months after his January 7 promotion, with Steve Saunders (formerly Baltimore Ravens) elevated to the role. Recent transfer-portal additions worth flagging: Tanner Cragun (UTEP), Will Monney (Oklahoma State), Noah Bennee (23 catches, 264 yards at Weber State in 2025), and Utah State transfer Braeden Pegan - already helping new teammates pick up the new offensive scheme he ran for McGiven last year (60 catches, 926 yards, 5 TD in the Mountain West). The Sept. 26 game at Iowa State already shapes up as the tone-setter for Big 12 play.

Upcoming:

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

🤸Gymnastics

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

The 2026 Final Analysis dropped Tuesday - closing the books on the season that ended one-eighth of a point short of the program's 50th consecutive National Championship appearance. Avery Neff owned the postseason hardware: WCGA North Central Region Gymnast of the Year, Big 12 Gymnast of the Year, team MVP, 27 wins this season alone (35 career), back-to-back regional all-around crowns. Ana Padurariu was Big 12 Specialist of the Year. Neff and Ella Zirbes earned four total NCAA All-America honors at the National Championship Semifinals on April 16, with Neff finishing fourth on floor and seventh in the all-around. The 2027 reset rests on three returning All-Americans (Makenna Smith, Neff, Zirbes) plus regular-season All-American Camie Winger, with five-star Bailey Stroud headlining the incoming class.

Upcoming: 2027 season begins in January.

📋Around the Program

  • 🥍 Lacrosse season ends in the ASUN semifinal. Air Force defeated Utah 13-12 at Rock Stadium in Jacksonville last night - the second straight overtime/one-goal loss to the Falcons in eight days, after dropping the Senior Day regular-season finale 14-13 in OT on April 25. The Utes' season ends with one of the best offenses in Division I (2nd in goals/game, 1st in assists/game and points/game) but no postseason hardware to show for it. Air Force advances to face the winner of last night's other semifinal in the ASUN final.
  • Softball senior weekend continues today. Utes (33-18-1 entering the series) host No. 19/20 Arizona at noon MT on ESPN+ at Dumke Family Stadium for game two of three (series concludes Sunday at noon MT). Big 12 Tournament implications - Utah needs to hold its 7th-place spot to make the tournament field, with Arizona State and Iowa State half a game back.
  • Men's basketball roster nearly set. Craig Smith's offseason rebuild now has four transfers (Malek Gomma/Weber State, TJ Burch/Wright State, Taison Chatman/Ohio State, Jackson Holcombe/Utah Valley), four international additions (Israel, Germany, France, Austria), plus returners Lucas Langarita and Babacar Faye. Still hunting a true center.

🌰Ohio State Buckeyes

🏈Football

The post-spring portal haul keeps growing. The latest additions surfaced in recruiting reporting yesterday: former Houston Christian punter Brady Young (sixth-year senior), former LSU receiver Kyle Parker (following ex-LSU WR coach Cortez Hankton to Columbus), and Georgia transfer cornerback Dominick Kelly. On the offensive line, former Dartmouth OL Vasean Washington committed for depth, and Notre Dame walk-on Marcello Diomede is in as a placekicker, joining incoming class of 2026 kicker Cooper Peterson - three new kickers on the 2026 roster total. Veteran RB Ja'Kobi Jackson out of Florida is in as well, entering his seventh year of college football to spell true freshman Bo Jackson. The headline from earlier this week - Alabama IDL James Smith (the No. 1-ranked interior DL in the portal) - remains the centerpiece of the post-draft defensive line rebuild.

The bigger context: 11 Ohio State players were drafted in the 2026 NFL Draft - all four top-rated Buckeyes went in Round 1 (linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles plus safety Caleb Downs all in the top 11). The defense has eight starters to replace; the offense returns Sayin and Smith and four of five OL starters. CBS Sports' post-spring rankings have OSU at No. 2 nationally.

Upcoming:

  • Aug 30 - season opener (Week 1)

📋Around the Program

  • Softball stuns No. 25 Washington in opener. Lorin Boutte threw a complete game and the Buckeyes scored five in the third on bases-loaded walks plus an RBI double and RBI single to win 5-4 at Buckeye Field last night. Boutte improves to 7-5. The series continues today with game 2 and wraps Sunday before the Big Ten Tournament May 6-9 in College Park, MD.
  • Men's basketball portal note. Ohio State remains in the conversation for several impact perimeter players as the late portal window plays out - coaching staff is hunting late-window scoring help.

🏔️Treasure Valley

🍽️Food & Drink

Today is the final day for Whiskey Bar. Owner announced last weekend via Instagram after 12 years downtown - the goodbye coincides with the bar's annual Kentucky Derby party tonight. If you want to send it off properly, this is the window. The other near-term closure is Eastside Tavern at 1228 S. Oakland Ave., closing May 16 after 15 years (the dive bar with the pool tables, foosball, and darts is waiting until the end of the school year before pouring the last round).

Spring 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, Bobby's Cafe in the old Original Sunrise space, and Idaho Burrito all opening this spring.
  • Handel's Ice Cream first Idaho location, late spring/early summer at 1581 E. State Street, Eagle.
  • Village at Meridian expansion - Apple, Pottery Barn, Tecovas, Tempur-Pedic, Gorjana, Culinary Dropout, The Capital Grille, Paris Baguette, and Flower Child all in the pipeline.

🎉Events & Things to Do

  • Today (Sat May 2) - 🏁 RACE DAY. Boise River Marathon kicks off at 7:00 a.m. on the Greenbelt out of Eagle (5K, 10K, half, full options). The forecast came in slightly cooler than yesterday's read - high near 76–79°F, sunny, light SSE wind 5–9 mph in the morning. Almost ideal racing conditions if you're out early; warmer if you're still on course at lunch. Idaho Outdoor Expo May 2-3 in Garden City - gear, demos, the whole outdoor lifestyle. Boise Area Spring Parade of Homes opens at noon. Capital City Public Market at The Grove, 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Music in the Park at the Gene Harris Bandshell (Julia Davis), 3:30–8:00 p.m. Boise Philharmonic at the Morrison Center, 7:30 p.m. Karrin Allyson at the Egyptian, 7:30 p.m. El Ten Eleven at Neurolux, 8 p.m. Tech N9ne & E-40 at Revolution, 8 p.m. Unknown Mortal Orchestra at Treefort Music Hall, 5 p.m. Greg Gutfeld at the Ford Idaho Center, 7 p.m. (Nampa). Dry Creek Historic Society opens for the season, 12:30–4:30 p.m. Whiskey Bar Derby party / final night tonight.
  • Sun May 3: Idaho Outdoor Expo day two. Unknown Mortal Orchestra at Treefort Music Hall, 7 p.m. Celebrating Mom Afternoon Tea Social, 2 p.m. NCAA Women's Lacrosse Selection Show 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT on ESPNU if you're tracking ND's tournament fate.
  • Sat-Sun reminder: Boise State Theatre, Film and Creative Writing presentation Sun at 2 p.m. at Danny Peterson Theatre / Morrison Center.

📰Local Headlines

  • Public memorial events for former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne announced. Kempthorne (who died April 24 at 74) will lie in state in the Idaho State Capitol at 10 a.m. Friday, May 15, with full services in Boise across May 15-16.
  • 87-year-old woman dies after being struck by pickup in Star parking lot. Ada County Sheriff's Office ruled the crash accidental - happened in a Star parking lot earlier this week.
  • Idaho lawmakers push "Rat Bill" amid Boise rat boom. Surge in rat sightings across the metro has prompted proposed legislation (covered by The Hill - picked up nationally).
  • Carryover reminders: Boise Cascade $6.38M Lacey Act fine still in the news cycle. New Expo Idaho park with wetlands, skate features, and Greenbelt connection still in design. First Thursdays moves to Cherie Buckner-Webb Park starting May 7. ITD director Scott Stokes retiring June 30. Boise State's blue turf becoming a permanent Jeanty/Moore tribute as the new field installs ahead of Pac-12 play.

🔗Worth Reading

Generated on Saturday, May 2, 2026

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