Running Through Cincinnati

Well Flying Pig day has come and gone, so this is a recap of the events leading up to the race and the race itself.

Friday:  I took the day off work to rest.  No clue if it was going to help or not, but with Brian out of town, it seemed like a good idea.  After noon, I drove downtown to go to the expo.  I stopped in Graeters on Fountain Square first to get a milkshake (might as well enjoy the need to bulk up a little).  The line was huge, which was awesome to see.  The woman in front of me dropped her cone on the floor which I found hysterical for some reason.  Then I walked over to the expo, which was SO crowded.  Picked up my packet and made my way through the Expo.  I was schocked as to how big it has gotten since my first Pig.  I stopped and picked up pace bands at the Clif booth and purchased 10 packs of Gu.  I only needed 5 or 6 for race day, but they are only $1 at the expo, so I figured that I’d stock up.  I also stopped by the booth that my team had to get my instructions for tomorrow when I had to work.  The night was rather quiet

Saturday:  I got up at the ass crack of dawn to get downtown to watch the 10K and 5K races.  I started doing this last year to cheer on these folks who will hopefully be out cheering me on the next day.  I was late and missed the start, but I did get to see a good portion of the 10K.  The guy who won just blew away the rest of the field.  I saw a number of people from work running, but I did not see our CEO who ran it as well.

As the 10K was winding down, I made the executive decision to walk to the Expo to start to help.  It was starting to rain harder and I really didn’t feel like waiting around for 45 minutes for the 5K to start.  I had brought a book to read, but that’s not very practical when it’s raining.  On my way to the Expo, I decided to stop by Smoothie King and Auntie Anne’s for some breakfast.  Of course both were closed.  When I got to the Expo, I was able to get some food that was free for people working!

The Expo is always fun and crazy.  I saw a lot of people from work along with a long of people from the Cinci running community there.  I also gave out a boat load of coupons and product samples that we had.  I was throwing coupons as people since we had this huge box of them.  I also took a few minutes to buy my Pig gear (and a cookie from Busken).  I tried to sit as much as possible since last year I stood a lot and I think that impacted my time which blew.  The best part of the day was that I got to eat my favorite pre run lunch!

After the Expo, I went to a Derby party with Brian which was pretty uneventful.  The only downside was the limits on my drinking.  I had two beers and lots of water/soda.  Dinner consisted of the same old pasta routine.  I really need to do something different there.  It took me forever to get to sleep again.  I was so excited about the whole thing, but nervous at the same time.  I did finally get to sleep, but I woke up a lot.  When the alarm went off at 4:00 am, I was pretty much already awake and ready to go…

More to come

It’s 12 days until the big pig day.  I really wish that it was tomorrow.  I am so pumped for this event to be here and see if my hard work comes to anything.  I had a great run this weekend.  I love to run downtown over the bridges into Kentucky.  It’s a very relaxing run.  I did 5 miles before the group got there, and then we did 12 miles over the first part of the pig course.  Not sure that I am a huge fan of the change, but I am very happy that the course now goes right through downtown.  In the past the course would avoid the central business district and get us out of downtown as quickly as possible.  But with all the changes to downtown over the past 2 years they had to.  Now if they would only run by Fountain Square.

I do have to say that my 12 mile section was awesome!   Around mile 9 I ran a 6:30 mile which for me is so amazing, especially 9 miles in (which was 14 miles in since I did 5 before hand).  And then I sprinted to the end.  If you are unaware of the half marathon course, the last 2-3 miles are totally downhill, and this was the course we ran this Saturday.  Someday I will run this course, maybe when I’m 80, just to experience it.

I was so happy when I saw the temperature on Saturday morning.  It was a balmy 46 degrees, perfect weather for running.  Well that might be true, but it sure as hell isn’t perfect weather for standing around waiting for everyone else to show up.  I volunteered to show up early to help set up.  Each group needed to have people there to sign people in, assign them numbers, etc.  So I run up the hill and arrive just before 5:30 to find no one from my team there, and I thought that I was getting there late since our leader had asked for help starting at 5.  So I ran a little more and ran into our leader.  Set up didn’t take too long, so I got to stand around for an hour while we waited for the start.  It was very windy at the park which made it so much colder.  The worst was my hands since I didn’t have gloves.  But I survived to get to the start.

There are usually 4 or 5 people with whom I run on a regular basis, all of whom were there at the start.  Around a mile into the run there was a decent sized hill that I decided to sprint up and I would regroup with my friends a little later.  Instead, one of them caught up with me, so I ran the next 14 miles with him before losing him somehow in Walnut Hills.

Overall I was VERY happy with my run.  I did 20 miles in about 2:45. In Columbus last year I did 20 miles in 3:05.  And the year I broke 4 hours, I did 20 miles in 2:59.  Everyone is trying to convince me to try for a 3:30 on marathon day, but I am not having any part of that.  My previous best is 3:59, so that would be 29 minutes faster and it would be 39 minutes faster than my last marathon and an hour faster than the pig last year.  I am planning to start with the 3:50 group and see how I feel around mile 20 and then speed it up there if I am feeling good.  I really want to do a great last 6 miles since I have never been able to do that.

I am probably more nervous about this race than any other since I have trained so much for this.  I really want to do well.  I’d honestly be happy just finishing, but in my heart of hearts I want to break 4 hours again.  Given that this training run was much harder than the actual pig course, I think that I have a great shot at it.  Now it all depends on what I bring to start on marathon day.  I am going to take it easy from here on out to try to be in the best shape possible.

The last month or so has been quite a mix of running. Most weeks since mid February I have been getting in 50+ miles. I have been doing 20+ on my long runs since then as well, along with a few mid length runs during the week. This is a much better place than I have been in previous marathons, so I am hopeful that this one will be a good one.

The only downside has been the past week. First work was very hectic and the weather sucked, so I didn’t run much at all last week. And then this weekend Brian and I hit Chicago hard. Lots of walking but no running. I did go running on Tuesday which was good. This weekend is the big 20 miler run where 600+ people will be. It should be a site to see, especially in overweight Cincinnati.

Now I just need to find another race before Chicago. October is way too long for me to wait to run another marathon.

I woke up this past Sunday with every intention of going out to run.  I was really excited about it as well since it was supposed to be warm. When I got up around 8, I checked the thermometer and noticed that it was still around freezing, so I decided to wait until later in the day to run.  This was probably a good thing since my legs were sore and my knee was hurting some as well.

After a quick trip with Brian to Springfield to visit the Westcott House, I decided to head out, even though my knee was still hurting.  I could not pass up the great weather, especially since it was supposed to rain the next two days.  I went out fast, and pretty much ran fast for the entire 10 miles.  My knee hurt some at the start, but seemed to work itself out over the run.  It was good to get the run in.

But then on Monday, my knee started to hurt more.  The worst was when I would sit at my desk and then straighten out my leg after that.  It was so painful.  But everything else that I did was simply an annoyance.  Good news is that today I can barely feel it.  Another day off and I should be good to go.

After a week off to rest my aching back, I was finally able to get back out running this morning.  I had planned to get up at 4:30 to get out to Fleet Feet by 5:30 and get in 8-9 miles before the group met at 7:00 to do the remaining 12.  Well the cat had other plans.  For some reason he has decided that he needs to sleep in the master bedroom now and was meowing outside the door starting around 3:30.  Around 4:00 I finally got up and ran after him to get him upstairs and to be quiet.  That worked, but then I was wide awake with no chance of getting back to sleep.  At 4:15 I decide that it’s time to get up.

I got out to Fleet Feet a little before 5:30 and started out.  My pace was a little faster than I like, especially when I am doing 22 miles, and I am meeting people at my mile 8-9 to do another 12.  I added some walk breaks to go a little slower, which helped some but not enough.  I ended up doing 10 prior to the group run.  The group run also started too fast, doing 7:45-8:00 minute miles, where I am more comfortable on a long run at 9-9:30, but none of us would slow down (typical men).  The good news is that I ran very strong.  The only weak point was right after mile 9 (or 19 for me) where there was a steep hill.  I had to walk that some.  I also walked a little after mile 11 (mile 21 for me) as I really need a gel, but I didn’t have any water.  But I finished strong with a sub 8 mile finish.  Overall I am very pleased at how strong I ran, but not happy that I didn’t stick to the plan.  But if I can keep this up, I am confident that I can make my time goals to qualify for a preferred starting corral at Chicago.  Even if I don’t make it in Cinci, my 13.1 mile time was a few minutes under the preferred starting corral time for Chicago, so I would just need to find a good half to run before August.

Keep running…

I haven’t run for the past two days and it’s driving me crazy.  On Tuesday the snow, sleet and freezing rain entered Cincinnati covering streets and sidewalks with snow and then ice and then some more snow.  There wasn’t a lot in total, but the ice was the killer.  And to top all of this off, I don’t have a gym membership, so I couldn’t even go there.  Now Brian did get me a gift card for Revolutions for my b-day, but I haven’t gone there yet to use it.  Plus I was planning to use it for spinning or pilates and not just to use a treadmill.  On Monday I ran 10 miles in anticipation of this, but it hasn’t helped.  I can’t wait to get back out there today.  I’m not sure how long/far I will run since we need to pack for the trip, but hopefully I’ll get enough mileage in.