This is somewhat of an overview of the first few chapters. I used the Pfitzinger 18/55 plan, which I’ve used successfully in the past. I slowed down, with aid of my watch’s heart rate monitor, to keep slow days slow and fast days fast.
Leading up
On my final 20 mile run, I noticed a hotspot on one of my feet from my shoes – the Asics Gel Nimbus Lyte 3, so I made the decision to test a different pair for the 16 mile run, which are my Brooks Hyperions. After a successful 16 mile run, I decided to go with those. I noticed leading up to the race that my watch was showing much shorter ‘time to full recovery’ times than I had been used to, although it could be because these tend to shrink during the summer due to the heat.
I improved my pre-race food from nothing-ever to sometimes eating a granola bar. It’s not much, but it works.
Morning Of
I had everything laid out. I was prepared for the forecasted rain. In my check bag, I had some band-aids and petroleum jelly in case there were blister issues that I found post-race, and that was in addition to a towel and compression socks. I also used petroleum jelly on my feet in addition to a few other parts to provide some protection. I made a cup of coffee in the Keurig and headed out to downtown at 4:30 AM and arrived at an on-street parking spot without incident. It was a little over a mile walk to the marathon start line area. I used a Port-o-Let, drank some water and then met up with a fellow RunChat runner for a picture.
— Lauch 🇺🇦🇺🇸🇺🇳 (@lauch) May 1, 2022
After that, I entered my corral and took my first Gatorade Gel and waited for the starting ceremonies.
The Race
And we were off! Given the heat, I started from the back of the corral and paced very conservatively. I passed some idiots in the first mile – one that was walking in the middle of the road within the first mile, and also a very young undertrained runner and family that probably should have taken a DNS and did nothing stupid (unfortunately, they did something stupid and it’s all over various message boards).
The first few miles went mostly without incident, with just the sunrise behind the overcast clouds to the east as we were crossing over to Newport and the car-eating-potholes to greet us upon entering Covington. I switched my watch to distance-only (which does show a very small clock on the bottom, but it’s difficult for me to see, and even more difficult since my last eye doctor screwed up my contacts prescription).
As I made my way back into Ohio, I continued feeling good. I was not pushing my ability here. I made my way up to and across downtown, keeping reasonably close to my planned water on odd mile stops and Gatorade on even mile stops. It wasn’t a perfect alternation (W-G-W-G etc), so I let the distance on my watch take the lead. I took my first Gatorade gel at the 5 mile mark, right on schedule.
We made it to the hill and as I was getting ready to take the turn onto Eden Park Drive (maybe 1/4 to 1/3 the way up the hill), I saw the lead half marathon runner coming down the hill. I kept my effort going up the hill without worrying too much about pace. I still felt fine by the top, where I was able to get water and accidentally hit someone with the cup as I was throwing it to the side.
I felt fast after the split where I put down a long string of miles that were all around 8:30. Through this area, I was periodically dumping water over my head and maintaining my hydration and fueling plan. Through this string of mid-8 miles, I took both the 10 and 15 mile gels.
In Fairfax and onto the parkway I started to slow a little. I didn’t feel bad, just a tad fatigued. These miles slowed to the low 9s as I made my way through the East End. I felt good through mile 22, taking my final gel on schedule at 20 miles. Then the sun came out.
The stretch of miles 23-25.5 (or so) are mostly in the sun with only a few places of shade and street trees. My pace fell through this area to the upper-9s and then the low-10s as I made what started to feel like a death march to the finish line. I was able to make a push through the pain to the finish line.
Epilogue
I haven’t decided what next spring holds. Part of me thinks I should drop back to the half marathon and spend a few years concentrating on shorter races before making another try at the marathon.
On October 20, I ran the Columbus Marathon. This was my second full marathon for the year.
Training
I used the same training plan that I used for Glass City – the Pfitz 18/55 plan. Training did not go as well – many times I dealt with extreme heat. It seemed as if summer was hotter this year than last. I dealt with dehydration and heat exhaustion during parts of the summer, and hitting both of those issues to the extreme. Many of my quality sessions weren’t the best, as doing things like “18 with 14 at M pace” at 70F when I start running is just… harsh.
However, I did nearly all my training runs – I recall missing one because I had to fly to and from Chicago one day, and I made one adjustment to try to nail the Bulldog Blast 5k (narrator: “which he did not PR”).
Nutrition-wise, I felt like I was losing weight and the scale did not agree. A week before Glass City, my weight shot up about 4 or 5 pounds, and it hasn’t gone up or down significantly since then.
Pre-Race
I left Cincinnati around noon and headed towards Columbus, stopping in Grove City to grab some forgotten breakfast items and fuel up at Meijer. After driving around downtown Columbus, I found a parking spot near Elevator Brewing and walked to the expo. This was one of the longer times I’ve spent at an expo, not so much because of it’s size but because I wanted a discount voucher for the Flying Pig and spent some time talking to the ambassadors.
Ralphie!
FRAH-GEE-LEE! Must be Italian!
Interesting sponsor of the pace team.
I found a hotel room at the Sheraton near the Capitol Building. It was okay, there are some places where it shows it’s age, but otherwise decent. I went to OH Pizza and Brew expecting a good pizza and good beer. The pizza was great, the beers were great, although the selection was a fucking joke (there was ONE Columbus beer on tap – I drank a Rhinegeist Truth and an Elevator Dark Force – a dark lager).
Pizza! With pineapple!
Beer! Dark Force lager.
Backside of the state capitol building.
Part of the evening was me watching the Bearcats football game and working while sitting on the bed. Part was getting my post-race bag and morning clothes and stuff together.
Working + watching the Bearcats.
Had to try it on. It’s NICE!
Flat-me, preparing for tomorrow.
I turned on my alarm, cranked up the volume, and placed it on the desk next to the adjoining room because they didn’t seem to understand how to be quiet (and I think they even got a visit from the hotel staff telling them to STFU). Pro-Tip, don’t be an asshat to the room next to you in a hotel unless you want to find out what time THEY wake up. And don’t tempt them to leave Nick Jr on the TV loudly when they leave (I didn’t do that because they did get quiet, but I was tempted).
Race Morning
I got my gear bag together and headed to the start line around 6:15 AM. When I went to the lobby, they had a bunch of water bottles sitting out, so I took one and started the 1.2 mile walk to the start line. After making it to the start area, I located the bag check tent and went towards the corrals. Despite using the toilet before leaving my room, I kinda felt like I had to again… but the line was a mile long. Partly because it seemed like half the race was in the A corral. I’m not sure what their criteria was, nor do I remember what I predicted my time at, but I registered before Glass City, so maybe 3:45 or 3:40? Regardless, I found a place in the herd to hang out before the pacers made their way to the corral. Turns out, I started behind the 3:50 pacer 😡.
The weather was warm-ish at around 50F. I took a jacket I bought from Goodwill with me and threw it aside when the gun went off
The Race
I started conservatively. Part of it was because I nearly tripped over people that seemed to be very scared of the start mat. I was close enough to the start line that it should have taken me 30 seconds to cross the start line, and it took 90 seconds.
I ran the first five miles in 41 minutes, which is around 8:12 min/mile. All those miles were below 8:10 except the first, and I expected that. There’s some hills through there, but overall not bad.
The second five miles didn’t feel as good on the course, but was better. 40:37, so 8:07 min/mile. The terrain was a little flatter through here. Of the five miles: 8:02, 8:16, 8:04, 8:15, 7:59… there’s a bit of variation here.
The third five miles got through the southern part of the course (Downtown, Bexley, and German Village) and to the northern part of the course. Mostly flat according to the data, but I remember going uphill just past the split. 40:09 through the segment, and two sub-8 miles. The pace through the segment was 8:02 min/mile.
The fourth five was where the wheels started coming off. First off, there’s a hairpin turn in mile 17. I honestly hate those (they have one on the Flying Pig Half Marathon course that I loathe, but at least they close six lanes of traffic on a road with a median and give it all to us – this is a two-lane road with no median. Then there’s a two-mile long hill in miles 18-19. Then, because the marathon starts at 7:30 AM, we’re hitting this at 10:00 AM… when the heat kicks up. Time in this segment was 42:28, pace of 8:30 min/mile.
The fifth five wasn’t anything better. Gassed from the hill and dying from the heat, I trudged on as best I could. Parts of this (mile 20) was in full sun, parts had some shade from being in an older part of the town. However, as the miles dropped off, the area became more suburban and in full sun. Then, to cap it off, mile 25 began on old brick… normally I wouldn’t be bothered by this, but the unevenness of the brick didn’t feel good. At all. Then the 3:40 pacer passed me. I tried to keep in view, but the brick and the fatigue kept THAT from happening. This segment was 43:23, a slow pace of 8:41 min/mile. As I continued through this segment, I saw more and more runners slowing to a walk and some that were getting medical attention.
The last 1.2 saw me speeding up as two things came together. One was the fact that I was 1.2-ish miles away from the finish line. The other was the downhill slope into downtown. I made my way through the turns to Nationwide, High Street, and Long Street and into the finishing zone, passing at least one that needed a chair (and even my finisher’s video shows a medical volunteer taking a wheelchair back onto the course). Crossed the finish line in 3:39:23. Not a PR.
Post-Race
I immediately walked past the heat blankets and to a bottle of water and a misting fan. After a few rounds of that, I moved on through the finishers area. They handed us a bag and we basically trick-or-treated our way through several people handing out food. I kept a bagel in my hand to munch on, although I only made it halfway since it was tough and difficult to eat. I drank a cup of Gatorade and finished my water. Thinking there was beer outside in the post-race-party somewhere, I exited the runner’s post-race area and pushed through the crowd of people too stupid to give us room to actually leave the runner’s area, and made my way to gear check. I realized I messed up and forgot a second pair of compression socks, so I just sat down and ultimately put on my jacket.
I walked around the “party” area. I saw several tents, most seemed vacant or under-utilized except one for a running group. I saw nobody with beer except one that had a can (and it looked like they were trying to keep it ‘under wraps’). I went back towards the runner’s exit hoping to score another bottle of water, but no bueno. I then went to a booth that was handing out coconut water bottles. I got one that was pineapple flavored, and found it to be quite disgusting.
I threw it in the trash and found a Monster booth that was also handing out waters (some flavored energy hydration bullshit water). I asked the young lady there if they tasted better than the coconut water at the neighboring booth, to which she replied “Yes! Well, I think so, and this is sugar free…” I cut her off and asked about Splenda or Sucralose (which I cannot have), to which she replied “yes, but this other one doesn’t” and before handing me that other bottle, she double-checked the ingredients list 😊.
Since there seemed to be no shot in Hell in getting a beer, I slowly made my way back to the hotel to clean up and get checked out. Of course, they were rushing me (it amazes me that these hotels can’t figure out when someone says “I’m running the marathon this weekend” that they don’t automatically mark them for late checkout).
Obligatory Medal Selfie
Front of the state capitol
White salt dried on my skin. Thanks Mother Nature.
After getting cleaned up, I refilled the Monster water bottle from the sink and took that with me for the drive home. Fortunately, I made it home as my car started missing during the trip, particularly when under high acceleration.
Post Race Analysis
What I found interesting was when I looked at this race in context to others and the other two marathons.
Overall, I was 634th out of 3,594 people. At Glass City, I was 349th out of 1,278. At the Flying Pig 2018, I was 704th out of 5,829. In terms of finishing percentile, the races order in reverse of time – Flying Pig then Columbus, then Glass City. Age group percentile is a little different – 80th percentile for the Pig (note: age group was 35-39), 55th percentile for Glass City, and 77th percentile for Columbus.
Looking at top fives and stuff is even more odd. Columbus’s top M40-44 ran 2:23:00 – blazingly fast compared to the same place at Glass City (2:46:48) and Flying Pig (2:50:39). Mind you, Flying Pig went into yellow-flag that year. Columbus had a faster field overall, though.
Endnotes
At this point, I don’t know what’s next. I still have time in this fall season to do something, although here it is nearly two weeks post-race and I haven’t registered for anything. This was a humbling experience, though.
Oh, and the car. I had reduced it’s use to only going around the corner to the park to run. After a recovery run or two it was getting really bad – to the point that I took the brand new van one morning. I had to move the car to get my mower out around that time, and had just had some spark plugs delivered (and the car was throwing a service engine light, so I scanned it and it told me Cylinder 4 was misfiring). I went to replace just that plug and found the wire loose. So I added some dielectric grease and plugged it back in, and that fixed it for the time being.
My wife and oldest daughter and I drove up on Friday night. It was a boring (mostly) drive up I-75. After a wrong turn in a parking lot, we got to the hotel around 10:00 PM. The hotel was mediocre – all the rooms with two beds have two doubles.
T-1 Day – Expo and Stuff
On the morning before, I got out for a 4 mile shakeout run. The weather was decent, although a little chilly. I didn’t go particularly hard, 4.04 miles in 34:07 (8:27 min/mile pace). I did get to run on a path in one of Toledo’s Metroparks.
On the day before, my wife, eldest daughter, and I went to the expo and picked up a little something in addition to my race packet.
I wanted to balance the back of my car – 26.2 on one side and I RUN FOR BEER on the other!
We didn’t spend much time at the expo, it was small but had pretty good representation from the local running stores and some nearby (Cleveland, Akron) races.
After the expo, we stopped at a local grocery store to get some bagels and peanut butter (and a few other groceries). I checked their beer aisle. Everything they had that was local was pretty easy for me to get, and everything not local was either Cleveland (Great Lakes) or Cincinnati (Madtree, Rhinegeist).
Later on, we went to Maumee Bay Brewing Company for a pizza and some beers. We went to go to Black Cloister Brewing Company, but it is in downtown Toledo and the nearest lot wanted $15 to park there. I don’t know what was going on, but it didn’t work in their favor! It had started raining, so walking a few (or more) blocks was out of the question. We went back to the hotel room to relax.
Sometime during the afternoon or evening, I prepared my stuff for the morning. Shorts, a long-sleeve shirt, headband, and gloves for the race, and not knowing what the weather would do, I packed a towel, pants, sweatshirt, and compression socks in my check bag. In addition, I packed my waist pack with several Gatorade Energy Gels, made sure my watch and AfterShokz were charged, and made sure my RoadID, Bib Boards, and bib were where I needed them.
Not exactly a “flat runner” pic, but similar
The Race
I got to the starting line courtesy of the hotel shuttle with about 40 minutes to spare. Since it was still drizzling and chilly, I kept my sweatshirt on until about 20 minutes to spare when I stuffed it into the bag and went to gear check. The race started without a hitch.
First 6 Miles
Miles 1 and 2 were a tad on the slow slide, partly because I was still warming up and partly due to course congestion. The mile 1 aid station was particularly bad – it was half a 2-lane road with water on both sides and very eager volunteers. Mile 3 was another congested aid station. First three mile splits: 8:30, 8:04, 7:59.
The congestion from other runners started to clear up in miles 4, 5, and 6. There was still several runners, but there was a little more room around. I remained conservative in my pace through 4 and 5, and started pushing a little in mile 6: 7:58, 8:04, 7:51.
I took Gatorade at every other aid station through this first quarter. I took a Gatorade Endurance Gel in Mile 5.
Second 6 Miles
I maintained my momentum from mile 6 through 7 and 8. Mile 9 had several turns and some small hills, which slowed me a little, but it was still solid. Beyond 9, I started laying down some solid splits that I maintained for a while. The split for half and full was between mile 9 and 10, and the course really cleared. At that point, I used the Google Assistant via my AfterShokz to shuffle my “Epic Running Playlist” and got into a groove.
I took Gatorade at every other station EXCEPT I also took at the mile 11 station unsure of whether it was the last before 14 or if there was another. I debated on skipping mile 12, but decided I would be okay to take in some Gatorade before getting into the lesser-supported section. I took a gel at mile 10. Miles 7-12 splits were 7:56, 7:54, 8:03, 7:49, 7:53, 7:57.
Third 6 Miles
I really maintained my sub-8 groove here, despite the sun coming out and getting into a crummier portion of the course that is along a “stroad” (a wide suburban highway) as well as getting into some turns and hills in a subdivision. In addition to the crummier course, the road was very wet in places and there was a particularly nasty sun glare. There was a location with a tunnel for “recovery”. This was apparently for an alcohol recovery group. Having “I RUN FOR BEER” on my Bib Boards, this was somewhat awkward. Note to self: get some non-prescription sunglasses that I can carry with me! Through the subdivisions, there was some cheering, and some were serious about it! 😊.
I took Gatorade at all the stations through here, as they went down to a station every-other-mile. In addition, I took a gel at mile 15. Mile 13-18 splits were 7:53, 7:53, 7:52, 7:51, 8:01, 8:03.
Fourth 6 Miles
This is where the wheels started falling off the A train. Mile 19 was still solid, but 20-24 became more difficult. This section starts along a busy street and then goes into a nature preserve before getting onto a bike trail. The bike path became boring and monotonous. Additionally, my quads were ON FIRE.
Gatorade at every other station, and my final energy gel at mile 20. The splits for miles 19-24 were 8:08, 8:35, 8:16, 8:29, 8:38, and 8:48.
The Last 2.2 Miles
Continuing with quads of fire, at some point in mile 23 I looked at my watch and thought that I can break 3:30 with some seriously fast splits… and well, it didn’t exactly happen that way. Mile 25 was not my slowest mile of the day, but it was close. When I saw the mile 25 sign, I released the Kracken. I really wanted to accomplish the Strava last-mile challenge and have my best mile be my last mile. I kicked it into high gear and started passing a ton of people – including a few that were not completely happy about getting passed (I heard one lady say “🤬” quite loudly after I passed her 😂 – she passed me a few miles before and was kinda close about it, so it serves her right!). In addition, about 1/3 the way past mile 25, the race starts going downhill!
Mile 25 was 8:44. Mile 26 was a 7:46, and the last 0.2 was 1:53 (7:29 pace). My speed across the line was nothing short of amazing, and I accomplished the last mile challenge!
Total time was 3:32:58. 12 minute PR!
In addition, I think this race gets an all-time high for mustache compliments. No joke, I’m pretty sure it exceeded all other races COMBINED by a factor of two!
I’m not angry, I had the sun in my face!Strava proof!
Afterparty!
So the afterparty began with entering a parking lot, receiving a glass mug, and then waiting in a long line for a banana, orange, a few more snacks, some garlic bread, pizza, and a cookie. The garlic bread was garlic-y, the pizza was okay. The cookie was good. After eating those, I went to baggage claim to get my bag, which was of little security (glad my phone and cash were with me the entire time). I put on my compression socks and then went for the beer. The selection was better than expected, but not great. I did get a Michelob Ultra (Lime and Cactus Pear or something like that) and a Shock Top. I walked around a little and then headed towards the shuttle bus pickup, getting stopped by security on the way because I still had 1/3 of my beer 😒. I finished it and walked up a 🤬🤬 ton of stairs to get to the shuttle bus pickup, and while I waited there I ate my banana and orange.
Drive Home
I normally wouldn’t care about this part, but I-75 was closed due to a massive crash and I have pics courtesy of my wife.
That’s it! My next race is Friday, May 3: The 50 West Mile.
There were a few things working in my favor this race, and a few not so much.
Working in my favor: training. As I mentioned on the Race Preview, I had put a lot of time and effort into that advanced training plan. IT. PAID. OFF. I kicked the hills’s asses with little added effort. I felt strong the entire way.
Working against me: the cold and my gut. It was so cold my first fluid was a Gatorade Slushie (lemon-lime, my favorite!). I ran off from that aid station with some leftover Gatorade frozen in my mustache (no joke, and I was quite amused by this). The cold was also so bad that there was a large ice patch in the parking lot within the first mile and some of the aid stations had spread salt around their station to prevent freezing. My gut decided it wanted to aggravate me the entire race. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I walked to the mall to use the restroom (which I probably should have done during the race).
The Breakdown
My pre-race was staying in my car as long as possible until I needed to head towards the start/finish line. I did some light jogging as a warm up and got into the starting grid right at 6:45 as they were starting pre-race ceremonies.
Yes, the water tower says “FLORENCE Y’ALL”. Legend has it that the tower said FLORENCE MALL and people were upset about it advertising for the mall that didn’t pay for the tower, so they took off parts of the M to make a Y.
The first half was largely me not-pushing-myself to ensure I didn’t die out on the second half. There was a large ice patch within the first mile causing everyone to slow down, and I pointed out several smaller ice patches on the mall property. Just past mile 2, there was a large patch that was coned off. The hill in mile 2 was nothing to me. I skipped the first water stop at mile 2 and took Gatorade from the second station at mile 4. Around mile 5, I decided to channel my inner Eluid Kipchoge and try smiling. The first 6 miles were 8:06, 7:44, 7:40, 7:58, 7:51, 7:44. First half split around 51:19. Somewhere around here I took my Gatorade Endurance Gel (apple-pear… my current favorite).
The second half was more me attempting to channel my inner Eluid Kipchoge and smile, keep my gut at a rest, and handle the hills. The hills were the easiest, followed by smiling. The highlights were the mile 8 water station, a ham radio friend standing just past there (out of his vehicle, standing and watching like a badass), and Mr. Red at mile 11.35 noticing my mustache. The lowlight was the mile 10 water station that just phoned it in (they were standing IN FRONT OF the table NOT handing out cups. Seriously, either own your volunteer “job” or GTFO of the way!).
Mr. Red. Yeah, he was out in the 22F temps at the Honor Run Half!
The splits were 7:50, 7:38, 7:47, 8:05, 7:57, 7:50, 7:45, and 0:42 (for that pesky 0.1). Second half split was around 51:14, so a negative split by 5 seconds. Overall time of 1:42:33, which is a PR by 6:20!
There may be more pictures as they become available (last year they provided pictures for free).
Postrace
I didn’t stick around long. On my way from the finish line to the mall (I walked around a little to reduce any leg soreness that would have been experienced if I sat immediately after), I grabbed a chocolate milk and a turkey sandwich. The sandwich was disgustingly salty and I spit out my one bite and dropped the rest in the trash. After using the restroom, I stepped outside and immediately shivered, so I grabbed a goetta sandwich (far less salty than the turkey sandwich) and a bottle of Gatorade and went to my truck.
The Hudepohl 14k was held on September 22, 2018. This is a 14 km (8.67 mile) race that circles downtown Cincinnati.
Training and Lead-up
I have been training for a half marathon later in the fall, and have not done any race-specific training for this. My lead-up week to this was 8 hill repeats on Monday, recovery 3 mile + 7 strides on Tuesday and Thursday, 30 minute tempo on Wednesday, and a 3 mile easy fitness run on Friday.
Race Day
The humid Cincinnati weather broke for some very nice race day weather. I had been distracted all week, so I didn’t go into this with any sort of plan. I lined up close to the front and was off.
Miles 1-2 are the toughest and are mostly uphill. I kept with the crowd and looked at my watch when it beeped for the miles. After seeing the first two – 7:33 and 7:47, I wasn’t sure if I could hold up but I was off to a good start and felt good.
Miles 3-5 still felt good, and borderline great. Mile 4 has a hairpin and as I went on the backside of the hairpin so I could see the people that were trailing me, I looked for a few coworkers and didn’t see them. I knew I started ahead of them so this kept me going strong. Splits were 7:23, 7:36, and 7:11. Took Gatorade just past the mile 5 marker.
Miles 6-8.67 started feeling tough. This was a net downhill and the pack had thinned out, so I was trying to stay near others because the cops were letting drivers cut through gaps. The 7k rejoined us around mile 7.75 and mostly stayed to one side, through West Pete Rose Way, I kept to the left (most of the walkers stayed to the right), and once the race got to the final stretch on Mehring Way, course monitors were telling 7k walkers to stay to the left and 14k runners to stay to the right… so we had an express lane to the finish. Splits of 7:18, 7:33, 7:32, and 4:58 (0.67 miles, pace was 7:24 min/mile).
Overall time of 1:04:51, which is a pace of 7:28 minutes per mile. This is the fastest long race for me, and my first race as a 40-year-old. I placed 13/99 in my age group, 113/874 among all males, and 142 overall. Nice!
I did a much longer race report that starts at the beginning over on Reddit. That being said, this is a different version.
I was seeded unexpectedly high in the B corral, and started at the back. I was feeling good and doing good through the first 16 miles, but the wheels really started to fall off at mile 19 and it hit it’s worse at mile 24 where my quads started cramping. I was possibly saved by half a banana from a grunt, although that may have just been the placebo effect.
I went into this with the #1 goal of running the entire race. I wanted to be under 4, or even under 3:45, but general confusion pushed those two goals to the back burner. The confusion was the marathon time prediction calculators. I used the Runner’s World calculator and even after trying some different values (one of the inputs was miles per week, and given the time inputs, 85 miles/week would not have got me under 4 hours!). Several months later, I tried the calculator on Greg MacMillan’s website and it said I had to slow down to go 3:59:59 (it predicted 3:49:09). Then I saw another first-time-marathoner that ran his 20 mile run at the same pace as my 20 mile runs. He finished in 4:01. So I didn’t know, I didn’t care. First goals first, let’s run the entire way.
The marathon was an exhilarating experience. I felt great moving through the first many miles. Gilbert Hill just flew by (which has never happened in the history of me running), and it was a little bit of a chilling experience making the right turn onto Madison where I previously always went left. I remembered running on Madison and Observatory a while back and that it was easier than expected, and this was not different. Past the intersection of Madison and Observatory (around mile 10) was new to my feet, but not to me. Erie was easier than expected, although I missed looking over at the Mushroom House in the turns on Erie. Moving past there, I did see a restaurant I want to try (bourbon and barbecue!). Initially, Mariemont seemed so far away, but after making it on to Bramble and then onto Settle in mile 15, it seemed a lot closer. It’s interesting in recollection how I missed some things because I was seeing them from my running shoes – like the six-point-mess of an intersection at Murray and Plainville. I was half looking around in this area because I have family all over Madison Place (next to Mariemont and within walking distance of the course).
Mariemont has a little bit of a scream tunnel, which is pretty cool. Mariemont also has shade, which fucking rocks! Moving on to Fairfax and onto Wooster Pike for a few blocks and then onto the part of the course I dreaded the most: Columbia Parkway. Mother Nature decided to throw a curve ball in the form of sun. There’s no trees along the parkway, and there’s not much by way of crowd support. There is a med tent out there, though, and I saw the thing I dreaded the most… well, just below me waking up to see the top of the tent – a yellow flag.
I made it down to Eastern before my legs got really heavy. I was able to keep going until mile 24 when I began cramping. I tried walking backwards for maybe 100 meters or so, and decided it wasn’t working and turned back around. Not long after that, I was in an aid station and one of the grunts had half a banana that I took. I felt better (placebo? reality? we may never know!).
This is a pull-back week. I was supposed to take Thursday and Friday off and run a half marathon on Saturday, but I really didn’t want to run a 10 mile warm up for a 5k, so I decided to run 10 miles on Thursday, take a break Friday, and run the 5k on Saturday.
Monday was the normal form drills + 4 miles + 7 strides. Many places I normally run were underwater, so I ran where I could and ended up running a little longer. I crossed the Purple People Bridge, ran down 4th Street in Newport and Covington and across the Clay Wade Bailey bridge to Cincinnati and back into Covington via the Suspension Bridge, back across 4th Street into Newport and then back across the Purple People Bridge into Cincinnati. 5.4 miles in 47 minutes.
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Tuesday was a slightly nicer day, and I did 5 miles. Just ran. I did end up going through an area that was muddy due to floodwaters. I crossed the Purple People Bridge, ran across 4th Street taking a short loop across the Newport Floodwall (western side, from 4th to the end near the Taylor Southgate Bridge), and then along 4th Street in Covington and across the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. I did try to join up to a few guys running across the Clay Wade Bailey bridge, but as they slowed I didn’t, so I ended up passing them. I ran down next to the Schmidlapp Event Lawn and down to the riverfront parks where I had to slow down to go over some wet mud and then back to Pete Rose Way. 5 miles in 45 minutes..
Wednesday was a beautiful morning to run. Things are starting to dry out and I got some of my running areas back, although some places were still “closed” and some were closed to traffic. I did my form drills in the same area I normally do, and went through some of the flatter riverside area until I ran out of room to run, so I ran out of the park, running around a barricade from the ‘closed’ side (parcours style – hop up on a curb and then onto a bench and then back down to the sidewalk) and across the Purple People Bridge and then back across the Taylor Southgate Bridge, scaring an oblivious pedestrian (news flash, pal – there’s a sidewalk here!). Back into the park to stretch (running around the same barricade noted above two more times, the second time probably pissing off the park workers). 5.6 miles in 46 minutes.
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During my lunch on Wednesday, I went out for a walk to a local running store and bought two belt packs. I found that two of the belt packs I own have clasps, buckles, and loops in a very stupid spot – the side. This digs into me and becomes very painful very quick. So I made sure the two I purchased had clasps only on the front. Both are Nathan brand, which I already have a handheld water bottle that is the same as what is used in one of these.
Thursday’s 10 mile run started slow, and it was a rainy day. I was slow on mile 1, which was the start and going up the Purple People Bridge and then again in mile 3, partly due to going up a set of stairs up to the Newport Floodwall. After mile 3 and especially after mile 5, I sped up (not really intentionally until near the end). I’m starting to get back to my normal running areas, although I have to watch the mud still. I ran across the Purple People Bridge, down to the levee and around the parking lot where Joe’s Crab Shack and Burger King are, back to the west floodwall and up the steps to the floodwall. Then across 4th Street into Covington where I ducked onto some side streets to get to the Suspension Bridge. Crossed the suspension Bridge back into Cincinnati where I went west to the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge and crossed back into Covington. Ran down 4th Street into Newport and onto the new portion of KY-9 to get to the Taylor-Southgate Bridge, where I crossed back into Cincinnati and ran along Pete Rose Way to the entrance of Sawyer Point. When I entered Sawyer Point, I had about 0.3 miles left, so I practiced my kick. Despite being 10 miles, I felt oddly good at the end. 10 miles in 1:26:48.
Flood Mud!
Friday was an off day. Since I didn’t run, I went to packet pickup during my lunch break.
Bockfest 5k
Saturday was the Bockfest 5k. First race of the season. I parked at my work’s parking lot, used the restroom in the office (there was a lot of people there for a Saturday, but I think they were all in the accounting company… tax time), and jogged about 1.5 miles to Bockfest Hall. Tried to use one of the port-o-lets before the race, but the line was longer than the race. I held it and ran hard. According to my watch, 23:05 (which I’d link to Garmin Connect, but it appears to be having issues), according to the official results, 23:13. Per the watch, 7:37, 7:07, 7:31. I’ll take those splits any day! Also, 25th in my division and 148th (out of 2,428) isn’t bad either!
Post Race Beers!
Post-Race Band – Just Add Beer
Link to Race on Garmin Connect (will be updated when I or Garmin fixes stuff) • Link to BibRave Review
The Honor Run Half was on November 12, 2017 in Florence, Kentucky. I was on track for another PR until I strained my back a week before the race.
Prep
As usual, I followed a modified Hal Higdon Intermediate-2 Plan. I hit all of my training paces through the cycle. I was a week ahead of the schedule, so my last long run was 13.02 miles (I didn’t stop at 13.0 because of perceived unlucky… boy, was I wrong!)
The day after the last long run, I was doing yard work (I like mowing the lawn on the day after my long run because it’s a bunch of non-strenuous walking). My back started bothering me and was in full-on strain mode the following day.
My taper week consisted of zero miles. In fact, I was tempted to take a DNS. However, by Saturday my back felt okay, so I decided to run, but keeping it easy.
The morning of consisted of two slices of toast with peanut butter and honey and a cup of coffee for the drive to Florence.
Goals
Originally, I had these goals:
A: 1:43
B: 1:45
C: 1:50
However, after the back strain, I abandoned all hope of any of them and just wanted to finish a good run.
Race
The race temperature was about 35°F. I wore shorts, last year’s Honor Run Half shirt, gloves, and a running hat. Roughly 15 minutes before the race, I took a Gu and ran into a fellow Twitter Runner.
Part 1: Miles 1 to 4
I kept it easy by feel. This part isn’t too bad with hills, but it is not flat (there is nothing flat in Northern Kentucky). I took water at mile 4.
8:18, 8:17, 8:20, 8:24
Part 2: Miles 5 to 8
This part felt tougher. There is a portion through Turfway Park that was rough and I was feeling it in my back. There is a tight hairpin turn at mile 6, and a pretty significant uphill from 6 to 8. I took Gu in mile 7, and water at mile 8.
8:31, 8:28, 8:48, 8:41
Part 3: Miles 9 to 13.1
There is a hairpin turn at mile 9, mile 10 is almost entirely uphill, and the hills in miles 11 and 12 are the steepest in the race. I had to squash some negative thoughts through this part.
8:49, 8:33,8:46,8:41,8:36, 0:53
Total: 1:52:01
After
First off, this is the biggest medal I’ve ever received!
Biggest Medal in my collection (I’m in the middle between an aunt and an uncle)
I didn’t eat much, but I drank 3 cups of coffee (to warm up!), and half a bottle of water that I finished on the way home, I also drank a Gatorade on my way home. I had my heat on high on my way home, and even sat in front of the fireplace while waiting for the bathroom to be free.
Post-Run Thoughts
I should have probably taken Gu around mile 5 and 10 instead of once at mile 7. I think it was a little too late and my pace suffered as a result.
Running up the big-ass hill really helped with the hills. I felt strong on every one of them.
This is the end of the 2017 season for me. At this point, it will be more maintenance to keep up fitness and prepare for marathon training.
The major change this year was the ability to pickup our race packets at the Flying Pig Expo. Since I had to go there anyway for the half marathon, it was more convenient.
Prior to the race, I left the office as late as I could (around 7:15 PM) to jog to the start line, about 1.75 miles.  I got to the start line around 7:30 – 7:40.  Start line temperature was cold. I was lined up in corral B.
After microphone problems resulted in a chorus of runners “helping” to sing the national anthem, we were off.
I tried to keep my pace nearly consistent and not go-out-and-fade-away (as some runners did). Â I don’t practice short runs, so pacing was a little bit of a challenge, but overall it wasn’t too bad.
The Flying Pig Half Marathon was on May 7, 2017 in Cincinnati. The course is one I’ve written about before.
Training
I followed the Hal Higdon Intermediate-2 plan, which I liked over my re-worked 5k Advanced plan that I used for the prior training period. I was able to meet most of my goal paces for the repeats, tempo, and HM pace runs. I missed two runs overall, an interval and an easy run. I also tried to integrate hills into my runs more than I have previously.
Race Morning
For the first time, I used bag check, where I put a few extra clothes.  I made my way from my parking location (my office on the race course) to the bag check and then to Pigpen B.  I waited for start while laughing a little at seeing the port-o-let line while the DJ was playing “Taking Care of Business”, and looked around at others, which seemed to have some difficulty with the start line weather conditions – some were in winter-ish clothes, some (like me) had shorts and a throwaway sweat shirt over it, and some had shorts and a tank top!
Around 6:15, I consumed a pack of Gu. Â Right at 6:30 we were off.
First Portion: Miles 0 – 6
I felt like I was going a little fast. Â I’ll probably pay for this. My boss, who started in corral A passed me near the end of this section. Â Apparently, he ducked into a port-o-let in Newport (probably around mm 2.5).
The hill was rough. Â By the end of this section, I was ready to start walking. Â I didn’t, but I was ready to.
Splits: 8:47, 8:55, 8:26 (water + Gu), 8:37
Eleventy-trillion-dollar photo of me somewhere in Eden Park, attempting to hang loose.
Final Stretch: Miles 11-13
I didn’t have the energy to push the hill. Â I usually grab a Twizzler at the downhill (mm 10.5) station. Â Unfortunately, they were cold and nearly un-chewable. Passed and yelled at a fellow amateur radio op at 11.4; he normally tells me to go faster, this time he said “wow, you’re going fast!”. THAT was nice to hear!
Splits: 7:35, 7:57, 8:01
Finish!
My official time was 1:48:53 – a PR (and a hard fought one at that!). Â The radio communications director (also a runner) was stationed near the finish line and came running down to congratulate me – that was a nice end to a tough run!
Expensive and really not very good finish line photo. Thanks for reminding me of my bald spot, asshole photographer.
After that, I enjoyed my post-race festivities (pizza, beer, pretzels, and fruit) and went to watch a friend finish the half. Then I went home and took a nap 🙂
