This is the fifth week of my marathon training plan for the Columbus Marathon. The marathon is October 20, 2019. I’m following the Pfitzinger 18/55 plan again.
This week was a vacation week. I took my family to Cedar Point, and we stayed in Hotel Breakers. There was little time spent off Cedar Point’s property this year – this is probably the fifth time my wife and I have been to CP or Sandusky, and seventh or eighth for me, and at least the second for my kids. In prior years, we made it up to Marblehead Lighthouse, South Bass Island and/or Kelly’s Island, and we’ve also taken trips to Firelands Winery and the Merry-Go-Round museum. This time it was all Cedar Point.
The weather was nice compared to the heat wave last week. In fact, there were times we wish we had jackets.
Monday: 8 + 10 * 100m strides. Obviously, I ran this around the Cedar Point Penensula. Lake Erie was very rough, and lake conditions were yellow-flag. I put my feet in the water anyway because why not. Hydrated with Gatorade Endurance. Overall, 9.16 in 1:20:03 (8:44 min/mile pace).
Beach on Monday 
Pier view towards Marblehead 
Pier view towards Sandusky 
Raptor glowing over the entrance area 
Ticket windows 
Beach Selfie 
Had to put my feet in the water!
Tuesday: 5 Miles Recovery. I took this slowly, partly because of GI issues, and partly because I did *a lot* of walking on Monday – we entered the park before the general admission gates opened and didn’t leave until 10:00 PM. The Lake Erie beach conditions went to red-flag. Anyway, 5 miles in 44:54 (8:59 min/mile pace).
Day 2 Sunrise 
“Boardwalk” – Red flag lake conditions
Wednesday: 8 miles. For doing a lot of walking and standing over the past two days, I felt oddly good. I had been expanding on the “running area” and watching where other runners run, and sometimes see interesting things… like where they keep explosives! Hydrated with water. 8.01 miles in 1:10:03 (8:45 min/mile pace).
Explosives! 
Day 3 sunrise
Thursday: 4 miles recovery. After a start in large swarms of bugs, I was a little more adventurous on this run – I ran outside the park and down Cedar Point Road – which was the old way to get to Cedar Point prior to 1957 (Cedar Point was opened in 1870, which pre-dates the Ford Model T by only 38 years). Lots of nice houses along there, all with private beaches and structures. 4.01 miles in 35:24 (8:50 min/mile pace).
Day 4 sunrise 
🤬🤬 bugs!
Friday: On Thursday evening, the bugs came out again – as we were leaving the park EVERYONE was trying to wave them out of their face, and when we entered the hotel, we stopped in the vestibule to make sure we brushed off any stowaways. Between the two buggy experiences, I decided to sleep in and run Saturday.
Saturday: 12 mile long run. Got up late – I had set an alarm for 5:30, but it was set to M-F only, so I didn’t end up getting up until 7:30. I ran around the park and the nearby subdivisions. Weather started at 63-ish, but quickly rose to 72. Hydrated with Nuun. Almost cut the run short because I told my wife I should be home between 8:30 and 9:00 (I got home around 9:15, she was not angry). 12.04 miles in 1:44:58 (8:43 min/mile pace).
That’s the week. 38 miles of running in some decent running conditions. On to the next!