We rejoin our hero as he continues on his quest for a Boston Qualifying Marathon time. As the year closes out, the next training cycle begins. The weather started cold (low 30s) and ended warm (low 50s).
Monday: 7 mile run. Started out the week with a 7 mile morning run. Ran it in the park and the subdivision next to it. 7.16 miles in 1:03:08 (8:49 min/mile pace).
Tuesday: 6 x 0.25 mile intervals. Ran this in the park. This was TOUGH. It was made worse by the fog and frost that froze my glasses. Paces were 6:32, 6:17, 6:41, 6:56, 6:49, 6:37; goal pace range was 6:16 – 6:34, so two of six were in the range… getting better! Overall, 4.75 in 40:44 (8:35 min/mile pace).
Wednesday: Christmas. I didn’t run because I like my wife married to me 😉.
Thursday: 5 miles + 6 x 100m strides. Ran in the park and the subdivision next. Had some GI issues, which slowed me down about 4 miles in. 6.23 miles in 55:28 (8:54 min/mile pace).
Friday: 13 miles. First off…
Second off, I decided to run in downtown. The weather was nice, but it was mostly slow. Part of it might be due to what I did the prior afternoon – I hung a bunch of drywall and moved some around. Part of it might have been due to having some GI issues. At one point, I stopped into a port-o-let expecting the worst and was pleasantly surprised…
I had intentions of getting the last two pics for the #runChatHunt, which I did…
There’s another runner in this – there’s no rule that they have to be the subject of the pic!
Anyway, I started at Friendship Park and ran through Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove and made the loop at Longworth’s Pavilion. Then on the way back, went up past Paul Brown Stadium and across the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge to the riverside path. The west side had a locked gate (no big deal, I usually turn around just past where the gate is at), and the east side was closed near a hotel. 😠.
After turning around and heading back to the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge (stopping by the port-o-let on the way), I headed across 4th Street to get the pic of Roebling Point Books and Coffee (#runChatHunt Coffee Shop) and across the Suspension Bridge and back into Smale Park and Yeatman’s Cove before crossing the Purple People Bridge (which was lit up for Christmas… I didn’t get a pic, but the image below is from last year or the year before).
I headed east off the bridge and around a parking lot before getting back into the Newport Levee… where I had more GI issues and made another stop (in an inside bathroom). Ran back across the levee and up onto Veteran’s Bridge and back across the Suspension Bridge (again) and into the parks to get back to the car. Overall, 13.63 miles in 2:05:44 (9:13 min/mile pace).
That’s it for the week. Almost 32 miles. 4 hours 45 minutes spent running.
Next week begins the training for the Flying Pig Marathon – my second running of this marathon (on top of three half marathons and two 10ks in this series). The marathon was 3:45:14 (2018), the halves were 2:17:34 (2014), 2:01:11 (2015), 1:48:53 (2017) and 1:08:37 (2013), 0:51:49 (2016). 🍻