Race Report: Honor Run Half Marathon

Race Date: 11/13/16
Race Location: Florence, Kentucky

Goals:
A: 1:51
B: 1:55
C: <2:01

Preparation

I followed the Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 Plan with one exception – I didn’t do the cross-training. The plan was different than what I’ve been used to – I’ve tended to stick with one speedwork and one long run a week, this had two speedwork and the long run.

The only notable day during training was the 11 mile long run. I had to fly from Cincinnati (where I live) to Raleigh and run there in the middle of the day. Despite bringing water and looking for a good course, I got lost and had an overall tough run (although I did finish it).

Race Day

Conditions: 33, clear. I began the day with coffee and two slices of cheap wheat bread with peanut butter and honey drizzled on top. It takes around 45 minutes to drive to Florence from where I live, so I sipped coffee on the way. At the starting area (a mall), I used the restroom and lined up on the starting line.

Dress: I looked at the temperature where I live, which is around 25 miles ENE from the starting line, and it was 28. So pants, long sleeves, pullover, and gloves. Around mile 3 of the race, I was too warm and took the pullover off and tied it around my waist.

The Course: suburban hell. Lots of very wide streets, all closed. It was interesting to look left and right at intersections and be near the middle of a five-lane-road crossing another five-lane-road, both empty. The first part, start to mile 4.5 is wide open roads. The next part, 4.5 to 7.0 is through the Turfway Park parking lot and a two-lane road with a sharp turn. After that is another wide open road, with some substantial hills, mile 7.0 to 11.4. The final stretch is on a narrow and very hilly road that goes between a golf course and the freeway until it cuts through a parking lot and back onto a major road and then into the mall parking lot.

The race felt fast. At one point (maybe mile 5 or 6), it felt like the miles were just ticking off. It helped some that the field was not huge (there were 875 runners; compared to the Flying Pig Half had over 11,000 runners in the half both years that I ran it, and almost 17,000 runners and walkers in the half, full, and relays). It also helped that I stuck to the tangent line – at times this meant going up less of a hill because of the superelevation (banking) of the turns.

Fuel: I stuck to Gu’s recommendation of 15 minutes before (it was closer to 20). Beyond that, I took Gu at 4.5 and 9 miles, which is the same fueling schedule I’ve used in the past. I took water at the 4, 6, and 10 mile marks.

Official time: 1:50:02, 8:23 min/mile.

Split	Time
1	08:07.1
2	08:17.9
3	08:19.9
4	08:28.7
5	08:31.5
6	08:22.4
7	08:33.7
8	08:07.4
9	08:30.9
10	08:41.4
11	08:30.7
12	08:25.4
13	08:14.9
14	00:52.7

Places:

124 / 875 overall
94 / 400 men
11 / 48 Age Group

Workout on Garmin Connect

Great way to finish the season. Next race is not until March, 5 months from now.

September 18, 2016

Hudepohl 14k Race Report – 9/17/2016

The Hudepohl 14k is an 8.7 mile race operated by The Flying Pig Marathon. It is the third and final race in the Christian Moerlein Beer Series races. The race begins and ends on the Cincinnati Riverfront and draws a large circle around downtown, going through the eastern area of downtown, Over The Rhine, and Queensgate before heading back to the riverfront.

Race Preparation

I generally followed the Hal Higdon 15k approach. I had a few (maybe three) runs where I stopped short of the goal because of heat-and-humidity related issues (dehydration, exhaustion), one of them being a 10 mile run a week prior to the race (I made it through 7.5).

Race Day

I was very concerned with the temperature on race day. The three days prior to race day indicated that starting-line temperatures would be above 70ºF and rain.

Little bitch, you're fucked! — Mother Nature Hates Me

(Yes, I used that gif a few weeks ago, it applies). Start-line temperatures were 72ºF. No rain, and none forecasted at that point.

Because of the temperature, I made a few adjustments to my strategy:

Race morning included toast with peanut butter, some coffee, and a milk with my vitamin D pill (this is normal)
I bought a 20 oz water at a local gas station
Sipped coffee on my way to the parking lot
Sipped water while waiting for the start, I had at least 14 oz of water at race start that I carried with me
Took water at the first 3 (of 4) water stops (even with my bottle with me for two of them)- I took a sip of water and dumped the rest on my head
Took a pack of Gatorade chews around the 4.3 mile mark (this is normal)
Took Gatorade at the last water stop – the volunteers had a hose out spraying into the course, which I ran through

My race apparel included shorts… and shoes… socks, too. And my watch and running belt. No cell phone (first time for that).

Goals and Results

I had some goals typed into a Google Sheet. Truthfully, I put them out of my mind because of the heat.

Goal: 1:14:00
Stretch Goal: 1:09:00

My result was a 1:14:38. Given the temperature, I’m pretty happy, as I really just wanted a PR – my previous PR was a 1:19:48, so a 5:10 PR is NICE! Had the weather been better, that 1:14:00 would have been beaten!

I Love It When A Plan Comes Togther! — Hannibal is talking about my race plan here…

Mile Splits

1	0:08:31
2	0:08:51
3	0:08:13	0:25:35 – first third
4	0:08:54
5	0:08:25
6	0:08:26	0:25:45 – second third
7	0:08:56
8	0:08:35
0.7	0:05:48	0:23:19 – third almost third

Even better, I passed one of my coworkers on the route. We lined up next to each other, but after the horn, she sped ahead. She was maybe 20-30 seconds in front of me at the hairpin turn (roughly halfway), and I passed her just before mile 6. She has several marathons under her belt, so this was a big deal to me!

Cheers!

July 25, 2016September 18, 2016

NKU Cross Country Series Race Recap

The NKU Cross Country Series is the replacement of the Brian Rohne Memorial 5K. Instead of being a 5K on a Saturday night in mid-August (also known as Hell in the Greater Cincinnati Area), they’ve moved it to three Tuesday nights in late July – early August (still known as Hell in the Greater Cincinnati Area). They’ve also moved the distance down from 5K to 3.2K (3.1 miles to 2 miles)

There’s a few advantages to the move – one is that NKU’s campus is all concrete, so moving to a cross country course on grass means much less intense heat. The shorter distance means that everyone should be able to complete it without puking (having watched the race only once, I’m going based on eyewitness reports that at least one person would puke near the finish line of the 5K). The dirt/trail short race is a combo that isn’t easily found in the region – this isn’t the only, but there isn’t many.

The Course

The course is partially in the woods and partially in the open (which is sunny and shady).

Important things:
0.00 Start
0.54 Into the woods
0.80 Turnaround 1
1.09 Out of the woods
1.23 Turnaround 2
1.35 Rejoin the outbound course
2.00 Finish line

Goals

15:30.

Race 1

Conditions: 82°F, very humid, sunny

Time:17:31 (both watch and official time agree!)

Remarks: the course had some slippery spots after a storm earlier in the day. This made the course a little difficult because i only have my road shoes. My pacing was horrible (8:16/9:15). I ran with a tank top on, but I wish I didn’t.

Race 2

Conditions: mid-80s, humid, somewhat cloudy

Time: 16:57 (my watch, a bit different from the official time of 17:10.39)

Remarks: The cloudiness was nice, and the course was dry, which was remarkably better than last week. Pacing was a little better, 8:07/8:50. I also realized that while the racing ‘line’ goes along a horrible side-slope, if I drop down to the left, the slope isn’t as bad.

Race 3

Let me preface this with this, which I think is what Mother Nature was saying to me as there were torrential downpours in the afternoon:

That being said…

Conditions: 81, humid, course a little soft, but apparently the rain mostly missed Highland Heights

Time:16:56 (again, my watch, a little different from the official time of 17:13.72)

Remarks: My pacing was just as terrible as last week: 8:05/8:49. It felt a little easier going out and back in, although that last quarter mile is tough. But I get an age group award (second in my division, out of two, and the first person in my age group ran 12:08!)

Overall

2 Miles is a pretty hard distance. It’s long enough that it isn’t a sprint, not long enough to get into a groove. I didn’t meet my goal, but the weather was really working against me.

May 27, 2016September 18, 2016

Race Report: Flying Pig 10k

The Flying Pig 10k was on April 30, 2016 held in downtown Cincinnati, Newport Kentucky, and Covington Kentucky.

The Route

The race route is shown below. The race starts in front of Great American Ballpark (where the Reds play), proceeds down a hill and then uphill across the Taylor Southgate Bridge into Newport Kentucky. Once across, the race proceeds downhill to the Ohio River via “Riverboat Row”. The race continues (flat) under the Purple People Bridge and the Taylor Southgate Bridge and then back up a slight incline to 4th Street in Newport. The route proceeds uphill and west into Covington where it flattens out before going uphill and across the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. Once across, the race proceeds back onto Second Street in downtown Cincinnati (downhill and uphill) where the race continues east across The Banks and then sinks into the lower east area of downtown. After snaking through this area with a slight uphill heading north and then turning south at a slight downhill, the race makes the final turn towards the west onto Pete Rose Way with a slight up-down-up to the finish line.

Preparation

After coming back from The Injury on December 11, I began running at ~3 miles per run, 3 days per week (although the Christmas Holiday Season was a little more spotty. I moved up to 4 days per week (again, ~3 miles per day) on the week of January 11. I made it up to 5 days per week (my target) on the week of February 1 (one of those days was a 2 mile day, the rest ~3). I slowly ramped up my long run and by the week of March 19, I was hitting 6 mile long runs on Fridays. My long run remained there as I worked on other runs – added 5 strides after my easy runs (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and incorporated speedwork on Wednesday (and while not intended, my Monday runs were essentially tempo runs).

Taper week was a “normal” run on Monday, intervals (total mileage of 3.5, about one 0.25 mi interval less) on Tuesday, an easier run on Wednesday, a shorter 2 mile run on Thursday, the Little Kings Mile Race on Friday evening, and then the 10k on Saturday.

Race Day

The weather was dreary. It rained some on my drive in, although it stopped when I got to my work parking lot (I work about a mile from the start area) only to begin again while I waited in a tent for it to get closer to the start time. It did clear up for the start time, but it remained cloudy throughout the race.

Race day breakfasts for me always consist of some toast and peanut butter and some coffee. I also had a bottle of water prior to the start.

The race was mostly uneventful… fortunately! My splits were somewhere around:

8:30 (estimated)
8:09
8:26
8:27
8:16
8:05

These were from Endomondo, which started late and ended later, so they could be a little off.

Throughout the race, I didn’t stop at any water stops, although I made sure I drank a bottle of water and a few cups of Gatorade post-race.

May 3, 2015February 28, 2020

Flying Pig Half: The Good, The Bad, The Awesome, and the Ugly

The Good

The all-star game stuff is awesome
The song playing while my wave started: You’re an all-star and Uptown Funk
The song playing at mile ~0.75 (by Great American Ballpark): put me in coach
The song somewhere around mile 4: something that sounded like 90% Black Sabbath mixed with 10% of Nirvana
During large parts of my run, I felt like Mario Andretti in the Ave Maria Indy car commercial
The lady with the large heavy-looking bell. Seemed like she should have looked around at nearby people with those puny little cowbells and mustered up her best Aussie accent and say “that’s not a bell, THIS is a bell!”

The Bad

Getting injured two weeks before the Little Kings Mile. I got a pull/strain/something in my upper hamstring (AKA my butt) that put me out of commission for two weeks. I never knew running could be such a pain in the ass sometimes! (lol!)
People walking less than a mile in (I totally get it during the hill, but if you were going to walk, don’t start with 2:00 – 2:05 runners!)
Someone near mile 5 was giving out small water bottles. I saw no less than 4 of them in the race course. Twisted ankle (or worse) waiting to happen. I know their heart was in the right place, though.

The Awesome

Signs:
- “Every Hill is a mountain of opportunity”
- “Run Like Morgan Freeman is Narrating”
The crowd – it never ceases to amaze me how many non-runners come out for this. People can be awesome sometimes.
Not signs:
- The couple with “1st 1/2 marathon” on their shirts. I saw at least two people say good things to those two before I did.
- The PR Bell
Ringing the PR Bell!!!
Using my own keys to the race to have an awesome race!
The finishers area, complete with chandeliers. There’s something cool about being in a dirty urban setting (the post-race area is the service area for the Great American Ballpark and the US Bank Arena) and seeing chandeliers.

The Ugly

Two days of soreness after the race
The bar I selected for that post-race beer. I don’t like being ignored.

The Race Report – Little Kings Mile

Race conditions were warm and sunny, race began at 8:00 PM on Friday night. I had walked to and from the Expo and my office prior to the race (about a mile). Race was operated in one major heat and two additional heats for 5 elite women and 5 elite men. The course was new this year.

My strategy was to start well and kick it in around the corner of Central and Mehring (the last intersection on the course). Finishing time was 7:17.

The Race Report – Flying Pig Half Marathon

Weather: mid-50s at the start, low 70s at my finish.

Clothing and Accessories: I wore a tank top and shorts. I wished I had an old sweatshirt to have over me that could have been tossed to the side and ultimately donated to Goodwill (they collect cast-off clothing at the start area). Only accessories were my phone, three packs of Gu (Root Beer, Vanilla, and Chocolate, the Root Beer one was consumed in the corral), and 3 Advil stapled to/in my fuel belt.

The Race: I spent the first 6 miles just staying with it. I admired the sunrise and generally kept moving at a good pace without too much exertion. I kept the same attitude during the uphill climb into Eden Park. I kept a not-close eye on time. Took water at 4, 5, 8, and 9. Took energy shots around mile 5 (in downtown) and 9-ish (in the area where volunteers were handing out the energy bars). Pushed it during the downhill, but not so bad I couldn’t talk, I saved that for miles 12-13.1.

Lap times. Ignore mile 1, this started before the race did.

Looking at the pace, I’m happy with it all. I didn’t expect the first part to be in the low 9s, nor did I expect the middle part to not break 10 minutes per mile. And I followed my own keys and saved some for the end, which is where those 3 sub-8:30 miles came from.

Final time: 2:01:11. PR of 16:23!

Cheers!

March 9, 2015February 28, 2020

Some Kind of Race Report: Bockfest 5k

Not to be confused with the Bockhurt 5k.

Thanks to Old Man Winter and some rodent from PuxatawnICAN’TSPELLTHISDAMNCITY (both of whom should probably stay as far from my truck as possible!), I’ve been dealing with a lot of back pain for the past few weeks (from shoveling snow). I ran on the dreadmill once since the injury, and it was a successful run. Two days later, I ran in the snow and made it a half mile before searing pains in my back caused me to stop.

Running vs. walking was a race-day-decision for me, and my back felt good enough to run it. I should have walked.

My time was good – 26:28. Not a PR, but second best and considering the injury and I was going easy, I’m not complaining at all. The new course wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I thought it would be much harder going left onto Reading instead of right, but the hill isn’t that bad there (or maybe since I run up Gilbert all the time, I’m not phased by hills anymore). Also, the Flying Pig Crew did A LOT to ensure the course was snow free and they even had a volunteer yelling to runners about ice on the edge of the course between mile 2 and mile 3 to make sure nobody slipped.

SOAPBOX: if you do any run and you’re not going to run AT LEAST the first mile, DO NOT start in the front half of the pack. If you’re walking in the middle in the opening area of a race, you’re fair game to get run over by runners (and some of us aren’t exactly lightweights). Sorry not sorry.

After the finish, I grabbed my water and a banana and headed inside for beer. In the shitty picture below, one of the beers said “Bockfest Competition Winning Brew”. Needless to say, I got one of those. I also got a Red Hop Mess. Both were very good.

The medal was nice, too. They got away from the bottle opener design and went with ein Bock und ein Bier.

The unfortunate thing was Saturday afternoon and into the evening my back got worse. I shoulda walked. But now (on Monday), it’s much better and I should be back into my regular running cycle this week, just in time for Spring in Cincy.

Cheers!

PS: there’s a reason core routines exist.

September 21, 2014February 28, 2020

Hudy 14k: Some Sort of Race Report

So Saturday, September 20, 2014 I ran the Hudepohl 14k. This is one of the funnest races on my calendar – so fun I paid for the 2015 race already!

The course

The course is an easy course, which is hard to do given the hills in Cincinnati. The first 3.3 miles (or so) are nearly flat, and there is a slight hill coming back into Over-the-Rhine via Harrison. After the loop, there is a major hill up Brighton Bridge (ending around mile 4.5). That hill is short but steep. The last hill is Liberty Street hill, and all of us Brew Hogs know that hill well, as it is on both the Hudepohl 14k and the Bockfest 5k. There is a little bit of a hill towards the end coming from the intersection of Pete Rose Way and Eggleston to the finish line on Mehring.

Marked along the course are the location of several breweries that were once in Cincinnati – some still existing, but many are ghosts of prohibition, which killed the brewing industry in the city.

The course is well monitored by volunteers that make sure that we don’t get turned incorrectly at the 7K/14K split (which is very early on). This event is put on by same group that organizes the Flying Pig Marathon, and they know how to put on great events.

My performance on the course was pretty awesome. I maintained a reasonably consistent speed (consistent meaning that there wasn’t a lot of speeding up and slowing down), and I negative split the race. Of course, with Endomondo (or any other program), the first mile seems a lot longer because I started the timer when I THOUGHT the gun would sound, and I was a little bit off. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that I was running near a six-pack (see the website) of convicts and suspects including Lindsay Lohan, Ray Rice, and Adrian Peterson (complete with a switch) and my dislike for black eyes and busted bums! 🙂

One thing that really shocked me was when I actually looked at Endomondo, I told me I had 6 trophies for best distances/times. I’m pretty shocked I could get my best 12 minute, best 1 hour, best 3k, best 3 mi, best 5k, and best 10k all in one race, but I’m certainly not complaining and it FELT that good while I was running.

The Weather

Partly sunny, low 60s at the start, upper 60s at the end. No rain, roads dry. Wind was light.

Fueling Strategy

Everyone talks about fueling for marathons and half marathons, nobody talks about fueling for a 14k or 15k, although for a lot of runners it is pretty important but not complex. I took two Gatorade Energy Chews around mile 3.5. I didn’t want something as potent as Gu, and truthfully the Energy Chews taste better. That also put me taking the chews just before the second water station, where I ended up with a Gatorade (I wanted water, but I ended up with the green stuff).

Life of the Race and Afterparty

One of the things that makes this race unique is the costume contest. I didn’t take many pictures, but I did take a few.

The band, Just Add Beer was pretty cool too. I’d post the videos of them, but truthfully my phone does not do them justice. Of course being in a runner’s high, having a beer in me, and them deciding to play Gold On The Ceiling may affect my judgement. Also, one of them was wearing a 7k number and medal.

So the 9:11 min/mi pace was not only a PR for a long race, it was a 10:27 improvement over last year. So I’m pretty pleased with myself.