I’m starting into the third week of training, and nothing’s new. It’s like getting into the seat of a car on a very tall roller coaster after a long winter + fucking virus + long winter break. You know you’ve done it before and it’ll be a thrill, but there’s still that ‘holy shit’ feeling.
Fortunately, roller coasters tend not to run when there’s a few inches of snow on the ground covering a sheet of ice. I’ve had to move two runs to the dreadmill thanks to poor weather. Those two days were fortunately separated by two days of outdoor running, once in 19F weather (luckily my Gatorade didn’t freeze, that was a 14 mile run) and once in slush… it was around 37F but there was an inch of snow.
This week is like going up the hill. You know the coaster can’t go backwards one it starts. It keeps clicking up, notch by notch, until it reaches the top and crests the hill. Next week starts going down with a 16 mile long run. Since the Pig was cancelled, I rotated most of my long runs through 12, 13, 14, and 15 miles. Running 16 miles is like a coaster I’ve ridden before but haven’t in a while.
In other news, I signed up for the BAA 5k. Since the penultimate goal is a BQ Marathon time, I figured I might as well sign up for a BAA race.
So I have two virtual spring 5ks – the Bockfest 5k (March 1-7) and the BAA 5k (April 16-18).
I did manage to finally add some crunches to my strength routine. We’ll see if that sticks. I’m going on a likely-flawed approach that working out muscles tends to improve that part of the body. There’s plenty of people to tell me I’m wrong, but knowing what my legs look like after thousands of miles of running, I’m willing to try this.
Another email about how I (we) feel about this virus and an announcement about Bockfest 5k going virtual reminded me to actually sign up for the Beer Series and maintain my Braumeister status. Every race, every year since it’s inception.
While I was in Race Roster, I clicked “claim” on my 2020 Flying Pig Marathon Deferral. Since that seemed to have no effect but to remove that from the screen, I decided to go “all in” and do it. I’m signed up for four races this year. One is guaranteed to be virtual and I can’t say I’d be shocked if the other three are.
After the pandemic started and the FPM announced that they were moving to the fall, I deferred my 2020 FPM to another year. In my ‘high’ of signing up for races, I did it… I clicked register, filled out the web form, and used my deferral code. I doubt I can’t defer again, and honestly even if I can I shouldn’t unless I end up injured (at this point, not wanting to do a virtual marathon and deferring a second time because of that is a douche move, this pandemic is going to be around for a while).
Yes, we’re doing a marathon.
Last year was an interesting race year. It started normal, which is to say “nothing was weird before the season actually began”. The writing was on the wall in late February on the Bockfest 5k day (also the US Marathon Trials day). Over the course of the year, the remaining two Beer Series races went virtual, and hte NKU XC Series and the Honor Run Half Marathon were cancelled. The Queen Bee Half and 4 Mile went virtual, which I don’t run but usually volunteer with. With the one exception of the Bulldog Blast 5k, the racing season stunk.
Given the cancellations, I had a long gap between everything. I spent a lot of time doing speedwork, which I reduced in December due to stress (season + work + everything else). The Bulldog Blast was in August. The virtual races for the Hudy 14k and the 50 West Mile were in September. I didn’t do so well in the 50 West Mile. I didn’t do a standalone mile, so my 7:20 wasn’t as good as it could have been compared to my 2019 PR of 6:32. I treated the Hudy 14k like a race, though. Besides the obvious lack of crowds, the only real difference was that I carried some fluids with me and that there was no actual start or finish line. My PR for that race was 2018 and was a 1:04:51. I ran 1:05:20. Not bad given the circumstances, and it beat 2019’s race of 1:06:24 in some serious heat.
By the time November hit, I was itching to do something. After looking into a few virtual options and not feeling really enthusiastic about any of them, I decided to just run my own Turkey Day 10k. I probably should have registered for the hot mess that is the Western & Southern Cincinnati Turkey Day 10k, but being at the right place (my computer) at the right time (when I remembered to look into it) never happened. I ended up running a PR at 49:01. I don’t run many 10ks (it seems there are few standalone 10ks or 5k/10ks in the area, and it seems there is a push to offer a 5k and half marathon).
I typed all of the above to basically say I’m ready. I know that I might be circling Batavia Township Park and the subdivision next to it for 26.2 miles (I’ve done 20, I can do this). I might be putting on a vest for the Flying Pig Marathon. Or March might fix everything (one can hope, right).
So on the day I’m writing this (Sunday), I did my first race in the training plan. This week has a lot – 6 days of running, hill repeats, and an M pace workout (and I have no clue what I’m going to use as M pace). Next week has a tempo run – something I’m no stranger to.
First off, if you didn’t think about the video below when seeing the title, go watch it. I’ll wait.
There’s nothing in the drivel that I’m typing below that has anything to do with this video, but since I thought of it after typing that title and the video is hilarious (even if you religiously watched He-Man as a kid like I did), I felt it was the right way to start this post.
I used to do weekly updates on this blog. I’ve amazed myself that I stuck with them for over a year, but truthfully they were pretty boring to write (and anyone religiously reading them likely figured that out). They were pretty boring to read, too. Only about half of them were proof-read, the other half were too boring and too routine. The pictures were the best part, and if I get back to weekly updates I might just go with all pictures and no text.
Speaking of pictures, I did take a few on the past month of runs…
July came and went with 194 miles ran. Some of those were tough, and I recall cutting a few runs short because of that feeling of not being able to continue running due to dehydration or just plain exhaustion. July also came with a few race cancellation announcements – the NKU XC series was silently cancelled, PigWorks cancelled all their fall events, and Honor Run cancelled their races in November. The PigWorks events are the ones that made their mark in my schedule – the beer series races have been a staple in my running calendar for eight years – nearly as long as I’ve been running. The Flying Pig events have been on my calendar in one way or another for nine or ten years – one of the beer series races is on the Friday evening of Flying Pig weekend, and I volunteered with the marathon twice before starting to run on Sunday. I’ve run the 10k twice (2013 and 2016), the half three times (2014, 2015, and 2017), and the full once (2018). In 2019, I was the ham radio “shadow” to the race director, which I’ve also done for every Queen Bee Half Marathon since the race began. After a very tough marathon debut in 2019, I opted to travel to Toledo, Ohio for their marathon in 2019, which is normally the Sunday prior to the Flying Pig. In fact, the only Flying Pig Sunday that I wasn’t downtown was 2016 – I was flying out to Denver that morning, and I recall sitting in the airport listening to the ham radio comms… it was a pretty rough year, I think they may have red-flagged the race that year.
I was entered into the 2020 Flying Pig Marathon, which was cancelled in late March. After my experience with training in the summer for the 2019 Columbus Marathon, I decided to defer my marathon registration to hopefully 2021 instead of making a run for October, and that’s okay since October was cancelled in late July. Pigworks decided to not allow deferrals for the remaining beer series races, and I truthfully don’t blame them. I’m not sure I would have considered a deferral, and I want to keep my “Braumeister” status going (not that I think any decision would have stopped that, I think they’re ignoring 2020 for the purposes of all streaks). I’m also hoping that the Brew Hogs mug is a Masskrug. Nothing says “fuck this pandemic, I’m drinking beer” like huge glass of fine Marzen beer!
I am trying to warm up to the idea of virtual races. It’s going to be difficult, though. It’s been a long time that I haven’t found someone to talk to, whether it is a homebrew buddy that is also a runner (who introduced me to a few of his coworkers at the Sam Adams brewery in Cincinnati also), my former boss (who was scheduled to run the Flying Pig Half and usually runs the Hudepohl 14k), former coworkers, people I occasionally pass on the paths (when I worked downtown), or a complete stranger that I start talking to because she had a cool headband (“I Sweat IPA”).
There’s a few differences between virtual races and real races. With a real race…
Race with hundreds of others
Race on a closed course (well, 95% of the time)
In the case of the Hudepohl 14k, run past some cheerleading squads that come out to cheer us runners on
Finish the race in front of people cheering running under a gantry that has a big “FINSH” banner, sometimes some mascots, and sometimes hearing the sound of your name being announced over the speaker
Drink beer legally while enjoying the post-race party (well, sometimes on the beer)
Virtual races are a little different…
Run by yourself
Run on a path or sidewalk that is open to all and you may be dodging asshats that block a sidewalk, traffic, and other people that may be out for a leisurely stroll (some of which may be less than attentive to things going on around them)
Nobody is cheering you on because to them you’re just some crazy person that’s out of breath from running
Finish the race unceremoniously with the press of a button on your watch
Possibly drink beer illegally by yourself risking arrest for an open container violation
…yeah, there’s a few reasons that almost all of us like to race.
There might be one in-person race left in this fucked up 2020 season. I raced in the Bulldog Blast for the past two or three years (one of which gained me an age group win). They claim it is on with some guidelines that – as of the time I’m writing this – have yet to be announced.
I’m already the Strava local legend on this course, nobody can take that away from me
It seems as if this racing season will end the way it started – with a 5k sprint. See y’all at the finish line… hopefully someday.
We join our hero at the end of the longest run of a week that was mostly cool until he started on that long run.
Monday: 6 miles. Same six miles in the same park and subdivision. 6.09 miles in 52:12 (8:34/mile pace).
Tuesday: 12 x 400. Ran entirely in the park, sometimes going the incorrect direction. Splits were 1:41, 1:38, 1:44, 1:41, 1:43, 1:40, 1:45, 1:45, 1:45, 1:40, 1:40, 1:41; the goal range was 1:46-1:49, so all were a little fast. Overall, 7.75 miles in 1:03:29 (8:11/mile pace).
Wednesday: 5 mile recovery. Ran in the same park and subdivision. 5.1 in 44:10 (8:40/mile pace).
Thursday: 4.5 mile tempo run. Ran in the park and the subdivision next to it. The morning weather was perfect… My tempo portion was 33:53 (7:32/mile pace), and my overall was 6.5 in 51:11 (7:52/mile pace), which is the fastest workout I’ve had since probably 2018.
Friday: Fieldwork, so I didn’t run. At least I made it home before my watch decided I made my calorie goal (last week, my watch decided I hit that goal while driving through Dayton, Ohio).
Saturday: 13 miles…
Ran in the park and subdivision… a few laps. This was a hot one, and I took both a water bottle and a bottle of Gatorade and mostly alternated starting with Gatorade at 2 miles. I slept through miles 7 and 9 (suddenly I was 8 and 10 miles in without recalling the signal for the miles in between). Overall, 13.33 miles in 1:55:44 (8:41/mile pace).
That’s it for the week. Just under 39 miles, and at a pretty good pace. I’m shy of 45% though the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee and almost 43% in the Race Across Ohio (There and Back Again).
This is one of those times where the end of the month actually aligns with the calendar. Unfortunately, it also aligned with a push to finish a project. I spent the last week of May working all-out to finish a project, and then the first week of June working on projects that were displaced by the prior week.
Monday 5/25: 6 miles. Felt tired because of staying up late to watch the end of the Coca Cola 600. Ran in the park and subdivision, which felt better than expected. Unlike last Friday, everyone was following the One Way signs… except me. 6.41 in 55:28 (8:39/mile pace).
Tuesday 5/26: I was preparing for a morning conference call and ran in the afternoon after work. This meant two things: one is that I didn’t do hill repeats and the other means that I ran in 85F weather. Too fast and too hot, I stopped after 4 miles. 4.15 in 35:32 (8:34/mile pace).
Wednesday 5/27: I had originally scheduled a 5 mile run, but I ran 6, partly to make up for a shorter distance the prior day. Through the park and subdivision next to it. 6.06 miles in 52:40 (8:41/mile pace).
Thursday 5/28: Did a 4.5 mile tempo run in the park and subdivision. The tempo portion was 35:33 (7:54/mile pace), which was pretty good. Overall, 6.5 miles in 53:34 (8:14/mile pace).
Friday 5/29: 14 miles in the park and subdivision. Apparently my legs felt like lead or something because it took 2:06:19 (9:01/mile pace).
The month of May ended with 164 miles run.
Monday 6/1: Ran 6 miles in the park and subdivision next to it. 6.13 in 52:28 (8:34/mile pace).
Tuesday 6/2: 8 x 800. Yasso 800s are some of the most difficult workouts to me. However, I nailed them, despite having difficulty with my watch. Kept these almost entirely in the park, but as it got too busy I ran part in the subdivision next to it. 9.52 miles in 1:17:16 (8:07/mile pace).
Wednesday 6/3: 5 miles. Park and subdivision. Overall, 5.14 in 45:33 (8:52/mile pace).
Thursday 6/4: 4.5 mile tempo. Ran in the park and subdivision, and I was dealing with some heat. The tempo portion was in 36:16 (8:04/mile pace), overall 6.51 in 54:43 (8:24/mile pace).
Friday 6/5: I set out to do a 15 mile long run in some very warm (low 70s) and extremely sticky conditions. One bottle of Gatorade Endurance was not enough. After 12 miles I was really feeling spent and ended walking after 13 miles and some change and deciding to call it there. Went to the park’s water fountain, which was off (🤬 virus). Made it to 13.25 in 2:04:05 (9:22/mile pace).
Sunday 6/7: Wednesday 6/3 was Global Running Day and there was an Aftershokz Strava-group run that was supposed to be on that day. When the Black Lives Matter protests began, they moved it to Sunday. So I went ahead and ran it, partly because of cutting my long run short. 3.38 miles in exactly 30 minutes (8:53/mile pace).
Monday 6/8: Another six miles in the park and subdivison. 6.11 miles in 52:33 (8:36/mile pace).
Tuesday 6/9: 8 x hill. Went up to East Fork to run these in the newly-opened campground area. My splits were all pretty well grouped with 2:00, 2:01, 1:58, 1:59, 2:01, 2:01, 1:58, 1:59. Overall, 6.64 miles in 59:51 (9:01/mile pace).
Wednesday 6/10: 5 miles in the park and subdivision. Overall, 5.19 in 44:18 (8:32/mile pace).
Thursday 6/11: 30 minute tempo. I did this one by time (for once), basically adding 30 minutes to my first mile split time (hey, it’s easy math!). Ran the 3.91 miles in the 30 minutes, for a pace of 7:40/mile. Overall, 6 miles in 48:32 (8:05/mile pace).
Saturday 6/13. Due to fieldwork, I ran my long run on Saturday, and while I considered going somewhere else, I stayed in the park and subdivision. It was a chilly morning and I was pulling back (this is a pull-back week, although you wouldn’t know). Ran pretty fast, the 12.22 miles went by in 1:43:07 (8:26/mile pace).
That’s it for the three weeks. 37, 40.5, and 39.5 in those weeks. I’m up to 385km (of 1,000km, so 38.5%) in the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee and 156 miles across Ohio in 22:29:26 (8:40/mile pace, and that’s 34.3% across the state).
Our hero started out the week in the inferno. The weather report to start the week had rain on Monday morning, and instead it was steamy, humid heat.
Monday: 6 miles. Ran in the park and subdivision again. As the intro stated, it was like running in a sauna. 6.02 in 54:16 (9:01/mile pace).
Tuesday: 12 x 0.25 intervals. Ran these entirely in the park and following the direction of the path. It was raining most of Monday (starting in the late morning), and for all of my run. The path was flooding in places, and one part was deeper than my shoes – so running through that meant getting any potential dry spots on me pretty well soaked (NARRATOR: “There were no dry spots anyway”). Splits were 1:44, 1:43, 1:45, 1:47, 1:46, 1:45, 1:47, 1:47, 1:50, 1:47, 1:46, 1:42 (goal was 1:46 – 1:49, so 5 faster and 1 slower). Overall, 7.72 in 1:04:22 (8:20/mile pace).
This is what a drowned runner looks like…
Wednesday: 5 miles. Ran in the park and neighboring subdivision. It was wet, but didn’t start raining until I was doing my post-run stretches. 5.2 miles in 44:46 (8:37/mile pace).
Thursday: 4.5 mile tempo run. Ran this in the park and subdivision again. The tempo portion was 35:37 (7:55/mile pace). Overall, 6.52 in 53:37 (8:13/mile pace).
Friday: 13 mile long run. Ran in the park and subdivision – I was originally going to try to go out somewhere else where I was going to do fieldwork, but the logistics made it difficult. My legs felt like lead. Two laps around the subdivision and park, where on the final lap everyone was going the wrong direction except me. Hydrated with Gatorade Endurace, no fuel. 13.15 in 1:56:26 (8:51/mile pace).
That’s it for the week. 38.6 miles. 20% complete in the GVRAT.
I also signed up for the great run across Ohio virtual race. This is operated by the same people that do the Hungry Turkey Half (among other events). So far, I’m around 8.5% complete.
Our hero gets a slight rest this week as he lowers his mileage a little to let the legs rest. The state is coming out of it’s Covid-induced coma, and the weather is supposed to be getting warmer.
Narrator: The weather would get warmer… after it gets colder.
Fortunately, there was no rain.
Monday: 6 miles. Ran this in the park and the subdivision next to it **yawn**. 6.08 miles in 52:04 (8:34/mile pace).
Tuesday: 6 x 800. Ran this in the park entirely, following the one-way signs. Splits were 3:45, 3:34, 3:36, 3:32, 3:35, 3:32 (goal range 3:31-3:37, so all but the first were in the range). Overall 7.46 miles (or maybe 7.5 miles) in 1:01:36 (8:15/mile pace… or maybe 8:13/mile).
Wednesday: 5 miles. Also in the park and the subdivision next to it, but at least I saw a few other runners out. 5.05 in 43:47 (8:40/mile pace).
Thursday: 30 minute (ish) tempo. Ran in… you guess it, the park and the subdivision next to it. 1 mile warm up and cool down, and four miles of tempo running in between. That four miles was in 31:49, for a 7:57/mile pace. Overall, 6 miles in 49:28 (8:15/mile pace).
One way on the path starting this week.
We wish… I think the ball fields are closed off.
Friday: 12 miles. My legs felt like lead most of Thursday for some reason, and they still felt that way on Friday. Ran in the **yawn** park and subdivision, making a pitstop halfway through. Hydrated with Gatorade Endurance. 12.03 miles in 1:46:10 (8:50/mile pace).
That’s it for the week. 36.6 miles at a faster pace than last week. Almost 14% across Tennessee. 🍻
Our hero looks like a drowned rat this week. There was a few days of rain, and he ran out of contacts… This is a bad time to run out of contacts since Ohio is still closed (for the most part).
Monday: 6 miles. Ran this in the park and the subdivision next to it. I tried to keep it easy. 6.09 miles in 52:33 (8:38/mile pace).
Tuesday: 8 x Hills. Ran up a hill in the rain, having to find a new place to park in the dark., but made it to the hill I used before the last time, which is a little easier. This hill, with the Coros, is 50 feet up (870 to 920 MSL… Garmin had 760 to 810, so still 50 feet). Overall, 6.03 miles in 53:38 (8:54/mile pace). Splits were 1:57, 2:00, 2:00, 1:59, 2:01, 2:01, 2:02, and 2:05.
Wednesday: 5 miles. Chilly but not rainy today. Ran this in the park and the subdivision next to it again. 5.56 in 48:48 (8:47/mile pace).
Thursday: 4.5 mile tempo run. Ran this in the park and subdivision, and it fortunately was not raining. I ran kinda hard, but it wasn’t as hard as usual, so I was surprised when my tempo pace was at 7:52/mile for the 4.5 miles of tempo running. Overall, 6.51 miles in 53:00 (8:08/mile pace).
Friday: 14 mile run. Ran in the rain, which started as soon as I parked my car at the park. Ran around the park once, in the subdivison where I had to make a few shorter laps because of a construction material delivery while I was coming back from the first lap. Ran 14.23 in honor of Ahmaud, who was killed last February in what appears to be cold-blooded murder. Ran all that in 2:04:31 (8:45/mile pace).
That’s it for the week. 38.42 miles. In the #GVRAT, I’m at 51.73 miles.
We join our hero at the end of a long run. This is not how this week was supposed to go, nor was this how the month was supposed to go. Our hero was supposed to be victoriously crossing the finish line of the Flying Pig Marathon to cap off a Sunday after crossing a finish line for the 50 West Mile on the prior Friday. Summer races are getting precariously close to the chopping block, and the odds are even money on fall races happening.
Monday: 6 miles. Coming off a refreshing break from the park and subdivision next to it, this was back into it. The morning was chilly only to break to a nice 65 in the afternoon, and this was expected to be a nice day before a few days of rain. 6.31 miles in 54:53 (8:42/mile pace).
Tuesday: 12 x 1/4 mile intervals. I’m learning with the new watch, and this was the first time I’ve done intervals. There’s goods, bads, and uglies. The good: it works. The bads: I have to define my warm-up and cool-down on the fly. The ugly: having to scroll the wheel on my watch to unlock it to end warm up and begin the first interval. I need to figure a few things out with this watch. Anyway, kept these in the park. Splits were 1:46, 1:45, 1:38, 1:44, 1:43, 1:44, 1:45, 1:44, 1:43, 1:43, 1:44. The stamina pace goal is 1:46-1:49 (one was at 1:46). The speed pace goal is 1:33 – 1:38 (one was at 1:38). I’m squarely in-between those pace ranges. Overall, 7.73 in 1:04:21 (8:19/mile pace).
Because of social distancing and narrow paths, there was mud.
Also on Tuesday, I decided to enter the 1000k Virtual Race Across Tennessee.
Wednesday: 5 miles recovery. Ran this around most of the subdivision, cutting off a small portion to keep it down to five miles. 5.24 miles in 45:37 (8:42/mile pace).
Thursday: 35 minute tempo run. Ran in the park and subdivision, and this was similar to last week with one notable exception – I actually used the lap button! The tempo portion was 4.5 miles in 35:50 (7:58/mile pace). Overall, 6.51 miles in 53:55 (8:17/mile pace).
Friday: 13 miles. I went downtown for this one to run a course that is similar to the Flying Pig Half. When I started up Gilbert, my legs were feeling spent. I pressed on up the hill and back down. 13.31 miles in 2:01:17 (9:07/mile pace).
That’s it for the week. 39.1 miles for the week, 156.4 miles in April. 13.31 miles (2.1%) in the Virtual Race across Tennessee.
Next week is more of the same, and I’ll be doing some more macro-level planning to ensure I make it through all 634.84 miles of the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee. While 1000k = 621.37 miles, the route shown on their website is listed as 634.84 miles so I’m using that. 🍻
Our hero’s frustration with Garmin took a turn for the better this week when he used his ‘Rona cash to replace his aging Garmin Forerunner 220 with a Coros Apex. This was not the only change this week…
Monday: 6 miles. This started out interestingly… First run with Knuckle Lights and as soon as I turned the first corner in the park I saw a deer in the soccer field. Then, after I turned another corner I saw a green flash in the sky – it was a meteorite from the Lyrid Meteor Shower. Unfortuntely, all good things must end as I entered asshat acres and was ignored (despite very bright lights) by an asshat behind the wheel. Fortunately, the rest of the run was without incident. 6.03 miles in 52:48 (8:45/mile pace).
Tuesday: 8 x 800 intervals. Ran these entirely in the park, where I was on my warm up before I realized that it’s nearly 10 miles of running. Splits were 3:40, 3:36, 3:32, 3:34, 3:35, 3:35, 3:32, 3:36; the goal range was 3:31 – 3:37, so one – the first – was slow. Overall 9.5 miles in 1:19:08 (8:20/mile pace).
In addition to the new watch, I decided to change up my afternoon snack. For a while, I was eating pretzel nuggets, and I’ve changed it to carrot sticks with humus.
Wednesday: 5 miles recovery. Ran in the park and the subdivision next to it. I’m not sure what happened to the weather here, I was in short sleeves on Tuesday, and a pullover over a long-sleeve shirt today. This was my first use of my new Coros watch, which has some advantages (aside from a lightning-fast GPS lock). 5.03 miles in 44:17 (8:48/mile pace).
Thursday: 35 minute tempo. The better weather was back, but my new-watch-blues are that I can’t set this watch the same way I did my Garmin. So I ran 4.5 miles at a hopefully-tempo pace after a one mile warm up and did a one mile cool down after. Ran in the park and neighboring subdivision again. It does appear that I was in the 4.5 mile tempo portion for 36:50 for an average of 8:11/mile pace, which is a little slower than normal. Overall, 6.53 miles in 55:03 (8:26/mile pace).
Friday: 12 miles. It seems like it’s been a while since I’ve gotten away from the park and neighboring subdivision, so I decided to go downtown. I made my way to the Airport trail head and ran into downtown and through most of Friendship Park and all of Sawyer Point, Yeatman’s Cove, and Smale Park and turned around to return. I did pause for a few pictures and my turnaround was late. 12.67 miles in 1:51:56 (8:50/mile pace). My new watch is telling me that it’s going to take me 2.5 days to recover from this run. 🤷♂️.
That’s it for the week. Just under 40 miles with two speedwork days and one long day. On to the next. 🍻
