Flying Pig Half Marathon 2017 Race Report

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. Right at 6:30 we were off.

First Portion: Miles 0 – 6

I felt like I was going a little fast. I’ll probably pay for this. My boss, who started in corral A passed me near the end of this section. Apparently, he ducked into a port-o-let in Newport (probably around mm 2.5).

Splits: 8:02, 8:03, 7:57, 8:07, 8:20 (water + Gu), 8:01

Second Portion: Miles 7 – 10

The hill was rough. By the end of this section, I was ready to start walking. 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. I usually grab a Twizzler at the downhill (mm 10.5) station. 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!). 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!

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 🙂

Garmin Data

Cheers!

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!

April 24, 2015February 28, 2020

Keys to the Race: Flying Pig Half Marathon

Initially while watching the Boston Marathon and seeing them do a “Keys to the Race”, I thought the concept of “keys to the {race|game|etc} was getting overdone. It might be, but strategy is critically important when you’re running a long distance.

I’ve had the luxury of working near the course and have been practicing on the course, so I’ve come up with my three keys to a successful race.

1. Don’t Bank Too Much During the First 6 Miles

It’s a 13.1 mile race. The first 3-4 miles are somewhat rolling and have a lot of crowd support, followed by a lesser-supported (that I recall) 2 miles through Queensgate and into downtown. Banking too much here would have painful intrest payments through the rest of the race and could cause an energy bankrupcy in the next phase of the race.

2. Don’t Overrun the Hill

Miles 6 to 10.5 are hills. Be aware that people will claim stuff like “the bridge [at m7.7] is the top”. NO. IT IS NOT. It is the end of the worst, but there are still small hills from 7.7 to 10.5.

Note the location of the red ‘Energy” on the map. It’s around mile 9. For someone running a 1:30 half, that’s probably a good spot. For me (~2 hours), I’m taking a shot of Gu at 4.5-5 miles and 9 miles (I’m going by the Gu packet directions of “15 minutes before and every 45 minutes”. Note that the Flying Pig has PowerGel.

3. Save Some For The Last 2.6 Miles

Around mile 10.5, you may feel like you’re falling off the side of the planet. This is where the race course sets you up for a negative split. I’ve had training runs where the uphill portion (miles 6-10.5) where 10:50-11:50 min/mile, and the downhill was 8:30 min/mile. If you follow key #1, you can hit this area hard for a strong finish. Miles 10.5 to just before 12 is downhill, things level out on Central Parkway (where the hairpin turn is), back downhill (a little) on Eggleston, and then right onto East Pete Rose Way. That last 0.2 (or so) of the course on Pete Rose Way is an uphill grade to the finish line – it’s not terrible, but after 13 miles, it can be a bit of a killer.

Good luck to all those running!

August 30, 2014

620 Miles…

…is how many miles I’ve logged this year. 620.56 to be exact. I love that I have Endomondo to track that for me.

Today was a 9 mile run in preparation for the Hudepohl 14k (this is “Running on Beer”, after all!). The H14k is probably my favorite run. One reason is because it is meant to be fun.

Another two reasons why it is my favorite are that the wimps all run the 7k, and the real runners run the 14k (we lose the 7k runners about 2 miles into the course where they turn back) and the route. The route has many breweries marked (many in places that are no longer breweries or even buildings at this point) and that we get to go through the Dalton Street Tunnel under Union Terminal. Also, there are only two decent hills that are not killers – Brighton Bridge and Liberty Street. These are easy compared to going up Gilbert in the Flying Pig Marathon!

This year I might be prepared a little early, but I’m ramping up mileage because I want to break 1,000 miles this year. I decided on this in June or so, when I only had 418 miles in. With recent increases, I expect I’ll likely break 1,000 miles around Thanksgiving. Also, having a good long run (which will probably be around 10 miles) will put me in a very good position for whatever half marathon I run next year, whether it be the Pig (where my 2:17 is unfinished business because I KNOW I can do better) or something else.

Anyway, below are some pics from last year.