Flying Pig Half Marathon

I am way behind with this blog!  My next race is in...umm...tomorrow.  In our last entry, we covered the Flying Pig 5k.  FW and I had a lot of fun with it and she gave a great effort.  We spent that night in Cincinnati in anticipation of the half marathon on Sunday.  The forecast was still looking like rain (it rained cats and dogs on Saturday).  But we got lucky and it actually turned into one of the nicest days we have had this Spring.

The half marathon started at 6:30 am outside of Paul Brown Stadium.  As a Browns fan, I found that part disgusting, but it's actually a very well organized start area.  FW was able to come down to the start area with me and find a place to watch the start of the race.  I was signed up to start in Corral A but worked my way back into B.  This race has some massive hills halfway through and I didn't want to start out too fast.  I ran a 1:40:42 last year and I was shooting for a sub 1:40 this go round.

Miles 1-5: The race starts by heading east along the river.  We then head over the bridge to Newport, Kentucky around the one mile mark.  There's not a lot of mileage in Kentucky, but it is very cool to run in two states in the same race.  I felt good early on and focused on running even splits with a target pace of 7:50.  The humidity was going up early on which was a surprise.  After heading west through Newport we cross back into Ohio at the four mile mark.  We head north towards downtown at around the five mile mark.  Here are my splits for the first five: 1 (8:02), 2 (7:43), 3 (7:40), 4 (7:24), 5 (7:28).  I was well below my goal pace and hoped that banking some time early on may just get me to my goal.

Miles 6-10: This is the interesting part of the race.  We finish the downtown section and the small hills start at the end of mile 6.  I was still feeling pretty good, but I realized we were getting close to the Eden Park section.  Eden Park is beautiful (FW and I went to Krohn Conservatory located within the park later that day), but the hills are BRUTAL.  The longest one goes straight up for about 3/4 mile, then turns only to become another hill.  It's a lot.  The scenery is amazing.  There was a low lying mist over the lake within Eden Park.  It was one of the most beautiful sights I've seen during any race.  I was also still feeling pretty good, though my splits took a hit during this section.  But what goes up must come down.  Miles 9 and 10 are mostly downhill and I passed a lot of people during this portion.  It's hard to hit the brakes at all on these downhills, so it does wear out the quads.  Here are my splits: 6 (7:22), 7 (7:59), 8 (7:45), 9 (7:19), 10 (7:25).  

Miles 11-13.1: The final few miles of this race are pretty uneventful.  We hit more downhills as you'll see from the amazing splits for the final three miles.  But there's not much to look at.  I focused in on passing people and coming in under 1:40, which was still in the cards.  I had to walk for about 30 seconds during mile 12 as those downhills had completely destroyed my quads.  I started back up and focused on finishing strong, complete with playing up to the crowd at the finish.  Here are the final splits: 11 (6:55), 12 (6:38), 13 (6:55).  I finished by running a 1:39:20 and finished 210/11,646 overall, which is a pretty good showing.

Let's get to FW's Spectator Report!

This is the first installment of my spectator report :) I definitely recommend this race if you have family with you.  I was able to easily see Chris both at the start and finish.  You are also able to easily walk from the start to the finish area and there are labeled reunion areas to meet your runner after the race. During the race I recommend visiting one of the park areas along the river.  On the walk from the start to finish you will pass a park area with swings right along the river.  There are plenty of goodies in the finish area including pancakes and sliders. After the race I recommend checking out Newport on the Levee, right across the river from Cincinnati.  It has restaurants, shopping, and a great aquarium.

Next race: Medina Half Marathon- Medina, OH

Flying Pig 5k

FW and I traveled to Cincinnati for the Flying Pig last weekend.  Last year, FW did the 5k and I did the 3 Way Challenge (5k, 10k, half).  I skipped the 10k this year so I could sleep in for the Saturday 5k.  FW was pretty nervous about this one as she has not been able to train much this year.  Her goal was to simply have fun and come in under an hour.

The weekend started comically as we got to the expo on Friday as it was closing.  We had trouble getting out of Mansfield and sped down to Cincy.  So we literally had to race to get our packets and shirts.  That was different.  When they say the expo closes at 7:00, it closes at 7:00!

The weather was not comical as there were reports of thunderstorms for both days.  The race organizers did a great job of communicating weather reports and how the race would be run if there was bad weather.

Race morning was windy and cool as we made our way from our hotel to Great American Ballpark for the start.  We stretched out and tried our best to keep warm.  Last year was very warm which shows you can't even take May for granted in Ohio.  FW just wanted to start the race so we made our way to our corral.  Here's our report:

The course was the same as last year as we started with a long straightaway with one slight hill at the end.  FW started out walking at a brisk pace that was much faster than what she's been doing at home.  She was looking good and having fun.  As we crested the one hill, she even jogged some down the other side.  This was a pleasant surprise!  We rounded the bend and started down the next long straightaway.  Her first mile came in at 17:58.

The second straightaway ends with us heading north near downtown.  There's a long uphill here and FW slowed down just a bit.  But she again powered down the other side with some light jogging.  The rain started just shy of the two mile mark but it stayed light.  We started heading back to the start by finishing the loop.  Her second mile was 18:14.

There's a long section during the second mile that's under a highway overpass.  It's longer than it looks but it is a quick section of the course.  FW sprinkled a bit of jogging here and kept up her steady pace.  We both knew she would come in under an hour, so we focused more on enjoying ourselves.  The rain did start to pick up some as we made the last turn to the finish.  The finish area at the Flying Pig is maddening as the straightaway is much longer than it appears.  FW jogged a bit into the finish with a final time of 57:02.

I'm proud of how FW did at this race.  She has been unable to train for so long, so to come out and do the 5k, with some jogging throughout, is a great accomplishment.  The rest of the weekend was very full and she wound up logging over 17 miles walking around.  She should be ready to sprinkle in more jogging as we boost her cardio.

My half marathon report is coming soon.  But I want to give FW a chance to share her own thoughts on the race!

FW Report

The race was very fun and very challenging this year.  I had some health issues this winter, but I am doing better now and plan to get back in fighting shape.  FH (future husband) is a great coach and helped me through!  Even though the weather this year wasn't the greatest the post race festival is awesome.  You can even get free pancakes, muffins, and yogurt from First Watch.  I highly recommend the 5K for anyone new to running or looking to get back into shape.