20 Miler.

20 mles up at the lake, with a 2 mile walk at the start and end to stretch out the time. Got started about 7:30 before it was too warm, and it wasn't as humid as last Saturday, so it felt better than last week. By the end though, I was really beat. Temperatures were in the upper 60s at the start and low 70s at teh end, but dew point was in the low 40s, so felt very nice, even had a light breeze. But 20 miles is 20 miles, so it wasn't easy. Overall time of 3:29:33, average pace of 10:28. Splits of 10:30, 9:49, 10:09, 10:03, 9:55, 10:20, 10:21, 10:18, 10:22, 10:34, 10:21, 10:28, 10:27, 10:30, 10:30, 10:53, 10:55, 10:57, 10:55 and 11:07. Had to take 2 walk breaks the last mile, but other than that I was able to hang in there. Average heart rate was 156, with the last few miles between 159 and 162, so it never got too high. The 2 mile walk at the end was slow, nearly a 20 min/mile pace, but I was feeling better by the end of it.

8 Mile St Peters Run

8 miles out on the St Peters Trail, running with Tim and Bob. 1:17:41 total time for an average pace of 9:42. Started slow but picked up the pace as we went along. Splits of 10:03, 9:45, 9:59, 9:50, 9:26, 9:37, 9:33 and 9:25. AHR was 153 and pretty steady. Was in the low 60s, sprinkled a little at the start then cleared out.

8 x 1/2 Mile Repeats

Half mile repeats, 8 of them with a half mile warmup and cool down. Warm up at 10:47 pace, then stretched for 2 minutes, then ran 2 minutes at 9:38 pace, then repeats at 8:01 pace, 7:57 pace, 7:58 pace, 7:59 pace, 7:59 pace, 7:57 pace, 7:56 pace and 8:08 pace, then had a cool down half mile at 9:56 pace. Overall 6.22 miles in 1:09:19, 9:41 average pace, 151 average heart rate. Low 60s, a bit of wind and quite a bit of rain, but not too bad of a run overall.

8 Mile Slower Tempo Run

8 miles up at the lake in 1:15:44. Was humid out, and about 70F, and just didn't quite feel comfortable with my 'tempo' pace, so needed to take a 30 second walk break every mile, but was still able to keep a decent pace. 1:15:44 total time, average pace of 9:28,AHR of 158. Splits of 10:09, 9:16, 9:15, 9:15, 9:18, 9:16, 9:14 and 9:57.

5 Mile Easy Run

5 mile run up at the lake in the morning. Took it easy, humid but low 70s, so not too bad. Splits of 10:26, 10:23, 10:34, 10:36 and 9:54, average heart rate of 153.

16 Mile Sweaty Run

16 miles up at the lake, starting at about 9am. Was muggy out, temperature in the 70s and about 80 when I was finishing, with a dewpoint of 63. Started slow, stayed slow. Heart rate kept creeping up despite running fairly slow. Overall time of 2:53:01, average pace of 10:48, average heart rate of 156. Splits of 10:55, 10:40, 10:44, 10:39, 10:40, 10:45, 10:42, 10:41, 10:51, 10:55, 10:52, 10:52, 10:56, 10:52, 10:54 and 10:56. Managed to keep every split under 11:00, but it was tough near the end, with my final mile AHR of 169.

Lost Valley Pancake Run

Pancake run out at Lost Valley. Ran fairly hard, but not too hard. Course had changed a bit, and was a bit over 9 miles total. Walked up some of the hills, managed to not fall. Ran mostly with Bob and Tim. 9.19 miles in 1:40:58 total time, average pace of 10:59, AHR of 157. Splits of 10:11, 9:59, 11:04, 12:09, 11:49, 10:31, 10:03, 11:34, 11:36 and 10:14 pace for the last bit. Overall a good run, comfortable out, sprinked a bit.

10 x 1/4th Mile Repeats

10 x 1/4 mile repeats, with 1 mile warm up and cool down. First mile in 10:26, then stretched for 2 minutes, then jogged for 2 minutes at 9:04 pace, then 1/4th mile repeats at 7:19 mile pace, 7:12, 7:13, 7:07, 7:02, 7:13, 7:14, 7:18, 7:11 and a more or less all out one at 6:24. Cool down mile at 10:09 pace. Overall 6.02 miles in 1:00:24, 10:01 pace, 153 average heart rate. Ran in the morning, mid 60s out, comfortable.

8 Mile Tempo Run

8 miles up at the lake, 1 mile warm up, 6 miles tempo run, 1 mile cool down.Had a 30 second walk break during the 4th mile of the pace part. Splits of 10:09, 8:57, 8:54, 8:50, 8:58, 8:44, 8:27 and 9:45. Average heart rate of 163. Mid 60s out, fairly comfortable. Overall time of 1:12:46, average pace of 9:05, record 8 mile run.

5 Mile Morning Run

5 miles up at the lake, running south, then back past the restaurant and out on the spur, going past the second overpass, then returning, then back out past the second overpass, then returning. Cool out, in the upper 50s, run felt pretty good, took it easy, legs felt all right.

14 Mile Long Run

14 mile run up at the lake, running counter clockwise plus the south tail, then out on the spur a ways, then backtracked. Walked about a mile before and a mile afterwards to stretch out the time. 2:19:25 total time, average pace of 9:57, average heart rate of 158, splits of 10:00, 9:48, 9:56, 9:55, 9:55, 9:57, 10:01, 9:59, 9:51, 9:59, 10:00, 9:54, 10:07 and 9:58. Ran in the afternoon, was a bit warm out, sunny, actually got a bit of sun on the back of my neck, and I'll need to start thinking about sunscreen. Was able to maintain the pace for the run, but was pretty tired by the end, and was really beat afterwards.

7 Miles in St Peters

7 miles out on the St Peters course, running with Bob and Tim, though Tim headed back at the 2.5 mile point. Overcast and a bit rainy, run was pretty good though. 1:07:36 total time, average pace of 9:39, splits of 10:03, 9:51, 10:04, 9:25, 9:33, 9:13 and 9:26. Didn't wear my heart monitor, so no guess there.

8 x 1/2 Mile Repeats

Speed work, 8 x 1/2 mile repeats. Was cooler out than yesterday, run felt pretty good overall. Started with a 1 mile warm up at 9:38 pace, then stretched for 2 minutes, then ran for 2 minutes at 9:26 pace, then started in on the repeats. Repeats were at 7:49 pace, 7:45, 7:47, 7:55, 7:49, 7:54, 7:53 and 7:40 pace, finished with a cool down mile at 9:28. Max heart rate overall was 173 at the end of my last repeat, with averages being from 163-167 for the repeats. It was a bit of a struggle, but not too bad, looks like I've fully recovered from the Marathon.

8 Mile Tempo Run

8 mile run, 6 miles as a pace run with 1 mile warm up and cool down. Ran in the afternoon, was above 80 and very humid. Was doing fine until about 2 miles in the pace part of the run, then I just got too warm, my heart rate was high, and I needed to slow down. Normally I would have taken only 1 water break during the pace part, but after the first 2 miles I needed to take one every mile. 8 miles in 1:17:22, average pace of 9:40, splits of 9:51, 8:55, 8:59, 9:19, 9:55, 9:55, 9:59 and 10:26. Average heart rate of 164, with the average of miles 2-6 of the pace part at 167 or 168. Going to need to start checking the weather to see if afternoon pace runs will be doable going forward.

5 Mile Easy Run

5 miles up at the lake, running to the south end first, then out on the spur to past the second bridge, then back to the circle, then back out on the spur over the first hill, then back. Wanted to get in a few easy hills, will probably be doing similar runs as I can. 5 miles in 48:58, average pace 9:47, average heart rate of 156. Splits of 9:52, 9:46, 9:58, 9:51 and 9:29. Took walk breaks the middle miles. Overall a comfortable run, was in the 50s out, light wind. 

10 Mile Run - Back at It

10 miles up at the lake, running the big loop counter clockwise, plus the south tail, and I ran the first mile out and back on the spur twice for some hills. Felt pretty good overall, took a minute walk break every mile except for the last mile, also hopped in the bathroom during mile 6 for a quick bathroom break. In the 60s out, overcast, felt pretty good. 1:39:57 total time, 9:59 pace, average heart rate of 154, splits of 10:42, 10:00, 9:50, 10:01, 10:29, 9:57, 10:05, 9:55, 9:49 and 9:05. Walked for a little over a mile after the run, and was more sore than expected afterwards because during the run I felt pretty good. Back to normal training Tuesday.

5 Mile St Peters Run

5 miles out at the St Peters course with the FFRC, running with Bob and Tim, though Bob ran out farther, and Tim and I turned around at the 2.5 mile point and came back. Overall felt all right, but was getting tired on the way back, and without Bob setting the pace we slowed a little. 5 miles in 51:24, average pace of 10:16, average heart rate of 152, splits of 9:52, 10:12, 10:19, 10:32 and 10:26. Felt good to be back out there running, and it was really a nice morning for a run.

5.6 Mile Walk

Walked up at the lake with Judy, walking a big loop counter clockwise. We walked in the evening and it was a bit faster than Tuesday's walk. Feeling better, probably could have ran but a few more days of rest are probably a better idea.

3 Mile Walk

Walked up at the lake with Judy, walking thru the woods and then back. Pretty slow, still fairly sore, but felt good to be moving. I'm sure I'll feel better as the week progresses.

Flying Pig Marathon

Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. Was in the upper 50s with a light sprinkle at start time, stayed overcast, warmed into the 60s, little wind, and really no rain to speak of, so ideal weather, though some people were complaining about the humidity. We hit some traffic coming into the parking area, and it took a wile to get parked, but we still had time to drop off our gear bag and take care of business and such. Corrals were not all that well marked for the 'slow' people, but I was able to find the 4:45 pace group guy so figured it would be pretty good starting around there. 

Official time of 4:19:07, average pace of 9:54, average heart rate of 160, best mile of 8:54, which was mile 6, shortly before the main climb of the Marathon. The garmin distance was 26.47, which is fairly typical. The start was a lot of zig zagging around people, and the second half seemed to be more or less on track distance wise as things thinned out. Three times I hit the lap button to get back in sync with the mile markers. I had to take a bathroom break shortly after the mile 18 marker, and was able to hop into an open bathroom, but the break took about 5 minutes total. Even with the break I was able to get under my goal time of 4:22, though before the break I was looking at about a 4:15 time, resting for 5 minutes might have helped me maintain my pace to the finish line.

Splits (not counting the short splits to sync back up with the mile markers were miles 1-6 of 10:09, 9:34, 9:34, 8:54, 9:34 and 8:58. Started climbing up the main hill and mile 7-13 were 10:27, 10:14, 9:15, 9:13, 9:12, 9:44 and 9:30. Miles 14-20 were 9:25, 9:31, 9:53, 9:28, 9:50, 14:00 and 9:27. The final miles were 9:30, 9:36, 9:49, 10:03, 10:05, 9:58 and 2:01 for the final .23 miles for a 8:50 pace. My heart rate crept up the final miles, but even then it wasn't too bad, 163 average for the final full mile, and 166 for the final quarter mile.

Offical splits were 6.8 miles at 1:06:44 (9:49 pace), 12.0 miles at 1:56:23 (9:42 pace), 13.1 miles at 2:06:39 (9:40 pace), 19.7 miles at 3:14:32 (9:52 pace) and 25.2 miles at 4:09:05 (9:53 pace). The marathon went quickly, there were enough other runners on the course it never seemed to drag. I finished 1876 out of 4026 overall, 1333 out of 2389 for the men. One of these days I'll finish in the top half of the men and/or my age group (:

Post race refreshments were so so, nothing great. I grabbed my gear and then stretched out in the park where music was being played and almost dozed off for a bit. I then headed over to the finish area and waited for Judy. Very good time.