Cincy run LIKE hell XX

This was our second year participating in this event. It’s a fun race that runs through the Walnut Hills Cemetery at night. This year they extended the distance in the cemetery, adding more hills! Last year it was technically only 2.84 miles but, with the added time in the cemetery it became and official 5k.























 
Run like hell is more of a party and a charity event then a race. The proceeds benefit a great cause, cystic fibrosis.

The after party is always a good time. They have a band playing, plenty of food and a separate beer/ food section. Last year it was so cold after the race, so being seasoned vets, this year we brought hats, jackets, gloves, etc to be able to enjoy the post party without freezing our asses off. They also have some outdoor fire torch things (technical term) to provide some heat.

The Halloween costumes are the major reason to run this race. I am so lacking in the creative department, it’s really fun to see what the rest of the runners can come up with.  Dan and I decided to be Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable this year. 

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not a good pic, but I'm in the front with my red hair

Not the best costumes we’ve come up with yet. Better luck next year!

Indianapolis Half Marathon

Last weekend I completed my second half marathon with four of my friends in Indianapolis. My goal for this race was to come in under 1:45. Overall, I was pretty pleased with my performance, here's how it went down:

Wake up call around 6:30 am; I like to wake up early enough to make sure I have time to take care of all of the bathroom business. The Indianapolis Hilton North was offering a shuttle from the hotel to the race site at 7:25 am. After getting dressed and ready to go I headed down to the lobby to meet my friends and grab some coffee. I was hoping the hotel would offer some kind of continental breakfast, but I had no such luck. Usually before a race I eat a peanut butter sandwich. I made one before we left the house and forgot to pack it. Instead, I had a power bar around 7:30 am

The four of us were riding nervously on the bus to Fort Benjamin Harrison when one of the women behind us said: “ the hills around mile 3 and 10 are brutal!” What, hills? Brutal!? We chose a race in Indy! Indy doesn’t have hills! Good thing Cincinnati does, I guess.

We arrived at the race start at 7:50 am and had 40 minutes to kill. It was really cold and windy so we huddled for warmth. One of my friends suggested sitting in porta potties until the race began. Not quite that cold!

It was finally time to line up. I lost a layer of clothes and wished my friends good luck as we headed to our separate corrals. I tried to jump around and stay warm but it wasn't happening.

After the National Anthem, the race started and we were off! The start was a little crowded and I was in the back of the corral. The path was narrow in the beginning, making it difficult to pass at times. I probably should have started a little closer to the front of the pack, but I thought since we were lined up by pace I wasn't going to be one of the fastest in corral B, rookie mistake. I finished the first mile in 8:04 and knew I needed to pick it up if I was going to meet my goal.

The majority of the race took place on wooded paths through the park. The course was really beautiful with all the fall foliage and I was feeling great, running at a good pace and taking it all in. At each mile marker I looked down at my watch, noting my time, and giving myself a little pep talk. There were some significant hills in the race, but not as bad as the flying pig half marathon (which I was thankful for).

At mile 8, I was feeling fantastic flying through the rolling hills. That feeling ended abruptly at mile 10; I got a side stitch and felt like I was barely moving. I tried hard to hold onto my pace. I slipped a little more and mile 11 with a split of 8:26. Once I passed the mile 12 marker I knew my pity party was over and I had to suck it up to finish strong!

The half marathon split from the full at 12.5 miles. I saw the split and with .6 to go, picked up the pace a little more. After being burned at my last race I wasn't going to get beat at the finish this time. At the 13 mile marker I took off and ended with a time of 1:43:03!!! Beating my PR by 6 minutes!!!

Splits:
Mile 1: 8:04
Mile 2: 7:11
Mile 3: 7:58
Mile 4: 7:47
Mile 5: 7:31
Mile 6: 7:40
Mile 7: 7:48
Mile 8: 7:31
Mile 9: 8:08
Mile 10: 8:09
Mile 11: 8:26
Mile 12: 8:11
Mile 13: 7:56
Mile .1: 45
Average pace: 7: 52

Good enough for a 5^th place finish in my division. I had a blast at this race! The whole event was organized very well. Now that this years racing season is basically over, time to start planning next year’s events! Any suggestions??



Huff, Jojo, Me





Me, Jojo, Abbey, Huff



my number one fan

post race celebratory cocktail!

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Cyclones 5k Recap

Saturday night was the Cincinnati Cyclone's first ever 5k. The race cost 25 bucks and included: a technical shirt, a finisher's cup, 2 drink tickets, 1 pulled pork or chicken sandwich,  and a ticket to the exhibition game that night. (for those who don't know, the cyclones are our ECHL hockey team.)

I'm not going to lie, I had high expectations for my performance in this race. The intermediate training program I have been following for the Indy half marathon includes speed work so, I should be FAST, right? I was really hoping to break 23 minutes. I was a little weary about the fact that the race started at 5pm and not early in the morning when I'm used to racing. I figured it would probably be okay since I have been running after work so it wasn't completely unusual for me. I was also concerned with the temperature, a steamy 85 degrees! That's Cincinnati weather for ya, 40 last week 85 this week, wtf?

The race started at the Cincinnatus Statue at Sawyer point 

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They didn't have a starting mat, so the chips automatically started when the horn sounded. We ran down the Serpentine Wall through Yeatman's Cove. The start was narrow and therefore a little crowded, but we turned a corner and headed into the streets of downtown Cincinnati.

The majority of the first mile was through a parking garage, which was a great relief from the heat. We ran out another half mile and made the turn back toward US Bank Arena. The course went down Mehring Way, passed Great American Ballpark and into the plaza between the two arenas. 

I can't be sure, but I think they had the mile markers a bit off my splits came out like this:

mile 1: 7:56:30

mile 2: 6:36:33

mile 3: 8:03:85

.1: 32:30

for a finish time of 23:03

My second mile didn't feel that fast, in fact I've never run that fast for a mile in my life; but, since I don't have a Garmin, I can't really be sure.

I ended up missing my goal by 3 seconds which blows! I must say though, that I'm very happy with my average pace of 7:25. I'm probably never going to PR on a 5k again because my current record is 21:42, which I ran my sophomore year in high school, but 23:03 is the closest that I have come since I have started running again.

I also got beat at the finish line by some one in my division, giving me a third place finish by 1 second, damn!

D ran a great race! He ended up with a finish time of 26:17 and an 8th place finish in his division! D is down for any race that comes with a T-shirt and beer, but he was excited about this race because he is a huge hockey fan.

At the finish they gave out water, Powerade, bananas, Lara bars and Nabisco snacks. The exhibition game was a blast and the Cyclones pulled out a win against the Wheeling Nailers in sudden death over time. I was impressed with how smoothly everything went down at this race considering it was the first running. It was great that the finish line was right outside the entrance to the hockey game. Although it was it a little hot for running, the weather was great for hanging out and having a couple beers before watching the game...

.. and racing Twister the team mascot. Obviously post race here considering the sexy pit sweat!

A triathlete with a T-shirt to prove it

Last weekend I completed Morgan’s Little Miami Triathlon and it was a blast!! The weather was a little chilly, (40 degrees at 9am) but the sun was shinning and the fall trees were beautiful!! I was a little nervous about all the equipment I needed to remember for the race…

Canoe 6 miles: 1:10 min after potty break


We walked downed to the livery and chose a shiny red canoe. We didn’t realize until we were on the water that we grabbed a canoe with a patched hole on the bottom, but we paddled on pushing vivid images from “Titanic” to the back of our minds. The water was up a little bit; we only scraped the bottom once or twice. Around 27 minutes we saw the 3 mile marker, a good pace since I was hoping to finish around the 1 hour mark. I had no idea that my partner had taken a course in canoeing in college. She steered the boat and made all the tough, “to the right or left” decisions. Our legs were stiff and toes were numb after sitting/ freezing in the canoe for an hour. We got out of the boat changed our shoes, lost a layer of clothes, and hit the porta-potties before starting the 5.5 mile run


Run 5.5 miles: 50 minutes?

The first mile I felt like I was 100 years old with a serious case of peripheral neuropathy. It seemed like we got through the first mile really fast, but I checked my watch and we were at 9:28, so slow! I could finally feel my feet again and we picked up the pace. The running course had some uphill but was fairly easy. We ran on the Lebanon bike trail for awhile then you turn off into the woods and run up “killer hill.” Aptly named, this hill is steep and a little slick since it’s covered with all of the falling leaves. We basically had to walk up the hill because it’s narrow and people are trying to come down while were going up. Once we got back to the bike staging area I ate some strawberry Clif Bloks, YUM! After more wardrobe changes than Jane Lynch at the Emmy’s we were off!!

Bike 18 miles: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Confession: this is the first time I have ever biked on the road, and the first time I have ever biked 18 miles at once. Maybe Race day isn’t the best day for practicing!? My partner led the way through the course as we rode past beautiful old farm houses, more fall trees and huge cornfields. It was pretty windy I was glad I was wearing a long sleeve compression shirt. They had most of the miles marked on the course, as each sign approached we will do a celebratory count down. This is the first time I have raced with a partner and I really enjoyed the camaraderie, it made the time fly having some one to push me along. There was about 5 water stops along the course but I haven’t really mastered one handed riding and didn’t want to crash so I went without. Finally we got to the end of the 18 miles, hopped off our bikes and crossed the finish.

We ended with a time of 3:15 each. The times are added together to come up with a final score of 6:30:47 giving us a 13^th place finish out of 80 female teams. We were both a little disappointed in our time, hoping to finish at 3 hours. We have a lot of room for improvement. Our transition times were very slow, and next time we will probably do some training first! Our goal for next year is to finish in the top 5. Overall we had a blast, there was a nice buffet at the end of the race and we can’t wait to do the race again next year!! 

Hudepohl 14k Brewery Run Race Recap

This was actually the 10^th annual Hudepohl 14k, however, they had been on a hiatus. I’m not sure how long it had been since the last run. They also added a 7k to the event this year. I don’t really know where to start with this race. I feel that the intentions were good and it was supposed to be more of a party than an actual race, but there were some major planning flaws at this event.

We arrived plenty early and had no problem finding parking. They offered a shuttle service but we did not use it as we found a parking spot within two blocks of the starting line. 

Abbey, Jojo and Me

 D and I and two of my friends grabbed our bags and headed over to the race. There was a building with food/beer and bathrooms. It was very crowded before the race even began. We asked volunteers at 3 different booths where the bag check was only to find out that the volunteers had no idea and it probably didn’t exist! WHAT! (Strike 1) The facebook page clearly stated there would be a bag check or I would have left my stuff in the car! So another 2 blocks back to the car to drop off the bags. I also had to pop a squat in the parking lot since the bathroom lines were a nightmare. I did get a nice warm up in jogging back to the start line.

The race started about 15 minutes late (really? Strike 2!) The race started on a slow downhill grade. There were 3 bands within the first mile and I thought for a minute I could just turn off my ipod and enjoy the course and entertainment. Glad I didn’t because that was the end of the bands.

As I was running the first mile my legs were feeling kind of heavy and I wasn’t sure if they were going to hold up for the 8+ miles but when I reached the first mile marker I was at 7:23. My goal for the race was to run under 8min/mile pace again so I was way ahead of that. I wasn’t sure how long I could maintain that pace but I remained there until mile 4.

Around mile 4 I started getting really concerned about D and my friend Abbey. They signed up to run the 7k. The course was supposed to be out and back and I hadn’t seen the turn around!! D usually runs no more than 3 miles for his training and has never done more than a 5k race. This was Abbey’s first race ever! She has been training to run the half with us in Indianapolis but I don’t think she has done any long runs. I was really hoping they didn’t have to run all 8.7 miles!!

I was looking for the 5 mile marker and glanced down at my watch (the cheap timex kind) only to see I was at 10 minutes!!! Whaaaat! I couldn’t have slowed that much!! A few minutes later I saw the 6 mile marker and was relieved. Apparently they didn’t mark miles 5, 7 or 8!! (Strike 3) That makes me crazy!! I guess that’s why I need one of those nifty Garmin watches.

I really enjoyed the course it was a nice long loop that was mostly flat or slight downhill. There was a short hill mid way through mile 3 and 7. There was also a short steep hill around mile 8 with a group of girls with signs that said “Keep going, keep going, that’s what she said!” and “You have great stamina, call me!” and “Chaff now, beer later.” Funny stuff!

From there on was mainly a downhill until you turned a corner and hit the finish! They were giving out 7k/14k medals at the finish.  A few minutes after my finish I met up with my friend Jojo, who also signed up for the 14k. She informed me that there was no turn around and D and Abbey were still out on the course! I also ran into one of D’s friends who signed up for the 7k and just turned around and ran back after he realized the turn around wasn’t marked.

Both D and Abbey finished a few minutes after Jojo. I was really impressed with their times not having down any training for a long race!! D said runners were yelling at the volunteers and the police officers the whole race. Turns out the race coordinators forgot to put out the turn around sign (OOPS! Strike 4). Also by the time Abbey finished they ran out of medals (Strike 5?) And the beer and food lines were a MILLION miles long!! (Strike… too many to count)

There were some good things about the race. I really loved the course and all of the police officers did a great job with traffic control and encouraging the runners. The food and beer afterwards was good, it just took forever to get. They had a nice set up outside of the building were you could hang out and drink your beer. Each runner was given a nice short sleeve tech shirt and a Hudepohl 14k pint glass.

I ended up finishing in 1:07:30 a 7:47 pace which I was very happy with. I also came away with a second place finish in my age group!! I had a pretty good time, but hopefully they will organize a little better next year!!

Mercy Metric 10k Recap

My training schedule called for a 10k race this weekend. I decided to find one to sign up for because I knew I would push myself harder if I were actually racing. I stumbled upon the Mercy Metric 10k on the race dmc website. I had never heard of this race before and was surprised to see that this was its 33^rd year. This was an inexpensive race at $15 ($20 if you wanted a water bottle  and a headband.)

This race took place at the Lunken Airport Playfield. I was happy to find ample parking near the starting line. The weather was a cool 51 degrees and cloudy. Perfect running weather!

The Mercy Metric offered a 5k run/walk and a 10k run. The 5k started 5 minutes before the 10k. This worked very nicely in clearing the porta potty line so I could stop in one more time!

I started in a good spot not too far in the front, where everyone would pass me, but not too far in the back where other runners would delay me. I also got a good view of the competition. The first place runner in each age group received a metal and D told me to bring one home for him.

The race followed a bike path around the airport; most of the trail was wooded which was a good shield from the wind. There was a short steep hill during mile 2, the only uphill in the course.

We passed some airplanes around mile 4 which made a good change in scenery. About the middle of mile 5 there was a downhill, which continued until the 6-mile marker. With .2 left we turned the corner and headed to the finish!

The course was relatively easy. This was a very small race so crowd support was basically nonexistent. Luckily, I found some one to run with around the same pace as me or I would have probably run slower through the wooded sections.

My goal for this race was to run under an 8min/mile pace and to beat my time at last years Thanksgiving Day Race. I accomplished both of my goals finishing in 48:58 with a pace of 7:54...

... and I got first place in my age group! 

Happy Labor Day!