Flying Pig 2019 - Race Report

Day(s) before

Expo: This expo is huge.  There's a good mix of local booths (like UC and the dentist booth that gave me a new toothbrush), race booths (Bourbon Half Marathon), and just other fun stuff. I always stop at the place that's selling the past year shirts, and in cold years I stop at Good Will for throw away clothes.  This year I did not stand in line for the P&G Goodies, but that's totally a thing as well. The 'Official Shop' had a lot of stuff but it did not have an 'I'll run this marathon when Pigs Fly' shirt which was a thing that I wanted. Sigh.
 
Transportation to/from expo: This is my least favorite part.  The Fountain Square Garage and Race Street Garage were full and closed, so I just drove till I found another place to park. I hate driving downtown and I hate parking.  If I do another half or 3-way, I may consider Uber.

Expo SWAG: Definitely another standout. Half Marathon and Full Marathon runners get a race shirt, a "bag" of some kind (this year it was a very nice soft-sided cooler, and I've got several backpacks from past years), and a poster.  Plus, did I mention the P&G table.  Anyone can go there. 

Race Day

Start time: 6:30am, my corral started closer to 7am and there were 2 corrals behind me.  Rozzi's does fireworks for each corral.  It's a thing.  My corral could not hear ANY of the start line announcements, the anthem, the wheel chair start, nor the actual race start. I hope they get a lot of comments about that and I hope they fix it.

Weather: Apparently, I lucked out this year.  I started around 55* and finished around 70*.  For me, there wasn't sun until the last mile or 2.  But apparently the sun was real before then because I have sun burns on my shoulders and an official watch tan. There was very little wind.  My coach told me I had to dump water on myself at each stop.  I was sopping wet by the end, including my shoes.

Wardrobe: This was a source of some debate.  I had very little time to test the wardrobe because I trained in the polar vortex and not normal weather.  I packed 3 sets of tops/bottoms with me that were generally interchangeable.  The deciding factor was when Olive did her 10K, finished and said "don't wear the hot shorts".
Top: 2xu tank and a Brooks sports bra, no issues
Bottoms: Nike guys running shorts (because again, if Courtney Dauwalter can, I can too).  I found out the next day these did chafe along the wasteline/draw string area, but not totally painfully.
Feet: Smartwool socks which felt like they were giving me a blister but did not, and Altra trail shoes.  (Update there definitely was a blister/chaffing on the top of my little toe.  It relates to the seam in the toe of the socks, not at all the fault of the shoes.  I've never had Smart Wool do that to me before.) I told my coach it's what I trained in almost all winter.  Every other pair of shoes I trained in didn't feel right for such a long run, so I just did the wrong thing and wore my trail shoes in a road race.
Other: Pink visor.  Nathan Running vest.  The vest did not chafe but the water bottle was at a weird angle, so I had to kind of wrap the straw around one shoulder strap so it would stop hitting me in the face.

Transportation to start line: Thank goodness for Olive and Mom.  We drove, they parked. Runners: Parking takes a long time, get there before 5:30am.

Route: The first 8 miles are the same as the half marathon.  The hardest part for me was to be climbing up that hill and hear all of the half marathoners talk about being "half way there" and I'm all WTF, I am not!.
At the split, the full goes off into some wonderful neighborhoods in Cincinnati, Fairfax, and Mariemont.  (You've got to admire the race director for dealing with two cities/counties in Kentucky and three cities in Ohio.  Logistics anyone?) Special bonus for the locals to get to run on Columbia Parkway.  That was fun and I was super glad it wasn't sunny.
The full has more climbing than the half marathon, almost double the climbing.  Though still, the hardest climb is shared by both courses. I found this route super challenging.  I was thankful for every time I drove over, parked at the lock and dam and ran hills along the river in the ice and snow this winter.

Plan/Goals: My plan was to run 4 minutes and walk 1 minute the whole way, and start off at least over 13:00/mile.  I'd been told by many people this is a negative split course if you do it right. Officially for my coach, my A goal was to catch and pass the 12:30 pacer, B goal was to catch and stay with the 12:30 pacer and C goal was to finish. 
If I'm being honest, my A goals was really to finish and feel good.  The paces were just a guide.  In the end, I'm glad I totally abandon my original plan, becuase I did finish and felt better with other people than I did in the dark alone times of Eden Park.

Execution: Short story: I ran a hard positive split.  The plan when somewhat out the window but I decided not to care. I was not truly suffering until the last mile and I finished with an hour to spare.
Long story: Miles 1-5 I was really right on track, using the up hills to rest and the down hills to my advantage.
The climb/Eden Park: This was my dark time.  I realized the half marathon people were over half way and I still had 75% of the race left to run, I felt like I was standing still on the climb, it was bad. This is the hardest climb of the race.
Obryonville: I started to feel better here, and by that I mean "I started to go downhill".  There were lots of cheering squads.
Hyde Park: I had lots of support and continued to enjoy the down hills here.
Madisonville: Is actually a very short part of the course.  Why are there so many hills there?  This is where I met Kathleen.  She's 67, retired teacher, likes tennis, trains on a treadmill... She was run/walk a 30/30 and I wound up staying with her on her plan 'till about mile 21.  I was a bit slower than any of my goal paces but I didn't care because I had company.  We worked well together and the miles ticked along nicely. As I said in my training "It was easier in my mind".  Kathleen and I had gone back and forth with another person named Nancy, and we picked her up for reals around mile 19. 
Lower east side: At about mile 21, Nancy and I went on ahead and stayed together 'till about mile 26.  Nancy turned 26 last August and has a goal of running 26 marathons in her 26th year of life.  This was number 19. Also, she was dressed as Captain America.  The lower east side was long in some places, and short in others, if that makes sense.  It's still a long way from the finish.
Back into downtown: It was here that I liberated a beer.  I needed a drink because the course now runs through where the old finish was, and I had to keep going another 0.2 miles or so.  Head trip. I was still moving, running from one cone to the next, and I was able to chase Nancy into the finish line and high five the pig. 

Nutrition: The plan was to start with a Larabar, then switch to chews, and to drink every couple of miles.  Around Mariemont, that plan went out the window and I did whatever I wanted.  I was actually okay at taking my salt tabs and I think that helped me get through the race as well.  This course has soooo much food on it.  Like, you could forget everything you owned except your clothes, show up to the start line and be fine.  There's so much water, gatorade, cookies, Swedish fish, tissues, popsicles, and alcohol.  Did I mention the alcohol?

Results:I finished in about 6 hours.  That's my slowest marathon ever, but ultimately I was happy with it.  I did really change my race strategy when I started staying with Kathleen but I didn't care.  I wanted to get to the end and not suffer, and that's what happened.  My reasons for wanting to run this race, and this course, and this year, had very little to do with an actual finish time and much more to do with the feeling of finishing.  I'm feeling good.

From today, I learned: I needed a better mental game for the earlier miles in Eden Park.  That was dark times.  I should've started with a lot more walking, and added in more running as time went on.  And I was right to run the downhills becuase those were crazy fun.  Also, the smartwool sock issue.  My little toe is angry right now.

SWAG: At the finish line, there's a medal, all of the water, a bag of snacks, pizza, mylar blanket, and then outside the chute there's beer for the runners. There are also tents selling food for purchase, and some tents giving stuff away to anyone, not just runners.

Remember for next time: At the end of this race I said I'd never run another marathon.  Note to my future self: You can register for another marathon when your MAF pace is under an 11:00/mile.  Also, it's Tuesday and I can still barely walk.

Bonus: Team Walk and Team Car were the bonus of this race.  The cheering support was amazing and really helped me break up the race in my head.  Since I didn't get an "I'll run this marathon when pigs fly" shirt, Olive made me a sign that said "I survived marathon training in the polar vortex".  Apparently a lot of people wanted a picture with that sign!

Race Review

Registration: The story of how I got registered for this marathon is: I'd actually applied to be an ambassador. (You post on your blog and instagram about training and the race and tag Flying Pig in it all.) I was trying to convince them how awesome it would be to have an out of town 'ambassador' training in the cold with ice-eyebrow pictures for their instagram.  They had too many applications, but gave everyone who'd applied a wicked discount code. And boom, Liz is running a marathon. I registered online last August.  Little did I know just how real those ice eyebrows would become.

Packet Pickup: I have a love/hate relationship with the expo.  
Hate: the parking situation. One year we parked at the garage right next to the expo, then waited like half an hour to get out of said garage, and learned our lesson there. Normally we park at a garage a few blocks away and walk. This time, at noon on Friday multiple downtown garages were full. (This is not normal.)
Love: the expo. Highlights include where you can buy past year shirts for $3, the Good Will booth for throw away clothes, and the P&G line which we did not stand in this year.  

SWAG: For this race, at the expo, I got a shirt (which I asked Olive to hold until I'd actually completed the marathon because I'm superstitious) a soft sided cooler, and a poster. Olive thought it was always backpacks, but it's been a bunch of different kinds of bags. We looked in the official gift shop, but I couldn't find the shirt I wanted ("I'll run a marathon when pigs fly"), nor the back up shirt I wanted ("I survived training in the polar vortex").  

Transportation to and from the race: This year was an adventure. Olive drove, and parked in Lot 1 or Lot A (I'm honestly not clear which) The lines to get into these lots are crazy long. I finally just got out of the car while we were stopped in traffic and headed over to the start.  

Transportation for spectators: This year, Mom and Olive had a spectating/cheering adventure of their own.
Spectating miles 1-5: Mom and Olive parked, spectated at the start line, the bottom of the bridge back into Ohio, and on 7th street downtown.  They got to all those places on foot.
Miles 9 and 11 - Mom and Olive next saw me around Torrence/Madison, and then again at Erie/Paxton. They were able to drive there and had no problems parking.
Middle miles: After that team Dad/Marge saw me at miles 12 and 17, and were able to do that totally on foot (because we live near mile 12, and there's a wicked out and back which makes it about a 15 minute walk to mile 16.5).  
Late miles and finish: Mom and Olive took a break while Dad/Marge were looking after me.  Mom and Olive next saw me at miles 19 and 21, and then the finish.  They drove/parked at 19 and 21, and were able to use their original parking pass from the morning to park again at the finish.
Note:  This worked because Mom was comfortable with the crazy ass roads in Cincinnati and Olive was down for the driving and parking parts of the adventure.  Out-of-town people who have access to a car can use the Waze app, which is updated with road closures.  Out-of-town people without a car would either need to Uber, or just spectate downtown on foot, which is up to mile 5 and then at the finish.

Start Line: This is different than years past when I've run the half marathon. The race now starts on Elm and goes onto Second ave immediately.
Pig Pens: The corrals were a bit of a hot mess this year. (But only a bit.) The biggest issue is that Corrals D through I were on a different street around the corner and we absolutely could not hear the starting line at all. Like, didn't hear the anthem, didn't hear the announcements, didn't hear the gun. Nothing. Once we turned the corner and were on Elm, we could start to hear, but I have no idea what we missed. I bet they'll get a lot of complaints about this, and I bet it's something they'll fix.
Um, you know, other: There was an odd thing with the potties. There was a ginormous bank of them that were super easy to see from Corrals A to C. And then there was a significantly smaller bank in the back by Corral H/I. Shocker that the line was much longer there. There were even smaller banks in all the corrals. I think some of the big bank up front should've been relocated to the back to even things out.  

Course:
Terrain: This is the hardest of any full marathon course I've run. Different from Twin Cities, the most significant climbing is in the beginning, and by mile 8/9, it's a net down hill.  (It's not all downhill, there are definitely rollers, but once you see Skyline, that's the highest part of the full marathon course.)  The last couple miles along the river looking at downtown and Kentucky are really pretty.
Support: There are cheering teams every five feet, tons of music, and all of the food and water and Gatorade you could want. I told Olive, at first I was really strict about when/what I ate but by the end, I was all "ooo a popsicle, yes please". Each mile has a sponsor that does a water stop. (Yes, I said there are water stops every single mile.)  Most miles also seem to have food stops including Sweedish Fish, Hershey Kisses, Girl Scout Cookies, other kinds of cookies, and bacon. I did not have the bacon. There were also several (several) unofficial stops with alcohol including mimosas, margaritas, and all of the beer. I had a sip of beer very close to the finish line but that was it.  
Cars: This course is partially open to traffic in some places.  As a runner, I was never uncomfortable, and I am super fussy about these things.  The first couple miles are totally closed to traffic, and the smaller side streets later in the race are also totally closed to traffic.  Madison Rd and Erie Ave are open to inbound traffic while the runners are on the outbound side.  Columbia Parkway is open to in and outbound traffic with an inbound lane closed for runners.  I ran on the shoulder there.  Even then, I wasn't uncomfortable with the cars.
For spectators/cheering support, having one side of the road open to cars can be an issue, depending on what side of the street people can access.  There were places where there were spectators on the sidewalk, a lane or two of cars, and then the runners.  The police do not allow spectators on the center line or islands in those places, so spectators can't get close to their runners for hugs or high fives in some places.

Pace Team:I did not use a pacer. Some of these pacers run and walk the water stops only, and some of the pacers do a run/walk. You just have to know what you're getting.  The pacers did have their own booth at packet pick up and the person I talked to was very knowledgeable, familiar with the course, and had good advice for me. Mom, Olive and Dad all said they wish the Pace Signs were written on both signs in HUGE BLACK LETTERS, because the signs were hard for the spectators to read.  Dad also said he'd just say "what group are you?" and everyone would answer him.

Fan Support: There are offical support stations and unofficial support.  
There are some stretches of this race where there just can't be fans (Hello Columbia Parkway) but in those places there are 'Squeal Teams' to cheer people on. The race does a great job of involving the local schools so there are also legit cheer squads around the course. True story: One of the places Dad and Marge waited for me, around mile 17, there was a cheerleader squad.  This was later in the race when things were really spread out.  So, Dad says to them "can you do a cheer for my daughter when she comes?" and they did.  At first I thought it was because I had my name on my shirt, but Dad told me later that was a special request of his.  Made me feel like a million dollars. (Different cheer squad than the one pictured.  These ladies were on point as well and Olive snapped their picture.)
Did I mention the unofficial stops with the alcohol? Some of the popsicles may have been unofficial too. There was a ton of crowd support, even on River Road into the finish line, just people sitting on their chairs on their lawns, kids out having fun, tons of stuff. 

App: Flying Pig does have an app that includes tracking.  I had significant issues with it on Saturday with Olive in the 10K so we did not use the app at all on Sunday.  Olive and I, as well as Dad and I, practiced Find my Friends and used that instead. 

Finish: The Finish Line, and the chute are significantly improved from past years. (The race no longer finishes underneath the Coliseum in the pit of darkness and despair.)  The race finishes on a wide street,.  It's super easy for spectators to get right up near the finish and cheer their athletes on. The chute is now the best configured I've seen. There was no crowding inside it or trying to get out.  It dumps runners right into the finisher party (though sadly the beer tent was still a very long walk).  I liked the mix of free food and stuff you could buy.  

Race Recommended For: Well, I mean, this race has my heart. As soon as I got done, I was like "I'm never running another marathon again" and Olive was all "you said that before, and then you said 'except I want to do The Pig once".  (Update: It's now been a full day from the Marathon and I can barely walk.  This is just a note to my future self.  Marathons are hard.)
Locals: Even though Cincinnati is a city, this feels like a small town race.  If you know Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky, you will see yourself in this race. All the schools and neighbrohoods are involved (including my school Walnut Hills and my neighborhood Avondale). People of lots of different ages and races were involved, from the kids handing out candy to Avondale Running Club massive water stop in the middle of that horrendous climb.   People of all abilities were also involved in course support including some people cheering from the wheelchairs in more than one 'squeal team'. 
Likes a challenge: For an urban marathon, I thought the course itself was challenging. It has tons of climbing very early in the race.
First timers: Will appreciate the course support and the pace teams.
Experienced runners: Will also appreciate how well organized things generally are.
Fast runners: Will appreciate the competition.
Slower runners and run/walkers: Will appreciate the 7 hour time limit.

Marshmallow Training - 1 Week To Go

Sunday Planned: Long run - 9 miles
Sunday actual: 9.4 miles in the morning.
From today, I learned: I love this outfit! (Also, as always, I love running down hill!)

Monday Planned: Tempo workout
Monday actual: 4.3 miles, with a couple at 'race pace'
From today, I learned: I dressed as a highlighter and it was hilarious.

Tuesday Planned: Run 1 miles
Tuesday actual: 1.2 miles and bonus abs in the morning
From today, I learned: Y'all, the nerves are starting.  I have 3 different outfits and a bonus shirt packed as marathon outfits.

Wednesday Planned: 4 miles easy
Wednesday actual: 1.21 miles and bonus abs in the morning before flying.
From today, I learned: Apparently abs continue for May.

Thursday Planned: 3 miles easy
Thursday actual: 3.1 miles, easy and abs.
From today, I learned: The route I thought was 3 miles is not exactly 3 miles, but I made it work.

Friday Planned: Run 1 miles
Friday actual: 1+ miles in the morning
From today, I learned: A school bus sits on the street and idles its engine for a while at this time of day.

Saturday Planned: 2-3 miles shake out run, cheer for Olive!
Saturday actual: 2+ miles, shake out run while Olive started her race.
From today, I learned: Olive has an invisibility cloak, don't trust the tracking app, and how to use Find my Friends.

Quality Miles Monday

Plan: A couple marathon paced miles
Actual Mileage:  4.3 miles.  The path under Cedar Ave is still flooded.
Route: My Hiawatha/creek route. 

Wardrobe: I dressed as a highlighter!
Execution:
Warm up - roughly one mile
Marathon mile 1: 12:13/mile, that's okay, my pace was all over the place
Rest 2:00
Marathon mile 2: 11:43/mile, see, much faster
Rest 2:00
Cool down, roughly the last mile
From today, I learned: My 'race pace' feels better in the mid 11s than it does in the 12s.  I don't know why.
Bonus: I worked today too.  So, in some ways that is a bonus

Sunday Long Run - Tapering around Lake Harriet

Plan: Run 9 miles.  Test the shoe/sock combination
Actual Mileage: 9.4 miles

Route: Normally this would be my 40th/Harriet/Creek route.  But the pedestrian bridge at 40th (over 35w) is down and won't be replaced for another year.  So, it's my 38th/Harriet/Creek route this time.  We'll see what Strava makes of that!
Weather: 36* when I started, just above 40 when I finished.  Humidity but no wind.

Wardrobe:
Feet: Altras.  I've just decided I have to wear them on race day because nothing else is quite right.  I love the red shoes, but there a touch narrow for such a long race.  I wore my smart wool socks with them, and that did find. That was the last piece of wardrobe testing I needed to do.
Other: I wore my "R2D2" suit from Ink N Burn.  They call it a robot or something I'm sure because of copy right. 

Execution: Went out, had fun, shoes and socks worked fine.  I did run the 'hill route' on the way back, through Tangle town.

Nutrition: Hahahaha.  No. 
From today, I learned: I kept telling myself this was just about having fun.  I cannot 'add fitness' at this point in training.

Bonus: Got up close and personal with a Blue Heron.

Marshmallow Training - 2 Weeks To Go

Sunday Planned: Long run or run 1 miles
Sunday actual: 1.22 miles and bonus abs, first thing in the morning
From today, I learned: I did abs first, and that actually put me in the mood for a run

Monday Planned: Tempo run
Monday actual: 100M sprints done, with a long warm up and cool down
From today, I learned: Those red shorts are for sure NOT the ones for marathon day.

Tuesday Planned: Run 1 miles
Tuesday actual: 1.24 miles, bonus abs
From today, I learned: It's going to be hot on race day.  It's 60* and I'm running around sweating?

Wednesday Planned: 4 miles easy
Wednesday actual: 4.15 miles, bonus abs
From today, I learned: I woke up, turned my alarm off, and then didn't go back to sleep, so I did do this in the morning.  Which turns out to be a good thing becuase I worked all day and all night practically after that.  Also tested another possible pair of shorts for race day.  I'm loving the mermaid, but they are a bit hotter than the gray shorts.

Thursday Planned: Run 1 miles
Thursday actual: 1.21 miles and bonus abs in the morning.
From today, I learned: I'm hitting that part of tapering where I'm all "can I just just a little bit more?"

Friday Planned: Run 1 miles
Friday actual: 4.2 miles, easy.  This was supposed to be 3, but I like the 4 mile route better than my 3 mile route.  (Runner problems much?)  Also, I ran today in wind versus tomorrow in snow and rain.  Bonus abs.
From today, I learned: I needed this run.  Work is trying to win and I needed to keep things even.

Saturday Planned: 3 miles easy
Saturday actual: Run 1 miles in the morning, bonus abs in the evening.
From today, I learned: I am had a raging headache all day and was a grump.  But the work was done.

Quality Miles Monday: 100M sprits

Plan: 2 miles w/u
10x 100M sprints, 45secs recovery
2 miles c/d
Actual Mileage: 5.2 miles
Route: 5 miler along Hiawatha/Minnehaha Creek

Weather: Rain.  I was running in the rain.  But it was light rain and not terribly windy so I'll take it.
Wardrobe: This was another dress rehersal.  I had a pair of newer shorts that I thought could be contenders for race day.  (I liked the pockets.) They are for sure not contenders for race day. I kept having to pull them down.  (Ladies, y'all know what I mean right?)

Execution: This workout definitely didn't require the mental energy some of the other tempo work has required this training session.  It was pretty fun to just haul tail for a minute and then rest, and the workout went by quickly.
From today, I learned: Those red shorts are not the ones for race day.

Bonus: First close up Blue Heron sighting for the year!

Saturday Long Run: Taper Time

Plan: Run 12 miles easy.  Test the wardrobe including shoes, socks, and vest to make sure all are comfortable.
Actual Mileage: 12.13 miles.

Route: Same as this day.  Starting at Lock and Dam, north along the river to Number 9 bridge, then south along the other side of the river to Ford Parkway.

Weather: OMG.  Finally.  Started in the high 40s and ended near 60. 

Wardrobe: Yesterday, I run in a pair of black spandex shorts.  In the sun.  And I was all "these are really hot in the sun"  So I realized I probably needed a not black pair of shorts for race day.  Today was all about dress rehearsal, testing the wardrobe, etc.
Top: InkNBurn Singlet
Bottoms: Grey Nike running shorts.  This is a pair of guys shorts with a good inseam and decent pockets.  If it's good enough for Courtney Dauwalter, it's good enough for me.
Shoes: I work the Brooks Launch.  I love the shoe, but I think it may be Altras on race day for me.  These will probably make the trip though  I wore smart wool running socks with them.
Other: I had a visor on, and my Nathan running vest.  I wore arm sleeves for about the first half of the run.
Results: No chaffing from the shorts, singlet, or vest.  No issues with the shoes and socks, but I think the shoes are just a touch too narrow for race day. 

Execution: I felt like garbage on this run.  I woke up with a raging headache.  One of those "let's see if I can outrun this headache" kinds of things.  I knew it was going to be better to move than to sit still for this one.
Nutrition: This probably didn't help the 'I feel like garbage' feelings.  I had 1/4 of an avocado before I left.  I carried one thing of water and one of water/juice.  I had sips every couple of miles, and I had chews around miles 3, 6, and 9, and salt tabs at miles 5 and 10.

From today, I learned: Heat management and hydration management will be important factors on race day. Because I've trained in blizzards and polar vortexes, my body is all confused by the 50 degree temps and thinks it's too hot. Runner problems much? So, I'll have to keep an eye on that for race day.  One thing I don't want to do is drink too much water early on in the course because I'll feel like garbage towards the end. I remember the pain well.  I can take water and dump it on myself whenever I want; I just have to be careful about not drinking too much and upsetting my stomach.
Bonus: Thank you to all of the Earth Day volunteers who were out helping our parks stay clean and beautiful!

Marshmallow Training - 3 Weeks To Go

Sunday Planned: Long run, 20 miles
Sunday actual: 20.95 miles in the books, bonus abs.
From today, I learned: It really helped to know Olive was at the end waiting for me with a fizzy water.  Also, my first attempt at run/walk intervals, so I get to learn how my watch handles those.

Monday Planned: "Recovery run" of 8 miles.  This doesn't sound like recovering to me.
Monday actual: True story: My coach emailed me Sunday night and said 'I changed your Monday mileage, 8 was way too much'  So I ran 4.6 miles around Lake Nokomis instead and did bonus abs this evening.  I had a super slow cool down because I was taking pictures.  (It was such a pretty day.)  This is one of my favorites.
From today, I learned: It was a gorgeous day for a run.  I'm glad I got up and got it done so I could enjoy Boston.

Tuesday Planned: Run 1 miles
Tuesday actual: 1.21 miles, bonus abs
From today, I learned: Running was a 'get up and get it done' thing.  Good as always.  Abs were a 'you can't go to bed until this happens' thing.

Wednesday Planned: Tempo workout; Wednesday weights
Wednesday actual: No weights; I haven't been doing those since my excellent week of mental health last week. And for the taper my coach wanted me to back off anyway.
Tempo workout: done
Bonus abs: also done
From today, I learned: This workout is hard, but it's harder in my head than it is to run it.

Thursday Planned: Run 1 miles
Thursday actual: 1.2 miles in the morning, bonus abs
From today, I learned: This was a loooong day for other reasons so I'm glad I got this day

Friday Planned: Run 1 miles, Friday weights
Friday actual: Run 5.3 miles instead of doing it tomorrow, bonus abs
From today, I learned: Black shorts in the sun are very hot; maybe that's something to think about for race day?

Saturday Planned: Run 6 miles (Maybe this gets swapped with Monday?)
Saturday actual: 12.13 miles, long run.  This is for tomorrow when apparently it may rain. Bonus abs at the end of the run, outside, because I just wanted everything done.
From today, I learned: Think of a strategy for managing heat on race day.  Because I'll probably need it!

Quality Miles Monday Wednesday

Plan: Same as this torture session.
1 mile w/u
4x: 0.5 miles at 10:30 pace, 0.5 miles at 12:00 pace
1 mile c/d
Actual Mileage: 6 miles
Route: Actually had to do this one on the track too, which was not my first choice.  It was to rainy and "weathery" outside. 
Execution:
1 mile warm up: done
0.5 miles at 10:26/mile; 0.5 miles at 12:18/mile
0.5 miles at 10:18/mile; 0.5 miles at 12:08/mile
0.5 miles at10:23/mile; 0.5 miles at 12:24/mile
0.5 miles at 10:26/mile; 0.5 miles at 12:46/mile
1 miles cool down: also done
From today, I learned: I told my coach I was afraid if I did this well, she'd keep writing this workout for me to do over and over and over and over.
The lesson I keep learning over and over again here is that these workouts are generally harder in my mind than they are in my body.  Though this one was pretty tough on both.  I kept telling myself I had to run my mile anyways so just see how many sets I could do.
Bonus: I ordered clothes from InkNBurn and they came today.  I may be wearing some of them on race day.  I hope I get a chance to wear my race vest with a singlet once before the race.  I need to check for chaffing issues.

Long Run Sunday: 20 miles

Plan: Run 20 miles; attempt the 'run/walk' feature on the Garmin.
Actual Mileage: 20.95 miles. 

Route: I used the "big 20 mile loop around Minneapolis" that you may be familiar with if you've ever trained for a marathon here. The last time I personally have done this route was way back in 2013 the last time I trained for a marathon.

Weather: Started at 28* and cloudy with very little wind. Wind kicked up around the lakes, and it got warmer during the run, probably finished around 40*.

Wardrobe:  This was such a debate for me last night!
Bottoms: Pink running pants.
Tops: Long sleeve running shirt, grey sweat shirt
Feet: Wool compression socks (I feel like they should let me be one of their athletes with how much I talk about these socks), and Altra Trail shoes.
Other: Buff on my head, sunglasses, Nathan running vest

Execution: First attempt at a true run/walk.  I used a 4:00 running, 1:00 walking interval. Run/walk made me think I could push harder on race day if I need to.  I should have some control in the beginning (this is a negative split race).  And built in rests on that climb in the first half of the race.  Mostly, I just wanted to play with the watch itself to see how the intervals control works, the vibration alarms, etc.  Outcome: The watch alerts for run/walk, and gives me a run/walk timing screen, but still laps normally each mile.  (I honestly wasn't sure what it would do.)

Nutrition: I ate a whole avocado with salt before I left. During the run, I had some chews and part of a cashew larabar.  I had one flask of water and one of juice/water mix.  Later in the run I was all "I hate anything going into my stomach" which I remember from past marathons.  The trick with this particular race I think will be to remember to pass through certain water stops without taking anything. There are a lot of water stops in this race.  I had salt tabs every 5 miles and those are working like gangbusters.

From today, I learned: The most important thing for today was to try the run/walk interval.
I also spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about my shoe choice for race day. I've run so many long runs in my Altra trail shoes (thanks winter) that I may just wear these on race day.  The hang up has been 'it's a road race and these are trail shoes'.  But, hey, nothing new on race day right? 

Bonus: Did I tell you about Olive meeting me at the end and doing my cool down walk with me?  She brought me a fizzy water.