flying pig spottings!

Jess and I found the Flying Pig on the Square downtown on our lunch breaks. The Pig w/ the wings can be found between 12-1PM downtown. Jess and I did our last run before our marathon on Sunday!! Cannot wait... 3 more days!!!!!!!!

4 Mile Hill Run to hot dogs and beer

Started out a crappy run... didn't feel it AT ALL. by the 2nd mile I was sprinting up the hills and at the front of the "pack" because after our short 4 miler the running group had a cookout w/ free hotdogs and beer!


... 9 days til the flying pig :) wooooooohooooooooo!

Saturday's 15 mile run

Saturday I was supposed to do a 20 mile run, but instead I decided to chose my own ending to the route (see picture). The picture isn't accurate, it's the closest thing I could find to the route we ran, and I was too lazy to make one myself!

The reason for shortening the run... My Mom's birthday was on Saturday and we had tickets to see the Cirque Show @ the Aronoff Theatre. Then a full night of drinking! I usually need a nap after a long run, so I would have never made it if I did the full run.

My run was perfect, the weather was 50's and sunny. I ran with Pacer the entire way, I think he was a little sad when I told him I'm running home and not finishing our 20 mile route. I know I can run 20 miles and feel fully prepared for the Flying Pig. 19 days!!!!

wino.. you should probably be cut off when you think that this is artistic ;)

Mom's photoshoot of me on the stairs, she says one day I'll be happy w/ my muscular legs...

my dad Mike

rocking out!




very end of the night!

Running with Ella

Still cannot figure out how to use http://www.mapmyrun.com/ very well... but I tried. I did 4 miles with Ella, then sprinted 2 miles alone. It was supposed to be my off day. I decided it was nice out (55 degrees) so I HAD to run. I live in an area called Mt. Lookout... there's a reason for the Mt. (see elevation chart below) I know it's not that bad... but it felt tough after running hills on Wednesday.

20 miles tomorrow.... I'm not feeling it at all. I just ate a full footlong sub... so I carbed up... I better run it! Wish me luck :)

Tonight I might go to a Red's game, and to dinner w/ a friend... :)

Ella after our run... she isn't happy about the flash when she's trying to nap.

Happy Almost Easter!!!!

Love my new shoes, and a beer or 4 after a run!

Mizuno Wave® Inspire™ 5


Yesterday was my training group's (8.8) 9 mile midweek run. I tried to do it as hard as I possibly could, because I knew there was a sweet reward at the end... FREE BEER.

Started the run around 6:45 PM and I felt so motivated and energized. I love my new shoes!! They are like running on little bouncy clouds. It was about 55 degrees and no wind. I made it to mile 5 and was feeling pretty crappy because we had been running hills, and thank goodness for a yummy chocolate GU or I wouldn't have been able to keep pushing. Our trail went right past my apartment, that always seems to kill me... I always want to stop and pick up my lil running partner Ella(my puppy). The last two miles of the run were all up hill, I needed back-up, I got my ipod out of my running pouch(something like this and it fits my Crackberry!) and put on some jams. I danced (in my head)all the way to the bar!

The news channel 9 video tapped us running, I hope to see the video on TV or online. My running group has 800 total signed up to run, and in the "marathon" training group which I'm in about 50+ show up every week run, and maybe 70ish on the Saturday. I've been in 3 running groups, this being by far the best group ever!! Bob Ronker's Running Spot Training Group! There's a guy in my group that runs the same pace as me, we have no idea what exactly our pace is... we both don't wear a watch or Garmin... we joke that I have an "Armin" and when we get stuck at stop lights or traffic i'll pretend to pause it and restart it to keep our pace and go "beep" ;) I'm really excited because last night during our 3rd beer he said he'd run the flying pig marathon with me!!! wooooohooo!!! "Pacer" is his nickname. He actually turned around in the big crowd of runners when I yelled his name. Pacer is a 25ish y/o male that is prob about 200lbs(or so, im not good at weight) and 6'3... we definitely don't look a thing alike, yet have the same exact pace. It's interesting how people can be built so differently and run at the same pace.

Saturday is our 22 mile long run before we start tapering... I'm not feeling it at all, but once Pacer said he was excited and I better do it (there's an option to run 12) I decided I should do the long run... oh man hope he can carry me if I get tired. If there isn't crowd support or a medal at the end... 22 miles is awfully far to run for "fun". Fun seems to wear off for me around mile 15... so this will be a BIG test!


Today is a very special day... it is RunninDuff's 25th Bday!!! Love you ST!!!!

Projected Marathon Time

Predicting Your Marathon Time
Actual 5k Actual 10k Actual 15k Projected Marathon
35:33 73:59 1:53:52 5:32:37
34:27 71:41 1:50:21 5:22:56
33:25 69:31 1:47:03 5:13:47
32:26 67:29 1:43:56 5:05:09
31:32 65:34 1:41:00 4:59:00
30:40 63:45 1:38:18 4:49:16
29:51 62:03 1:35:36 4:41:56
29:04 60:25 1:33:06 4:34:59
28:21 58:53 1:30:44 4:28:21
27:39 57:26 1:28:30 4:22:03
26:59 56:03 1:26:22 4:16:02
26:21 54:44 1:24:20 4:10:18
25:45 53:29 1:22:23 4:04:49
25:11 52:17 1:20:33 3:59:35
24:36 51:08 1:18:47 3:54:33
24:07 50:03 1:17:05 3:49:45
23:37 49:00 1:15:29 3:45:08
23:08 48:00 1:13:56 3:40:43 - I think this is where I fall... I would like to be Sub 3:40! cutting it close!!
22:41 47:03 1:12:27 3:36:27
22:14 46:08 1:11:02 3:32:22
21:49 45:15 1:09:40 3:28:26
21:25 44:25 1:08:21 3:24:39
21:01 43:36 1:07:06 3:21:00
20:39 42:49 1:05:53 3:17:29
20:17 42:04 1:04:43 3:14:05
19:56 41:21 1:03:36 3:10:49
19:36 40:39 1:02:31 3:07:39
19:16 39:58 1:01:28 3:04:35
18:58 39:19 1:00:28 3:01:38
18:39 38:42 59:29 2:58:47
18:22 38:06 58:33 2:56:01
18:05 37:30 57:38 2:53:20
17:48 36:57 56:46 2:50:44
17:32 36:24 55:55 2:48:13
17:17 35:52 55:05 2:45:47
17:02 35:21 54:18 2:43:25
16:48 34:51 53:31 2:41:07
16:33 34:22 52:46 2:38:53
16:20 33:54 52:03 2:36:43
16:07 33:27 51:21 2:34:37
15:54 33:01 50:40 2:32:35
15:41 32:35 50:00 2:30:35
15:29 32:10 49:21 2:48:39
15:17 31:46 48:44 2:26:46
15:06 31:22 48:07 2:24:56
14:54 30:59 47:32 2:23:10
14:44 30:37 46:57 2:21:25
14:33 30:15 46:24 2:19:44
14:23 29:54 45:51 2:18:05
14:13 29:34 45:19 2:16:29
14:03 29:14 44:48 2:14:55
13:53 28:54 44:18 2:13:23
13:44 28:35 43:48 2:11:53


Projected Marathon Time Link

The night I ran a 5k with no pants!

I'm in the Jazzercise outfit (black/teal/purple) Running through a grave yard! I had a backpack on that you can kinda see with my pants in it. It was SOOO cold!


my competition ;)

the party!

finally dug up some pictures from the Costumed Race, Run Like Hell 5k in Cincinnati.

18 mile run... I mean 16 mile run.

This Saturday was our 18-19 mile group run with my running group. It was a gorgeous day to run, at 8AM we started our run, it was about 50 degrees with a perfect breeze, and the sun peaking through the clouds. Within the next hour the sun was fully out, 60ish degrees, birds chirping, everyone seemed to be out doing things in their yards, washing their cars, taking their dogs for a walk, just anything to be outside. I loveeeeeeee Spring!!!

I knew we were running pretty close to my apartment, so I decided to take a little detour and go pick up my favorite running partner, Ella! (see above map & doodles)It worked out perfectly because I could go change into a t-shirt and replace my sweaty hat. I was feeling pretty tired, but my lil' partner made the rest of my run fly by! Right when I went back on to our running path my "pace" group was just passing by. It worked out really well. My run was awesome, and I didn't have to worry about taking Ella on a walk after the long run. I wish I had a Gamin to check my pace. The last 4 miles of the run with my pup were fast, I ended up passing my pace group(or the group of people that I recognize as a pace group). I would guess that I was at about a 7:30-7:45 pace during my run.

Yesterday I got some new running gear for the Flying Pig Marathon at Dick's Sporting Goods... I think I found my new obsession... Under Armour compression running pants. They felt so good, I ended up putting them on as soon as I got home, and wearing them the rest of the day!

I also got a bright pink UA sports bra tank (so my family can spot me.. okay okay because it's Pink!) I also resorted back to my trusty Wave Mizuno's, (not the fancy, more stylish ones that I was oh-so-excited about in previous posts), and my favorite socks, SmartWool running socks.

I'm geared up, trained, and ready to run... 26 days...


my favorite little but mighty running partner!

weight gain during marathon training

I thought I was crazy when I stepped on the scale the other day. I have gained 11 lbs. since December!!!!!! (I don't want to sound like a typical girl...)

all my Small workout pants are overly tight, and my Mediums are fitting semi snug too... I do not think I'm fat by any means... but I look/feel thick compared to what I looked like pre-training. I'm not happy about my new shape, but am happy about feeling like I'm in great shape, and that I am a running machine. I feel confident for my first time that I will finish a marathon, usually it's like "i think i can do it, but i dont know?!"

I did a google search... look what I found... whew.. I'm not going crazy:

Question: Why Am I Gaining Weight During Marathon Training?
I thought I would lose weight when training for a marathon, but I actually have gained weight! Why is that?

Answer: You're not alone. Some marathoners-in-training hope to lose weight during their training, but they're surprised when they actually gain a few pounds or hit a weight loss plateau. One explanation is that as you're training, you're building more muscle mass, which is denser than fat. So while that may translate to an overall weight gain, your body fat percentage has decreased and you're more toned than you were before.
Also, you may have been increasing your calorie intake without realizing it. Keep in mind that running a lot does not give you carte blanche to eat whatever you want. The basic principle for weight loss still applies: You must burn more calories than you consume. To lose a pound, you have to burn, through exercise or life functions, about 3600 calories.

With all the calories you burn by running, some people are surprised when they don't lose weight during marathon training, but they forget that they're inhaling a quart of ice cream and a dozen Oreos for a snack after their run. Make sure you stock your kitchen with healthy foods, so when the "post-run hungries" hit, you'll be prepared with nutritious foods, not empty calories. It's normal to feel hungry when training for a marathon. Just try to stick to healthy foods and snacks.

It's also helpful to track your food intake in a training journal. It will make you think twice about the foods you're putting in your mouth and also help you figure out what foods work best for you.

Another area where long distance runners get into trouble is drinking too many calories. Just because you're training for a marathon doesn't mean that you need to constantly drink sugary sports drinks. While it's important that you replace electrolytes during your long runs, you don't need to constantly have a sports drink at your fingertips the rest of the time. Stay away from fruit juices and regular soda since they also add a lot of calories to your diet, but don't make you feel full. Plain water is fine for staying hydrated during the week.

If you've been eating a nutritious diet and you still find that you're gaining weight, try not to focus too much on that number on the scale. It could be inaccurate since our weight does fluctuate depending on what time of the day or month we weigh ourselves. Pay attention to other measurements such how your clothes are fitting, how toned you feel, body fat percentage, or inches lost. And if you really want to lose weight, remember that healthy weight loss takes time. Even with all the running that you're doing, you should not aim to lose more than a pound a week. So, try to be patient.

Foto Friday - Mini Heart Marathon 15k

I don't think I mentioned that the Mini Heart Marathon was essentially running from my WORK to my HOME, and then back to WORK... I think this made the race mentally hard, because I make this drive daily!

i felt terrible, last .3 miles of the 9.3 mile race... 2 thumbs up? sarcastic?! (no one usually feels good at this point)

do you spy the hotpants?!

my face is priceless!
crossing the finish line @ 74 mins. (clearly not happy about my time!)