I'm thinking of coming up there for the Flying Pig marathon, or more likely, half-marathon. the course runs up to the conservatory i think and, coincidentally enough, MLK blvd from the start at Pete Rose Way. What I can't remember is, is that a big hill or a wicked huge one? I have no concept of what 300 feet of elevation is.

[img][650:509]http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6277/image1kr9.jpg[/img]

How is this not sponsored by WPIG?

The flying pig is supposed to be one of the hardest marathons in the country due to the ups and downs of Cincinnati.* A 300' elevation change is about as tall as a 30 story building, so it wears you down faster going up, and you have to be more careful running back down when you are exhausted.

*Cincinnati's most famous nickname is "The Queen City" but their other nickname is "Seven Hills". The hills limit the downtown area between them which is a limiting factor for the city's growth. Apparently if you look at topography maps there are 7 major hills. The marathon runs up and down and through at least the ones on the East side of town.

goddammit Tim I'm not a retard. I know what hills are and I know how big a football field is. But would you say that this hill is a big honking hill or just a hill?

It's a big fucking hill for a marathon.
It will eat your ass.*

*Yes, I am calling you out.

The half marathon that I did in Alaska had the last 1.5 or 2 miles uphill. THAT sucked. This one doesn't look so bad if the last three miles are all downhill.

Apparently a lot of people fall/ stumble on the downhill. Wear some elbow pads and a mouth guard for that part.

Let me know if you need any info on the local happenings and I'll find someone who can help you, because I am no longer in the know.

The half marathon is supposed to be way easier than the full because you'd get to bypass the harder hills or something.

Come on dude let's hang out. I'll wear my bobbo shirt. It'll be great.

I was going to say that I'd wear my Bobbo shirt and cheer you on during the race.

yeah maybe you and my wife can stand there awkwardly in matching shirts. maybe my dad has one too.

I think a second pressing is in order. We can get Fuse to come too.

Props for even attempting the half marathon.

I took a monumental fall off of the "exercise" horse last fall and I've just now gotten back to running for the last couple of weeks.

I'm entering a 5K in a few weeks with hopes of running a 10K, somewhat competitively, by spring.

People love that Flying Pig Marathon.

I cannot fathom running like that.

congrats! I find that it really helps to have things on the calendar to motivate you. There's a 30,000 person 10k here in April that I'm really looking forward to as a tune-up for this half in may, and then another half in August in SF.

If I don't have a deadline, appointment, or entry fee paid, things won't happen.

Most definitely. If I don't I'll just flounder around doing to same stuff. At very least having something on the calendar will make me ramp up efforts so as to not embarass myself.

It's no coincidence that I lose motivation during football season.

yeah I'm not "competitive" by any stretch but I do try to improve my personal time each go-round.

I tried to tell myself that I was trying to "gain muscle" in the winter but really all I did was fat off, so I need to get on the ball for this year. What race are you signed up for?

Currently I'm signed up for this local 5K called ShamRock N Roll 5K/10K race in March that's a last chance qualifier for the Peachtree Road Race. I'm not trying to qualify for that but this was just far enough away for me to get enough training time in.

I'm going to try this bigger one in April called the Sprint for Cancer that actually goes through midtown Atlanta which should be cool. It's a 10K.


I've always wanted to run the Peachtree Road Race. It's the world's largest 10K road race. 55,000 people ran it last summer. Problem is that it's on the 4th of July every year. I'd rather be floating on a lake somewhere that day with a beer on my chest.

Also, you ever go here?:


www.active.com


Good site to find races.

that sounds awesome. I did a race around Philly where the streets were blocked off, and it was a really cool way to see the city, or a small part of it. I'm going to look into that Peachtree for some distant future.

Do they sick wild dogs on you at the starting line?

I have, but I usually find a place that I'm going to visit anyway and then look for a race while I'm there (that's how the cincinnati and san francisco trips worked out).

usually I can find a girl's ass to follow for 5 miles or so.

Ah, all this running talk is making me feel lazy. I really need to push myself lately with the frigid cold. I, for some reason, opted not to join the Y this winter.