quote:<HR>Originally posted by Hanna:
I also looking forward to this. I am a new runner and will not be ready by this year, but I will in 08'. Born and raised and Cincinnati and looking forward to this being my first (of hopefully many) marathons. <HR>

That's great Hanna! And welcome.

And.....FYI....There is both a 5 and 10k race on Saturday May 5th.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by kjkleeb:
Hanna- Definately join the fun in some way this year! Run the 5k or 10k or half or relay. Or, go to the finish line and cheer! It is such an exciting and fun weekend. It is sure to get you motivated to train for next year. You are lucky to be in a city with a great marathon! (this from a bitter Pittsburger....)

Best of luck on your training and racing this year!<HR>

I miss the old Pittsburgh Marathon - I never ran it when they finished inside Heinz Field. And don't worry - I'm a Steelers fan and believe me the Bengal fans are WAY more jealous of the Steelers than Pittsburghers are of the Pig (I live in the 'Nati, surrounded by Bengal fans - ugh!) If you do the Pig, wear a Steelers shirt - you'll get lots of crowd reaction!

Gulp, it's way to early to be getting the eebie-jeebies! I was all fine with running my first marathon until I watched the video just now that Mike posted. I liked it, but it gave me that pre-race flutter.

Ok, I'm good. Training is going pretty well.... don't freak. AAAAAAGGGGGH.... SIXTY-FIVE DAYS!!!

Oh my!

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LOL, I'm fine Chris! Just that rush of excitement. My Flying Pig commemerative timing chip arrived yesterday.... whoo hoo!!

Well, I survived my first 18 miler last weekend using Doug Kurtis' theory that it's ok to run a long run in two parts on the same day. I tried it more because I didn't have quite enough time to get the whole thing in. So I ran 10.4 at 10am, when to a baby shower at 1pm and finished off the run at 5pm with an additional 7.8. Anyone else have faith in doing long runs in that manner?

Run on...

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murphy - you should do some training runs on the course...and consider the Heart Mini 15k as a good tuneup race (there's also a half marathon I think in Loveland ~3 weeks before the Pig).

Chris, just signed up for the Heart Mini. Will look into the Loveland 1/2. Im very close to Loveland, so that race would fit in nicely. Definately would like to get a run in up the killer hill, just so I'm not as intimidated.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by rundadrun:
PacerChris,
I would love to hear your training advice for the hills. Last year was my first marathon and those Pig hills just about killed me. Any advice would be great. Thanks and see you all soon.
Rob

<HR>

Rob,
First off don't let the hills/bridges intimidate you...just know that you'll lose a few seconds/mile on those, and you'll make it up later.

Voodoo states it right - to prep for the hills, practice running hills! (If I were a doctor, I'd charge you $200 for that advice!) Since they are early in the race, the tendency is to charge up them like a crazy person...do not do this. Find some good long hills that take you ~3 minutes to run up (if you're doing it an OK pace) and run some repeats on that hill. Hill running is all about strength - you can be wicked fast but if you don't have the strength to get over a hill without being gassed, you'll blow up. Try doing the hill repeats once a week, maybe 3-5 repetitions each time. As you get accustomed to it, incorporate hills into your long runs to really build your confidence.

Each bridge has a downhill after the up so you can recover and still make up some of that lost time. After Eden Park, there's really only a few small uphills but some nice gentle downhill grades where you can lean forward and get back your lost time. Probably the most aggressive downhill on the course that leaps to my mind is just before the 13 mile mark - it's one of my favorite hills in Cincinnati, Erie Ave. About a half mile long, you can just lean forward and easily knock 20-30 seconds off that pace with zero effort - keep that in mind during the race.