Run 5, Walk 1, Run 5, Walk 1...

Elizabeth is still out and couldn't join us for our long run. Here's hoping her lung/rib is feeling better very soon! We tried something different this time around. Instead of running the entire 18 miles, we did a run/walk method that supposedly helps you keep your pace steady during your entire run. For the entire time we were out there we would run for 5 minutes and then walk for 1 minute. It was an interesting experiment. We finished in 3 hours and 10 minutes -- a pace of 10:33 per mile. That is a good pace for us for that long. There's something about all that walking that makes me feel like we are cheating, but still, we covered the same amount of miles - possibly in less time than if we had run the entire 18 miles. When I ran the pig in 2007 I was at a pace of 10:54 when I hit the 19 milemark, so this was a bit faster. My legs were sore, but not unbearably so, and I felt happy that we were averageing in the tens the entire time. I know Pam enjoyed being able to breathe better, and I'm not going to lie - I started really looking forward to our watch beeping every 5 minutes! (thank you Amy!) And poor Julie - her legs started cramping up toward the end. We are chalking it up to dehydration. Speaking of Amy, she joined us for the first 8-1/2 miles, and it was grand for us to have the company. Of course, we did have to hear all about the cruise she was leaving on the next day. But we're so happy for her to be enjoying the sunshine while we enjoy beautiful March Cincinnati weather (cold, gray, SNOW!!!) I can't remember if anything else exciting happened on our run. We ran from the Countryside Y past Loveland by a mile and then back to the Monkey Bar. Same scenery most of the time - trees, bushes, the Little Miami River, a bridge here and there, and finally some greenery :).