ORN: On this lovely spring day, I ran six miles in 58'11" with a three mile tempo effort sandwiched in there. The tempo part was fun but comfortably hard, as they say. I could have sustained that pace for longer, but I decided to stick to my plan. Not that I had a plan, really. I just decided to attempt a tempo run right before I walked out the door.
To further jazz up today's workout, I ran east rather than west along the Ohio, which is more park-like and less post-apocalyptic.
Incidentally, for the curious, I sketched out the route for the KDF Marathon, which I shall totally smoke on April 25th. The race is pretty doggone hilly, as you can see. The sadists that created the route decided it would be hilarious to route the marathoners through the hilliest parks in town and make them cross a bridge spanning the wide, wide Ohio River. I think the reason why the map draws out to 27.5 miles in Gmap is that I probably wasn't entirely accurate in how I sketched the run through Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, the Fastest Two Minutes in Sports. That stretch, dear reader, is the best part of the race IMHO.
Around mile nine, you're starting to get a little tired, especially since you've just run through Iroquois Park, some of the highest ground in the county. You've got lots of flat road to run on now. So you duck into the Downs for a quick jog around the Infield. The thoroughbreds, some of whom may be competing in the Kentucky Derby in just a few days, are finishing their morning training runs. You are right there with them, surrounded by all that history, beauty, and grace. It's a good mile.
Since you're already downtown, try to get in some runs across the bridge. Everyone I know who's done the full here recommends it - they all hate the bridge. I think it may be more mental than physical, but anything you can do to be ready for the thing ...
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