I hope you guys are having a wonderful weekend! We’ve spent the weekend enjoying as much fresh air and sunshine as possible while also enjoying some delicious homemade Mexican and lovely cocktails. Parker has been such a trooper this weekend even during his short lived meltdowns.
I woke up bright and early Saturday morning to log my last long training run before next Sunday’s Geneva Half Marathon. Knowing that I had 10 miles on the schedule, Amy suggested I head out to The Little Miami Scenic trail, a great multi-use path near their home in Madeira.
The Little Miami Scenic trail is 75 miles of runner or bikers paradise! It passes through 12 different Cincinnati area towns and provides the perfect mix of sunny and shady spots while also having rest and bathroom areas along the trail. The views are a mix of horse farms, rivers and streams, wooded areas and small town squares which have built around the trails activity such as Loveland’s downtown area. The trail has mile markers every half mile which makes keeping track of distance easy.
The weather was picture perfect for a run – sunny and cool. I wore my compression socks, shorts, and tank for the run while jamming to my new playlist on Spotify.
Instead of doing 5 miles out and back I split the run up into 4 parts, 2.5 miles each, so I could explore the trail in both directions. Amy had mentioned that one would have more river views while the other direction is shady and wooded. I even had some surprise company along the wooded portion of the trail as I ran into 7 wild turkeys crossing the trail. 
There were solo runners and running groups alike out on the trail with me logging their last long run before the Flying Pig marathon next weekend.
I followed my training plan logging negative splits and an average of 9:17 pace overall. Considering that I didn’t have any fuel I’m hoping that means that I can keep at least this during next week’s half marathon.
While last week’s training wasn’t strong due to our travel in different cities, this week’s 5 runs have me in a very different mindset for the half marathon. I finished this run feeling strong and excited for the race!
What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen on a run? These wild turkeys were definitely the weirdest thing I’ve seen on a run!
Great pace – it looks like you’ve definitely been getting faster!
Sounds like a great run. Thanks for sharing these great pics. Looks gorgeous!!
I don’t think I’ve seen anything crazier than wild turkeys. Just deer, cows, horses, snakes, and tractors (besides birds and dogs, obviously)!
Looks like a great route and nice job on the pace! 🙂 Craziest/coolest thing seen on a run would have to be elephants during my half marathon in Cambodia last December!