This piggy flew...Flying Pig RR

So since I'm catching up on the madness that has ensued over the past month of racing, recovery, attempted recovery and more stupid racing....I did run the Pig.

The Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnatti is renown as one of the more fun marathons out there. They don't disappoint - let me tell you. The volunteers are full of energy, the race course is well marked, there's music out there (though they could use more of that) and some of the scenery is gorgeous. The weather even somewhat cooperated.

Having had that whole bike wreck thing a week prior to the marathon certainly made life interesting. I wasn't quite sure I was going to be able to run. Coming down the stairs on race morning with a back that was already pretty sore (and a running partner convinced I needed to go get x-rays on my back) didn't instill much confidence that it was going to be a great day. I figured I was in for some compensation issues at the very least (I didn't disappoint). I'd also realized over the course of the week (and telling the story a thousand times) how lucky I am having gotten out of said bike wreck with no major injuries.....but I've already said that.

Woke up and it was raining lightly and warmer than expected. Neither were great signs. Grabbed a thing of wheat pop-tarts (breakfast of champions) and some water and off we went to find the start line. During the 1/2 hr drive we had plenty of time to debate the weather and our intelligence and my back. I decided to pop 4 tylenol prior to the run, have 4 with me and a vicodin for worst-case scenario. Had my Zensah red calf sleeves on (THANK GOD), a DWD tech T and UA compression shorts. (Funny development - had the WRONG compression shorts - the ones I bought to wear under regular running shorts, NOT the ones I have to wear AS running shorts....so they were a bit shorter than expected) I also had a long-sleeve running shirt with me just in case..it was a tad chilly and it matched (red) so why not. We had our UBER FASHIONABLE trash bags on for the first couple of miles as it was still raining. We kept them with us for most of the race in case the rain came back. I had done most of our long-run training w/o a fuel belt as it was still out in CA from Silverman, so I was used to not having as much fluid as normal. With the back issue, not being sure if I was going to be able to do the full race (I figured if it got too bad I would just turn with the half folks and head back to the barn) and knowing there would be plenty of fluid on the course I didn't even wear my fuel belt. I did, however, wear the super-cool SpiBelt I picked up at the expo.

First few miles were a loosening up and shaking out experience. Keep in mind the most running I did all week was around the car in the Lowe's parking lot on Thursday. Things just hurt. The bruises hurt a bit early on, and we both discovered early on that downhill hurt more than uphill. I figured this wasn't a bad sign.....and away we went.

Still felt fairly good around 6 - 8, chugging along at a decent (albeit slower than anticipated prior to bike smashing) pace, feeling ok. Then we started going uphill....and continued uphill for 2 miles. Saw the first medical incident needed about halfway up said hill - chick out cold - but everyone else was doing ok. At some point we got to the top of the hill and thanked God and kept going. Still felt fairly decent from 8 - 12. Started to hurt a bit around there.

The "start slow and taper" philosophy was holding strong. We didn't get much quicker, but did actually wind up picking it up a bit through the middle few miles of the race. We're weird like that. My wheels started to fall off a bit around 15 - 18, just started to ache all over, my back was hurting and my left knee had decided it no longer wanted to cooperate with the rest of my body. I took the Tylenol just past 15. Had a minor crisis when 3 of them fell on the ground, dove to save them and you bet your ass I still took them. Still had the other magic pill in the belt - was thinking it might be necessary around 20. And we kept chugging along....

We both started to fall apart around 20. It was further than T had ever run, and she was feeling it a bit, but her knee was holding together (much to my chagrin) and still doing ok. We kind of both just fell apart though, and had to start walking quite a bit. Our last full mile of running was around 19 or so....tanks were just running dry. We did a decent job of hydrating though, had to make a potty stop around 9 - i take that as a good sign, and we weren't swelling up too bad. I'm taking most of the credit for that - as T turns into a camel if not reminded to hydrate, then puffs up like a marshmellow. So...we were doing good there.

The Penn State club handing out Gu somewhere around 18 - 20 helped out drastically. They had a great Buffett theme going and we knew we were headed downhill to the barn. Definite pick-me-up there.

Met another inspiring story somewhere around 20-21 - we were walking along and came upon this other chick in a bright yellow shirt limping fairly badly. Walked together for quite awhile, turns out she had torn her miniscus (HOLY CRAP) a few weeks prior to the race - yes she had been to the ortho, no she didn't know exactly how bad it was, yes he knew she was doing the pig, no he wasn't happy about it, yes it was going to need surgery, yes she had her ACL reconstructed a couple of years ago and yes this was her 6th marathon - and it turns out this was supposed to be an even bigger deal - HER REMISSION MARATHON FROM BREAST CANCER - found out officially cancer-gone and in remission earlier that week. We stuck together for about a mile, hobbling along together and swapping stories and keeping each other positive until I got to the point where I had to run, walking was just hurting too bad and I figured if it was going to hurt I might as well run since I'd get there a bit faster. She ran with us for just a bit then had to go back to walking. I know she finished - people like that don't quit - and she was hugely inspiring (and humbling, it was just a bike wreck). Unfortunately, by the time we got to the line we were so mired in our own pain that we didn't get the chance to hang around and see her finish. I didn't even get her name. But she's already won a helluva battle.

The last few miles were uneventful, just chugging along, running when we could, walking when we couldn't. We saw the 25 and T said she was going to run it in. I saw the "One Mile to Go" sign and said I was running it in from THERE...yes, I thought the .2 made a huge difference and would have killed me. And we did. Having not run a full mile in an hour, we both picked up the pace and ran the entire last mile. I'd say we ran it in a fairly decent pace but I don't have a clue. It took much encouragement to get through that, T hit barn mode as soon as she saw the banner - wound up finishing about 10 seconds ahead of me. I tried to "kick" the last little bit, but lost just about all feeling in my left leg a few hundred yards out. Left knee got REALLY painful around 22 and just didn't let go.

Tried to stick to around a Gu an hour. Wasn't too precise on the hydration, either. Just kind of took it when I wanted/thought I needed it. Alternated between Gatorade (Endurance formula, mixed on course, varying strengths, all disgusting) and water. Later in the race took to grabbing a cup of both and mixing them. Didn't really snack on anything except the best damn Baptist Oranges ever (they prayed over them) around 21 and some of the best gummy bears ever somewhere around 23 or 24. If I were to do this again seriously, I might have a more solid nutrition plan. (But the probability of me doing this again is slim...seriously or not) I think we need to give a LOT of credit to Skyline Chili...the planning for that meal got us through many of the 26 miles.

The whole thing hurt, hurt worse than Silverman. really. I'm not lying. I don't think I'll run another marathon unless it's at the end of an Ironman. I've proven I can in not great circumstances twice on tough courses. I've got it in me to push through. That's enough (I think). My finish time was only 4 (FOUR, DAMNIT) minutes faster than the marathon at Silverman. That's pretty disappointing to me, but when I think about the bike wreck, the weather and the lack of long-run training over the last month, I'm not too displeased with the overall outcome. I finished, which is more than a lot of people could/would do. And I did it with a good friend at my side the whole time who wouldn't let me quit (even when I wanted to) and who made the experience so much better.

Overall it was a great experience. Had a good time learning about lacrosse (and scaring parents) Saturday - Steph's team did great. Met a great family in Sue & Mike - meeting us at the finish line was great, letting me stay at your house even better, but being understanding and putting up with the whining/crying afterwards is even better. It's a great race with great swag (I've basically not taken off the jacket or put down the bag since) and a great theme. There were a lot of people that told me I was stupid to do this - thank you to all of them. My stubborn ass probably wouldn't have gritted it out so much without you.

Proving the naysayers wrong, one stupid step at a time.....a pig flew that day.

6.8 time - (clock times) 1:32:51
12 time - 2:36:06 (5.2 mi - 1:04)
13.1 time - 2:36:06 (1.1 mi - 12:01)
19.7 time - 4:08:50 (6.6 mi - 1:20)
25.2 time - 5:27:31 (5.5 mi - 1:19)
26.2 time - (chip time) 5:27:42
Times indicate that we ran miles 13 - 19 faster than we did 1-6. Which would almost make sense given that it's clock time being shown and we were about 12 minutes after gun going over the line - but our last mile in 12 seconds really takes the cake...Tanya has it more precisely but it'll work out to show that 12 - 13.1 was about the same pace as 25 - 26.2. Oddly humorous and so typical of us running.
Pace - 12:31
Finishers - 4,014
Females - 1,633
Average time - 4:29:41 (work to do)