Pigs Fly!

A week and a day ago, I was in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Of all the places in the world, I never thought I'd run a race there.  But on Sunday, May 6, that's where I found myself.

And it. was. AWESOME.

The Flying Pig Marathon was absolutely the most fun marathon I have run yet.  It was fantastically organized - water stops at every mile, amazing volunteers who actually knew the answers to all of your questions, a well-run and comprehensive expo, and SWAG.  For those who aren't sure what I'm referring to when I say "swag," I mean the freebies that races give you when you pay $75-$100 to run them.  Ok, so you are paying for some of the stuff, but this swag went above and beyond.  Usually, when you run a marathon, you go pick up your bib and they give you a t-shirt.  MAYBE some decent coupons for a nearby running store, MAYBE some samples of a nutritional product (weird flavored GU is usually a good bet).  Usually you leave with a plastic bag and a nice-ish t-shirt.

Not at the Flying Pig (or as we vets call it "The Pig").  All runners got a t-shirt, an Aasics gym bag (legitimately cool, with the Flying Pig Marathon logo embroidered on it...can you guess what the logo is?), a poster, and all sorts of free goodies from P&G (formerly known as Proctor and Gamble).  Everyone who went to the expo could line up for free full sized samples of P&G products: shampoo, dishwashing soap, detergent, face creams, etc.  Kind of silly?  Absolutely.  Fun and made everyone feel special?  Yes, for sure.

Race expos can either be really awesome or really lame.  This one was fantastic.  There were all sorts of vendors - local running stores and international brands, like KT tape.  Free samples of snacks, like luna bars, avocados, power bars, etc, abounded.  They have t-shirts from previous marathons on sale for $2; they called them vintage.  What a great idea!  Souvenirs for the whole Mennone family!

So in general, things were off to a good start.  I had arrived in Cincy on Friday night and had all day Saturday to rest up and get pumped up.  The whole city really just goes nuts for this race weekend.  They don't just have a marathon - they have a 5k, a 10k, a kids fun run, a relay race, and a half marathon.  On Saturday, they had the 5k and the 10k, so all weekend, people were just wandering around with bibs and medals.  It really made for a fun atmosphere all around the city.

But I was pretty nervous.  I mean, my last marathon had only happened less than 2 months ago.  And I had pretty much rocked it.  I had been warned that Cincinnati had hills and that they were pretty brutal.  We ended up eating dinner with some family friends, and I did NOT get my requisite Chipotle burrito for dinner (ok, ok I had it for lunch....).  The night before happened to be Cinco de Mayo, so crazy Mexican music pumped into the hotel room past 11pm.  The race was starting at 6:30am....I managed to sleep a little, but I couldn't help feeling like this was going to be one slow race.

Boy was I wrong.

From the start, the crowds were awesome and the corrals were well managed.  You could actually move around and everything started on time.  The speakers and jumbo screens were all over the place, and I could actually see the start of the race.  In no time at all, I was off for marathon #7.

The course was, indeed, very hilly.  No one was lying when they told me that there were major hills in Cincinnati.  But somehow, it didn't matter.  The crowds were AMAZING.  At the first huge hill, there were great crowds, including a woman who had a huge sign and was screaming, "kill the hill!"  It's amazing how inspiring crowds can be.  And there were crowds for the whole race.  In the residential areas, people were having massive house parties with speakers and decorations and orange slices for runners.  On one part, on a highway, there was a fantastic water stop where all of the volunteers were dressed as Hawaiian pigs.  FANTASTIC.  Even after we split with the half marathoners, there were crowds.

It was such a fun race.  I can't even tell you how inspired I felt the whole way.  Oh wait, I can - because I was so inspired that I beat my personal best.  I PR'ed.  Even with all those crazy hills, I finished this race in 3:45:38.

Pigs really do fly.

The end of the race was a great party.  They had really adorable medals (with a pig on it of course) and great post-race snacks.  They had food trucks and massages.  It was a sunny beautiful day and everyone was just hanging out, listening to music, comparing medals, and having a great time.

I would recommend the Flying Pig Marathon to anyone and everyone.  It is an incredibly, incredibly fun and well-organized race.  You better believe that I'll be going back!

Racing Recap...it's been a while

Wow, it's really been a while since I last posted something! A lot has happened and a lot is about to happen. I guess the most EXCITING thing that happened is that I PR'ed in the Rock'n'Roll marathon in DC on March 17. After some great training and a mild winter, I finished 26.2 miles in....... 3:49:55 I can't even tell you how exciting it is to have broken 4 hours (again) AND beat my last time by 10 minutes!! It was a perfect race day - absolutely beautiful. I went into it with no expectations (really the best way to run a race) and ended up running the best race of my life. I don't really remember being in pain at all, although by the end the keys that I had stuffed into my back pocket had rubbed a small patch on my lower back raw. It really was a fantastic race. I can't even begin to hope to replicate the time...this Sunday. That's right, less than 2 months later, I am running the FLYING PIG MARATHON in Cincinnati, Ohio of all places. Strangely enough, this is one of the very few marathons I've ever run where I actually know other people running. I know 2 other people who are joining me in this crazy race! I originally signed up for the Flying Pig Marathon because I wanted (wait for it) a picture in front of the "Finish Swine." Yup, instead of a Finish LINE it's a Finish SWINE! Hahaha. I hope you're enjoying this as much as me. Also Runner's World consistently publishes great reviews of the race. I never really understood why, but I definitely do now that I'm a participant. So far it has been incredibly well organized - great website, informative email updates. You can sign up for FREE runner update texts or emails - a lot of races charge for this service now. While reviewing some race day tips that they emailed to us, I realized that there are water stops at EVERY MILE OF THE RACE. If that doesn't really mean anything to you, then just take it from me: it's incredible. Most races will have it every other mile at best. So here's hoping for a great race on Sunday. The weather in Cincinnati is supposed to be in the 70s or the 80s, which for me, is a great day! Oh did I forget to mention that both of my big toenails are turning black? I guess I'll wait till next time to cover the subject of losing your toenails as a runner...