Flying Pig Marathon - RunMarathon

Going into the race, I knew I was going to have problems and that it would be a painful morning. My calf was feeling fine during the weekend, but I could still feel the muscle knots when I massaged it. At first, I did have a time goal in mind, but when my calf starting acting up 2 weeks before the race, I threw that out the window. I have been wanting to do this race since I was a senior at Xavier, interning at the FP Office. My friends even commented this weekend how I was totally MIA graduation weekend, and I remembered it was because I was at the race festivities all weekend long. Long story (not so) short, I wanted to enjoy this race as much as possible and soak everything up, so time/schime...I was out to have a good time.

Miles 1-4 were very cool...my calf was tight, but manageable. I thought that if the whole race went like this, I'd be golden. Once we got out of Kentucky and starting going up Eggleston to Eden Park, I remembered that we were headed to "the hill" aka, miles 5-8 of the course. I had run this hill many times while at Xavier, so I knew what to expect and I knew it wouldn't be that bad, based on the courses I trained on. And...it wasn't! I kept an even pace up the hill and actually passed some people! The first four miles were about a 8:40 - 9/mile, and 5-8 were 9 - 9:20/mile, which was exactly what I expected.

The aid stations and volunteers were great - absolutely awesome! Although, I did something I probably shouldn't have. At the Eden Park loop waterstop I saw a young boy (~10 years old) goofing off and put a cup of Gatorade on top of his head. He was at the end of the stop, and I needed Gatorade, so I just grabbed it off the top of his head. I probably drenched the poor kid in Gatorade, but let that be his lesson!

After that, we spun into Hyde Park and the half marathoners split off from the full. I was still feeling good here, but my calf was definately tight and not feeling great. This was a stretch of downhill, which proved to be a bit much for my hip flexor. I'm positive that I altered my stride to compensate for the tight calf, which lead to some pretty sharp pains in my right hip going downhill. Which sucked...I wanted to make up some time and cruise downhill to make up for the uphills. Instead, I was limited to about a 9:30/mile pace on the downhills for the rest of the race.

The hip thing lasted for about 5 miles, which took me through Hyde Park Square and the halfway point. I think I kept a pretty consistant 9:20-9:40 pace at that point. At that point, I knew it was going to be a long half marathon home. I was doing ok crusing, and felt oddly removed from my body, which was kind of cool. I was enjoying the motion of running...I can't really describe it. I was just in such a good place.

At about mile 14, my left knee started in. I'm pretty sure it was runner's knee - it was a sharp pain under my kneecap. I had one other short-lived bout with this, but nothing serious. I shortened my stride and tried to just hang on and see if this too would go away. This lasted until about mile 19, which is when you get to the home stretch of the course by Lunkin Field and Columbia Parkway. It's basically highway all the way back, but there was a ton of support and volunteers along the way - totally rocked.

After mile 19, I knew it was going to be one of those times when it's mind over matter and I was just going to have to hang in there and get to the finish line somehow. I was still having a good time, but both knees at that point were fairly immobile. My pace drastically slowed down (I think I clocked an 11/mile somewhere in there), but my goal was just to get to the finish line, so I was ok. I was still soaking up the experience.

I was taking it mile by mile and was SO happy to see the mile 25 sign (around mile 23 I thought I might just take a nap somewhere...but that wasn't going to work out!). I knew in my head that I had done it by then was about ready to burst into tears. Crowds starting lining the streets pretty heavily at that point, so the adreneline was flowing once again. I think my last mile was 8:40 something, so I obviously had some gas left. I crossed the finish line and collected my pig medal, sort-of not believing that it was over. Seven years of anticipation, over?? No worries...I'll smoke some bacon again :)

Some memorable sights on the course: grown men in pink tutus, Elvis giving out Gatorade at mile 24, the sisters of St. Margaret's rockin' it in full habit on Madison Ave., Mrs. Whats-her-name in a faux wedding gown, the pink lady who was head-to-toe in pink pigs and the poor band on Eggleston who had the most horrible sound set up I've ever head.

Not be injured going into it? Seriously - other than that, I felt great. I know I can run a sub-4 marathon and I'm VERY anxious to try again. I think I did let my mind get away from me toward the end, because my last mile was much quicker. I need to work on mental focus for those longer distances.

I walked about fifteen million miles (or so it seemed) to the family reunion area to meet my friends, who were subathing. I picked up my bag and s..l..o..w..l..y made it back to the car. We drove back up to my aunt's to clean up, then went to Graeter's to meet a friend and get some ice cream! Chocolate mocha chip...yum! After that, I crashed in the backseat as we drove back to Indy. We ordered pizza and watched Borat, which seemed appropriate.


Mental focus and injuries. The two probably go hand-in-hand, come to think of it!


I'm so happy that I did this race, and I'm pleased with my performance. My goal going into it was to see where I really stood with 26.2, and now I know. I'm really excited to do another marathon soon, but I guess I should focus on this tri thing for awhile?

Seriously - thank you to everyone for your feedback and encouragement over the last couple months! I've learned SO much from everyone, and I know I wouldn't be where I'm at without you. Onwards and upwards!