My Check in the Box - THE FLYING PIG

Yesterday, I ran my half maraton. I have to say that The Flying Pig Marathon was such a wonderfully organized event. It started with a great expo with a ton of exhibitors and shops and carried through the race.  The course itself was tough and it rained the entire time but there were so many volunteers and supporters all along the route. I'm so glad that I chose this for my first half and am hopeful that I will run it again.

I finished 13.1 miles in 2:28:15. Because I'm competitive, I wanted to beat my friend Mandi's time from her last half (2:19:00) but I didn't do it. It's ok though because from the first raindrop I felt, everything in me was telling me to go back to bed. Somewhere around mile 2 I ran into a puddle and my feet were wet the rest of the way. Miles 6-8 were one steady incline. TOUGH!

The top of the hill, mile 9.

Mandi had a whole team of supporters with her to cheer her on through her first full marathon and my son was also there alongside them to cheer me on. I was thrilled to see them at mile 3 when I was feeling like a rock star and mile 10 when I recovered from the mountain. Their support was enough to keep me going to the finish!

My ankles felt fine and the only discomfort I felt while running was the blisters on my soggy feet.

Note to self: Pack extra socks when running in the rain

At the finish line, there was no shortage of food & drinks. I never did find the beer table but it didn't sound appealing at 9am anyway.

Two Fine Swine at the Finish Line!

I'm not sure what's up next for me. There are a few local races that I'd like to support but I'm also working with the kids sports schedules. My local MOPS group is planning the Sunrise Stampede 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run. I think I would participate in this more out of obligation but I think my days of paying for a 5K are over. I run those on the treadmill regularly and don't need to have a race on the calendar to inspire me. The other race on my radar is Miles for Melanoma and this one happens on my birthday! Do I really want to pay a sitter for either of those? Probably not.

I've been looking for other long races to help with marathon training and there's a shortage of 10Ks+ in my local area. There's an upcoming half in Chicagoland, but that's still 5 hours away. Kansas City too, there's no shortage of races there....

I am excited to run the Air Force Half Marathon in Dayton in September. If I run in Dayton, I'm pretty sure I'll have a good amount of supporters and the website claims it's "fast and flat." It might be the confidence I need going into THE BIGGIE in October.

I'm too cheap...

I had little faith that those inserts were going to do much to soothe my ankles so I opted to finally splurge and get real running shoes. Like most everything else, I've tried going cheap. I started running in Payless shoes, graduated to a pair of Asics from Kohl's (off the clearance rack) and finally went to the running store and ended up with a pair of Saucony Omni 9s.

Heaven, in a shoe!

In the relay race, a chick on the race course was wearing them and I loved how they look. Of course, you don't get to pick your shoe in the running store, they bring a few out that are made for your foot and you choose from those. Wasn't I shocked to see the same pair that I saw on the race route! Mostly, it's just funny because this was at the end of our leg and Kel & I were looking for our transition area.

So now I have the shoes, but it keeps raining! My ankles still hurt. I am not ready for a half marathon!!!

Oh yeah, about that relay...

Yeah, we ran the relay. I guess I never updated that. Kelly and I ran a respectable 7.5 mile leg with plenty of hills & GU. I don't remember our time but it didn't matter anyway - we had fun!

The rest of the Sunrise United Methodist Church Relay Team







Kelly & I at the end of our 7.5 mile leg

The problem with this race was that it left me wanting a half marathon bib BAD. I called my other friend, Mandi, who was training for her first marathon and asked about the half marathon option. I had 3 weeks to train. Lucky for me, Mandi's dad was registered for the race but hadn't been training enough to feel good about the race coming up - I HAD A BIB!

I also had sore ankles. Not just sore, but -oh-my-god-i-can't-run-on-these, ankles. The following week, I had xrays on my foot and doctor recommended rest. The xrays came back fine, I had pulled ligaments and soft tissue bruising. The doctor recommended custom orthotics for my shoes...for $600!