Fitness Friday || 2012 Cincinnati Flying Pig Race Recap

#5 of Twelve In Twenty-Twelve

Sunday, May 6
Cincinnati, OH
Twelve In Twenty-Twelve #5
Weather – 60s, sunny (I never felt like it was too hot or too humid. Perfect!)

The last time I ran The Pig it was miserable. It poured down rain almost the entire race and that included a lot of thunder and lightening at the start. I swore I would never run it again. Fast forward. 2012. Perfect weather and a wonderful experience overall. This year I approached the finish line thinking, “I’m running this one again.”

I ran Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon the weekend before so running back to back weekend half marathons was a first. I was curious to see if I would  notice a difference in the way I felt or pace.

With a start time of 6:30 Chad and I left the house at 5:00. I love early morning so the early start was fine with me. Chad? Not so much. On the bright side by leaving when we did we avoided the traffic jam…sweet!

Before (Bathroom stop and bags checked. Ready for the starting line.)

Until mile 9 the entire course felt like hills. Nothing to steep but constant. No worries. I managed them better than any other time in the past! Would you consider this a hilly race?

Thoughts on the race:

• The Pig has the greatest spectators. The energy and enthusiasm was fun.
• I see Elvis every year at Crohn’s Conservatory. This year it occurred to me that he has probably been out there every year since the inaugural race.
• I’ve stopped using my iPod almost entirely. Never thought that would happen.
• This was Chad’s best street race to date. He’s ready for his ultra!
• A first, ran a race in a skirt. Loved it! (More on my whole Lulu experience later.)
• I didn’t really notice a difference during the race in how I felt with running half marys on back to back weekends, but this week my body feels a little more tired than usual.
• Enjoyed the run! When I saw Chad at the finish line my first words were, “nice job” and then, “that was awesome!”
• After the race Chad and I laughed ALOT and had so much fun simply walking back to the car. I’m lucky to be married to him
• I don’t usually order race photos but I think I am for this one.
• While looking at the race photos I noticed that my form has improved. Cool!

After

Chad was using this as training run for his next ultra the following weekend (tomorrow!). He tried out his new fuel pack. Verdict? Not bad but the straps slipped and loosened. Return it? I would.

After 

A tech tee that actually fits.

The Bling

Chad thought it was funny to joke about getting the medal with the pig’s butt as if the other side wasn’t the front of the pig. I couldn’t help but laugh.

After the race I met up with Courtney (another Twelve In Twenty Twelve runner) of  Third Times A Charm at Starbucks.

STATS

According to Garmin

I’ve had distance differences between what my Garmin says and the official 13.1 before but not by this much. I’m going with the Garmin stats

Tagged: 2012 goals, 2012 Race Recaps, blog hop, Fitness Friday, goals, half marathon, running, Twelve In Twenty Twelve