Flying Pig Marathon Race Report

I'll begin by saying that I was in no shape to run a marathon today, but it went OK for a while. I didn't start off that fast, but faster than I should have for zero training (haven't run since McNaughton.) I blew up big time after mile 19 and walked most of the way in. Regardless, it was a great run!

The 2006 Flying pig was my first race and this year was pig number 3. I really enjoy this marathon. It's my hometown course, and the fans and entertainment are a lot of fun. Going into the race I knew I wasn't trained so I decided on a finishing goal of 3:59. The plan was to run 9:30's for the first half and 8:50's the second half...yeah right. I started off running most of my miles up until mile 19 around 8:45-9:00 but times varied widely with the crowds early on, and the hills in miles 6-9. At mile 10 I was already feeling pretty bad. My leg injury was starting to hurt a little and my legs were already pretty tired. I ran the first 17 miles with a fore-foot strike, to avoid the pain in my leg, but after mile 17 my calves were too tight and tired so I had to switch back to heal striking. My leg didn't bother me too much during the run, although it's pretty sore now.

Right in the middle of mile 19 and 20 I knew I was finished. At first I started walking with the idea that I would start running again as the 4 hour pace group approached. About 5 minutes later I watched the balloons come, and then go. I really didn't care about 4 hours anymore, not enough to start running again, lol. I alternated between half mile walking and half mile slow jog until mile 25 where I jogged it in. My final time was 4:25:29, I made sure it was faster than my first pig (4:26.) I'm not bummed about my finishing time. I didn't train and the Pig bit me in the ass. That's how it goes. I had a great time out on the course, and can't wait until next year!