Flying Pig Half Marathon

I did it! I completed my first half marathon. And I beat my goal by 5 minutes!!! This may be long, so hope you can stick out the read. ;)

The weather was absolutely perfect. Temps were in the lower 60's, and the sun was shining. Perfect day for a race! We got down to the start around 6am, and I lined up at the 2:30 pace and Alli went and lined up at the 4:00 pace.

The 6:30 start came, and nothing was starting. We all were squeezed in like sardines, and were all glancing at our watches. Than a girl in front of me told me how there was a fire and the race was starting 15 minutes late. So we stood around, and I started to get really antsy.

6:45 I hear the gunshot, and we were off. I started off slow, and had to remind myself to stay slow. The first leg we ran over two bridges connecting between Ohio and Kentucky. I started to peel off one of my layers, and I could definitely feel the sweat building up from those hills. I could hear Allis dad in my head from dinner the night before, Take your time with those hills, your in this race for you, Just Take It Slow :) Alli's family is from Michigan, so he knew that our hills were like dirt piles compared to the hills in Cincinnati! I knew that these little rolling hills were nothing compared to what was ahead. So took it slow and took some good deep breaths. The scenery on these bridges was just awesome. And on one of the bridges a guy next to me saw we taking pictures of the scenery and offered to take my picture while I ran. :) Only I would be running and taking pictures right? lol

They had hydration stops every mile, but it was after mile 3 when I took my first water station, so I walked through that since Im not coordinated enough to run and drink. And off I went again. Around Mile 5 there was TONS of fans. It felt like the 3 day! I thought our friend Adriena was there somewhere but I had no idea what she looked like. (we have met online) lol People were yelling Go Melissa! since I had my name on my bib. So I knew Id never figure out who she was. But enjoyed the encouragement from everyone else :) The crowd support was absolutely AMAZING!

I hit another water station after that and shot blocked with that, and than came upon Mile 6. I thought theres your 10k, only 7 miles to go. This was also where "the Climb started". I could feel a small pain in my foot, but just ignored it, and focused on what looked like the hill from hell. I looked up and said, holy shit.

2.5-3 miles all uphill, about a 300 ft incline. Yeah.

It was like you got to what you thought was the the top, and than it went to your right, and up, than to the top of that, and than you went left and up even more. But I ran up the whole thing, and felt pretty amazing when I got up it! I slowed down a bit to catch my breath, but thought damn melissa, look at you go! Near the top, we were at Eden Park , and it was quite a beautiful scenery especially with the sun shining. I stopped and took a few pictures. :)

And I took full advantage of walking through the water stops between the bottom of the climb and the top of it. I Gatorade and watered. I was feeling good hydration wise. While others around me did not look so great. :(

Before I realized it, I saw the sign, Half Marathon to the left, Full Marathon to the Right. Im at mile 9. Look at that. Only 4 miles to go! And I have to say it did feel like a great run. Just as my last 10 mile training run went. But shortly after that thought, is when I had to really play the mental game. While I enjoyed the neighborhood we ran through, I was starting to struggle mentally. It was like one minute I was like sweet, this is great. And than next minute I was thinking, this is the longest mile ever, what did I get myself into! This part started downhill so I had to remember to not get carried away or knew Id start to have knee pain. I felt two blisters forming, one on each foot, right on the ball. Ironically, Alli just asked me the night before how my feet did in training, and I said great! Apparently the buddha wasnt on my side on that one, was he? lol So to keep my mind off the negative critical talk, I searched for the Newton Faulkner tracks. Dream Catch Me - it felt like Grant was with me, and than People Should Smile More, which is my favorite song.

The songs definitely helped! During Mile 9-12, I took each mile by mile and utilized every water station I hit. I said, your at 10 girl. Keep it going. Mile 11, you have never ran this far yet! All these miles were still downhill, and sometimes you wonder if thats better or worse! Than we ran out to which felt the wrong direction, but than did another turn around, and I knew we were coming close to an end. So than I saw the sign, I hit mile 12. I said 1 more mile...you got this! This was the longest mile ever, but I also got a second wind at this point. My legs felt strong, and my body felt great! We rounded a corner and I thought is this it? Than I could hear announcers. And than I saw the gates on the sides. It was divided into two, one side for half, and one side for the full. And I could see the Mile 13 sign. At that point I lost it. The last 6 months was played back in my head, and the tears started. I remember that first day I started the Couch to 5K program, and all the races Ive ran since than. Than I heard, GO MELISSA!!!!! I looked and knew it was Adrienne. I waved and ran right across the finish feeling stronger than ever.

2:25:47

Amazing.

What a great experience. Im so glad I did it, and picked such a challenging course as my first half. The hills just made it so much more rewarding. I only walked through the water stations, and was able to conquer those hills! And still come in under 2.5 hours. Such an empowering feeling. I cant wait till my next one :)

I still cant believe it, I ran my first half marathon :) Running was one of the best things Ive ever decided to do in my life. Hands Down.