Flying Pig Weekend- Part 2

I am pretty tired right now but I want to get the details of the half marathon out before I start forgetting things but you will have to forgive any typos I happen to miss! Also, I don't have as many pictures for this post.  Sad. =(

Ok, so I left off last time with finishing up the kiddos' races and the day being great.  I had forgotten one very important detail of our weekend! On Friday night, around 1am, Curly woke up vomiting out of nowhere.  It was pretty bad while it lasted, thankfully only about a half hour, and then it was gone like nothing had really happened.  She didn't really want to eat anything until around 10am the next day but she seemed to feel great.  Then right after their races when we were getting ready to go back to the hotel she started showing signs of a UTI or something of the sort.  It was very obvious and she was crying quite a bit.  So that means momma and baby girl walked into the hotel just long enough to Google urgent cares before we left again.  I ended up needing to drive about 20 minutes over to Florence, Ky to find an urgent care and poor Curly was MISERABLE the entire ride.  I felt so bad for her.

We get to the urgent care and miracle of miracles it was completely empty! We were next in line and were in and out within a half hour with a prescription for an antibiotic and a pain medicine in hand.  I was so very thankful for that pain medicine because it worked almost immediately for her and we all got a good nights sleep that night. Another bonus- the trip to Walgreen's was short and sweet as well and we were back at the hotel in time for dinner!

That night we watched a bit of Twister on t.v at Rex's request and then got the lights out at around 9:30. We were all exhausted and fell right to sleep.  I, apparently, was incredibly nervous because I ended up waking up at 11:30, 1 something, and again at 2.  I couldn't fall back asleep no matter how hard I tried that last time so I finally just got out of bed around 3:54.  My alarm was set for 4:10 because I wanted to get up, ready, and in the car by 4:30 to get close parking.

I got to the parking lot pretty early since our hotel wasn't far away and sat there fiddling around on my iPad and crossing my fingers that the rain would stop.  As I sat there I kept debating on what I was going to do in case of rain.  I had brought a poncho but also had my everyday Columbia rain jacket with me and was considering wearing it because it looked like it was going to rain the entire race based on weather.com. I finally decided to just do the poncho if I needed it and headed in the direction of the start line at 5:30. I didn't make it far! I got to the port-a-potties that were on the far end of the parking lot and then realized I was freezing so I headed back to the car to get my jacket and my bag check bag in case I ditched it.  Back I went and walked back to my corral.  I was in F which seemed to take forever to get to.  By the time I got there, guess what? I was burning up.  So back I went, all the way around to the busses that were checking bags.  Finally, I used the restroom again and headed back to my corral.

Once I got into my corral I chatted with a few people and then when the 2:30 pacers arrived I edged up to where they were standing.  That's where I met Alicia and Trisha! They were the pacers and they were AMAZING!  I am pretty sure the race started on time.  We were pretty far back from the actual start so we couldn't hear much.  However, we got a good omen right before the start.

 

Pretty rainbow just as we started moving

It probably took us 15 minutes or so to cross the finish line and it was insane how many people were moving in one direction.  it looked like a giant wave as you watched people go up hills.  I am not a huge fan of crowds but it was pretty amazing to watch.  After a mile I was starting to get into a good stride.  The first few miles took us over a bridge into Kentucky, along the river and then back into Ohio.

From the bridge crossing into Ohio

Both of the pacers were pacing for their very first time but each mile they had us right where we should be.  The group started out with probably 8-10 of us and we were all chatting and pointing out our favorite signs.  I started the race with both earbuds in for music, eventually dropped to one, and by the end of the race I had them both out.  We talked about the whole race except in the tougher portions.

I was feeling really good and then we started approaching the dreaded hill.

 I saw people start going up and I asked Alicia if that was IT and she told me it was.  Up until this point I had told them that my intention was to hang with them until the hill and then I would most likely end up dropping off.  I underestimated myself! I ran the entire hill.  On occasion I would drop a few people behind them but as soon as we got to one of the flat stretches I would rush to catch up with them. It really wasn't as bad as I had imagined it would be. Finally, the top was in sight and the view of the river and KY opened up to our right.

From the top of the hill

From this point on it was essentially downhill and I was pretty happy about that.  Up until this point my longest run had been 11 miles and I had run the first 8 of that before a short walk break and then ran the final miles so that was the next goal I set for myself.  8 miles.  8 passed, I was still feeling good, and I knew The Husband, the kiddos, my dad and my sisters were going be at mile 9 so I had to push through to there.  I was pretty anxious to see them.  Finally, Tricia told me that the street I knew they would be on was coming up so I started looking for them. 

Rushed up and gave the kids toes a wiggle and kept trucking

From this point, it was just myself and the pacers.  Some of the group had drifted ahead, some fell behind, and I was determined to stick with them the rest of the way.  I have never been a talker while I run but we talked just about the entire race and really just reveled in the sheer amount of people who were out on the streets cheering.

As we got closer to the finish the crowds got denser and somewhere between miles 12 and 13 there was a church group? football team? I am not sure but they were amazing! They were twirling towels, screaming, jumping up and down.  I couldn't stop smiling.  We made the final turn and saw the "Finish Swine." I was so happy at this point! I had run the entire way, was on track to finish in my goal time, and had met some awesome people along the way.

After crossing the finish line (2:29:52) it started raining again! My wishes that morning had come true and it held off long enough for me to cross the finish line.  Alicia, Trisha, and myself decided to get a picture together.  We spotted one of the big flying pigs that were everywhere and scooted over to get our picture taken with it.  Well, somehow I trip over my foot and end up scooting the thing about a foot.  We thought it was anchored somehow.  Nope!  Not a few seconds later Trisha (who is about 25 weeks pregnant BTW) knocks into it and tips the whole thing over! There were tons and tons of people around and I know we were pretty red!

See all the people looking at us? Yup, that's what happens when you knock a giant pig over!

In all I loved this event.  It was a record setting year on how many people were there.  The girls kept saying the whole way how they could tell there were more people on the course and we dodged and weaved a large amount of time.  I think that maybe they hadn't sufficiently been prepared for such a huge influx of people which made certain aspects of the event a scheduling nightmare I am sure. They had sufficient water/Gatorade stops and the volunteers were really nice. The family events were fun and they have the unique options: 4way (5k+10k+full) or 3way (5k+10k+half).

Cons: The starting line was kind of wonky and the corrals didn't have enough port-a-potties, in my opinion. I wish the kids races had been longer for their ages.  They really love to run.  I am not sure what the ages were for the 26th mile (a 1 mile race) but if they are old enough we will do that one next year.  In all, I believe if we don't have any other races on the agenda at this time next year I think that we will be going back.