Flying Pig Marathon 07-13.1 to 20

Hitting the half a few seconds ahead of time was a great boost mentally. I was feeling strong and working to stay within that 7:41 pace range. Just before 14 there was a bit of an incline so I expected to be slow that mile and was but was still within range. 7:48. 14 to 15 climbed and again I was behind pace despite good effort 7:45. I was starting to feel the effects of the early hills now but it was almost time to dig in so I tapped into my resources a few miles early and tried to take advantage of the flat area through Mariemont and the good crowds. I took a gel early here. I had planned gels for 6, 12, 18, and 22. I felt I needed a jolt so I gulped down the only gel with caffeine I had brought and thought hopefully of the good speedy effects of the caffeine to come. It was somewhere in this area that I made the mistake of high fiving the bungle tiger (My husbands nickname for the Cinci Bengals). I should have known nothing good could come from that, but he is a tiger after all and my inner tiger felt some high fiving love was appropriate.

The inside of my arms were starting to chafe and it was starting to warm up. I was very glad I opted for a tank and visor as my race outfit. My focused effort paid off at 16 with a 7:31. I located a volunteer with a cardboard sheet covered in sunscreen and Vaseline. It is so nice how they always seem to appear when I need them. I slathered some on my arms and wiped my hands on my shorts just before a team of kids were hollering for high fives. I sincerely hope those kids mothers made them wash their hands thoroughly after the race!

After 16 you head out onto a bike path which is slightly downhill but lacks any shade. You can see for almost a mile ahead of you before making a few turns and hitting 17. Unfortunately the speed of mile 16 didn't last and 17 was slow despite the majority of it being downhill 7:56.

Mile 18 I got back on pace cruising up a slight incline (yeah another one of those, I thought this was supposed to be downhill after 9? These hills sure didn't look so intimidating when we drove the course) in 7:41. If I remember correctly this mile had a large hill before hopping onto the highway which I heard runners behind discussing before we made a left turn and it came into view. (I may be mixing miles, there were plenty of these hills to be found!) I remember thinking this hill wasn't too bad and hoping that this time the spectators ensuring me this was the last hill were telling the truth.

Mile 19 is along Columbia Parkway. I was behind two younger male runners here and tried to tap into their pace as we made our way along the sunny and sparsely manned highway. This by far was the most boring part of the course. I turned it on here trying to get back to 7:41 and starting to dig a bit more. Dumping water over my head as I came through the aid station and hitting mile 19 in 7:46. At this point I was still doing math clearly and knew I was still right on target for my overall race pace.

Mile 20 was slow as we ran through some of the older Cincinnati neighborhoods and the course was starting to roll down instead of up. I was still taking Gatorade at every aid station and despite being hot felt like my goal was less than an hour away from being clinched. 7:57 for this mile left me about 30 seconds behind overall pace. I knew as long as I could get back to 7:41 pace I could cruise in right on target. I had 2 minutes to play with as anything under 3:25:59 was acceptable and my race plan would have me under 3:25. It was time to dig in and go to that place where pain levels become less than tolerable and you start to run with your heart and get your head out of the way.