The Flying Pig Marathon (and other races) is the biggest running weekend in Cinci. Last year I made my return to racing with the Pig’s 5k. It was slow and rough, but a success. This year I had planned to move up to the 10k, which would be a first, plus prepare me for a 12k a couple weeks following. But sometimes bodies like to challenge your plans.
As I increased my training distances past about 5 miles mid-March, I started feeling something distantly familiar. After another run, I was sure the Runner’s Knee I had back in college decided to return. Runner’s Knee is the common name for various types of trouble caused by the muscles around the knee cap. On the bright side, the condition itself isn’t a sign of damage, but just overuse. When it’s acute, it’s hard to walk, let alone run, but a day or two of rest brings things back to normal. With the onset of that, I had to cut my training back to nearly nothing the few weeks leading up to the pig. I got in some elliptical time and a couple 1 mile runs, but it wasn’t much.
The morning of the race was perfect – sunny and just a bit cool. It’s always a blast to run through the street of downtown Cinci, and with awesome weather it’s even better. I started at a good pace and felt great for about the first mile. Then the ache started to set in. As the ache turned more painful I stopped about every half mile to stretch and walk a little. That’d provide some brief relief then I’d get back to a decent jog. I’m not accustomed to stopping like that through a race. Even though I might slow, I usually refuse to drop to a walk, but that just wasn’t an option this time out.
In the last half mile the course is always lined with tons of people watching and cheering and it’s really exhilarating. Even for the 5k, the crowd gives you that nice sense of accomplishment. Feeding off the energy I finished strong, almost at top speed. Amazingly, even with the pauses during the last 2 miles, I still managed to beat last year’s time by nearly a minute! I think that speaks a lot for my improvement over the year, and I’m excited to see my times once I’m past my injury.
| Time | Pace (per Mile) | overall place | men’s place | division place (M 35-39) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32:56 | 10:38 | 1006 / 2,992 | 577 / 1,110 | 60 / 128 |
