When Pigs Fly - Part Two

Did you read Part One?

Taking a selfie around mile 7-ish, from Eden Park in Cincinnati -

that's Kentucky over there!

When last we blogged, Chris and I were spending the night in Cincinnati; we'd ventured north so I could participate in the half marathon at the 28th annual Flying Pig weekend of events.

Although I had my alarm set for 4:30am, I was awake earlier; while staying in the Over the Rhine (OTR) area is convenient to tons of amazing things including restaurants and entertainment, it can also be noisy, and I have to admit to not sleeping super well that night.  I'd been obsessively watching the weather leading up to the race, and while it had been pleasantly warm earlier in the week, a cold front blew in a few days prior to Sunday, causing temps to plummet (this was happening at home, too - we have very similar weather to what's happening in Cincy).  Here's the hour by hour forecast the Weather Channel app showed me the night before the run:

The race started at 6:30am.  Nice.

At least it wouldn't be too windy.

Cool, cool, cool.  Totally no problem here.

This would be the coldest half marathon I've run, including the very first one we ever did (the Rock and Roll Arizona, many, MANY years ago), which we ran the first few miles of while wearing trash bags.  Thankfully, I knew the cold weather was coming, and I'd packed several different iterations of potential gear to combat the chill, including gloves, head/ear bands (thermal and not), arm sleeves, running vests, puffer jackets, and whatnot.

It was cold that day in 2007 - in the mid 40s or so

(Look at the poor folks huddled near the door at the AZ state capitol building)

PS - this is mid January in Phoenix - our definition of "cold" has certainly changed since then

Once the alarm actually went off, Chris hopped in the shower, while I started prepping my breakfast for the day.  Eventually, it was time, and after bundling waaaay up, we headed out into the still morning air.

"They call me big puffer..."

I would like to say we strolled the mile to the start line area, but it was cold, so our meander was a bit more expedited than a true stroll.  

The Kroger building, shining bright in the early morning

Chris found a spot to stand at the edge of my starting corral, while I made a friend in the interminably long bathroom line; once that need was addressed, I found a good spot between the temporary stanchions, handing him my puffer jacket and portable hand warmers (although my digits were still cold, I wouldn't need the warmers once I started running).  The first corral kicked off at 6:30am, but due to the large number of folks running (43k!  Holy moly!), our group didn't actually start until closer to 7.

Can I start running now, please?  I'm cold.

That's the John A Roebling Suspension Bridge behind my head -

if it looks familiar, that's because it's by the same family that designed the Brooklyn Bridge.

We made it!  Time to do this thing!

The announcer counted down each corral's last 10 seconds, and when it hit zero,

the gun sounded and flames lept up from the starting arch.

I was close enough to feel the heat, and the entire group of runners around me went, "oooh!" at the sudden blast of warmth.

Have I mentioned how cold it was?

Also, that cool stone building on the right is the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

We'll have to visit the next time we're in town.

The course for the half marathon (and the marathon, too - we shared the road for the first nine miles) stayed close to the riverfront, and before too long, we were heading up and over the Taylor Southgate Bridge and into Newport, Kentucky (the Ohio River divides the two states).

Heading south across the bridge, looking at Newport!

The closer bridge here is the Purple People, and farther away is the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge.

Our route took us about four miles through Newport and neighboring town Covington, Kentucky, then it was toward the River once more, crossing the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge and back into Ohio.

Heading onto the bridge - if you're wondering what everyone is taking pictures of here...

...it was this!  

A great view of downtown Cincy, including Paycor Stadium and the Great American Ball Park (home to the Reds).

To say the course was scenic was a bit of an understatement.

Back in the Buckeye State, we ran through downtown, eventually turning away from the River and heading a bit more inland.  I saw Chris just after mile 5, gifting him my sweaty running vest and head/ear band (he kindly brought along a backpack for anything I might need to ditch along the course).  Although the temperature was just in the high 30s, I was warm, and I didn't need them any longer, as long as I was still moving.

"Hi, hon!  See you at the finish line!  Love you!"

I was still wearing my gloves here, but I stowed them in my pack within the next mile or two.

Around mile 6, the road turned upward and we started our climb into the Mount Adams neighborhood.  While the total incline lasted a few miles, it wasn't a constant slog; instead, the road would ramp up, then level out, then turn upward again.  The level parts made it possible to run some of these miles, which was nice.  My training plan for this race integrated a run-walk strategy, so I used these hills (and those onto the bridges) as my walk segments, and it seemed to work pretty well.  We passed the Cincinnati Art Museum, which we haven't yet visited, and the Krohn Conservatory, which we have (it's a neat spot, if a bit on the small side).  The course support throughout the race was great, and the Conservatory even had an Elvis impersonator (in full jumpsuit and pompadour drag) singing Neil Diamond songs into a karaoke machine out front!

Another hill, this one just past the Conservatory - this was a really pretty part of a beautiful course.

Walking up the inclines also gave me time to take pictures.

We wound through this area a bit more, passing Mirror Lake and through Eden Park, where I took the selfie at the top of this blog post.  Around mile 10, we turned back toward downtown and headed into the final 5K of the run, including the finish line.  The last three miles were a gradual downhill slope, which was very welcome after the uphill hiking we'd been doing since mile 6.  Everyone coasted along, torching our knees but not caring very much at all.

My friend, you have a stowaway!

The pig theme was well represented at this race; an old nickname of Cincy's was "Porkopolis,"

due to the meat raising/packing industry in the area, and the Flying Pig embraces it, well, whole hog.

The puns were everywhere - the Finish Line was called the Finish Swine, for example -

and tons of folks wore costumes and made signs accordingly.

I even saw a real, live pig spectating the race across the street from where I saw Chris!

Starting our downhill coast and approaching downtown

Running past the Ballet building and looking ahead to the Great American Tower -

it's the one with the steel structure on top meant to represent a tiara, a nod to Cincy's nickname, "the Queen City"

(it beats "Porkopolis, that's for sure)

While I was out tearing up the streets, Chris was having coffee and also making his way in the direction of the Finish Swine and family reunion area.  He found an elevated position a few minutes before I came through the chute, and he was able to grab a few shots of the end of my run:

"I'm almost done!"

"Okay, focus, finish swine ahead!"

As at the end of many larger events, the finish zone was a bit of a crowded mess; runners were wandering everywhere, picking up medals, grabbing bananas (I got two, and those plus the ones from the expo ended up making delicious banana bread, once we were back at home), and gobbling slices of pizza.  I gladly accepted a space blanket (I was nice and warm when I crossed the line, but I knew that without something around me, I was going to get cold fast) and some pizza, and then I found my way out of the secure zone and to a park bench, where I called Chris.

All done (with the run and the pizza)!

Chris found me, and we started the stroll back to the Airbnb (it was a true meander this time).  Once we arrived, I ditched my sweaty clothes and hopped in the shower, while Chris moved the car from the garage to out front once more.  While I continued becoming a nice-smelling human again, Chris finished packing up, and when I was ready, we checked out of our overnight spot and started the short walk to lunch/brunch at Sacred Beast Diner.  Like many spots in OTR, it didn't disappoint, and we thoroughly enjoyed our drinks and eats.

The cool bar area, including a retro audio setup

With my Hemingway daquiri and Dirty French burger - both were sooo good!

The burger had au poivre AND mornay sauces, and I ate every bite.

The ride home was uneventful; Chris drove the whole way, so I could enjoy a well earned nap, and before too long, we were picking up the monsters from their doggie daycare spot.  Arriving home around 2, we unpacked and settled in, working our way through the full Miami Grand Prix race, the prior day's Derby, and Game 7 of the Lightning/Habs first round series; we were happy to relax and be back home together after a fun (but short) trip north and a successful run.

Chris chilling with his mint julep and his wee bully

I promise Zoe thinks this is comfortable

Later!

Amy