Posted from Vicente Guerrero, Mexico... I hope to blog some of our church's current work projects down here in Mexico soon!
"I love the tutu!" Vine video: Click the unmute button to unleash the full craziness of this clip, filmed as I neared the "Finish Swine" of this year's Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
The last time we tried this...
Before we get to this year's race, let's face it... Last year, a couple of us PDX Delta Airlines employees showed the world how NOT to run the Flying Pig Marathon. Jackie and I (along with plenty of other runners) missed a crucial turn-off, unknowingly bypassed our baton hand-off point, and accidentally followed the marathon runners all the way to the "Finish Swine." Fortunately, the remainder of our PDX runners performed wonderfully.
Before reading about our 2015 race below, feel free to re-live last year's hilariously embarrassing (and well publicized) debacle in my earlier 2014 blog post here.
Moving on to this year's race... I'm happy to report that there were no mass diversions this year. The event organizers who did such a fantastic job last year worked even harder to work out the kinks for 2015.
I had just climbed Mount Hood with Katya three days earlier, and my toes and feet were in really bad shape. My podiatrist had forbidden me from ice climbing for eight months, and I was banned from running forever. In other words, I didn't exactly have a doctor's note for this one.
The day before the race
Since I was the sole runner selected to represent PDX airport this year, I flew to Cincinnati without any local teammates this time. I was looking forward to meeting the rest of my Region West team for the pre-race festivities.
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| Studying this year's race route on the plane ride, avoiding last year's mishap |
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| Checking in at the Millennium Hotel, registering, and picking up our team's race swag from the Flying Pig Expo |
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| Pre-race party at the Via Vite Italian Bistro: My teammate Ingunn (on the right) and I (before I cut off my wild curls) mix it up with the other relay teams, and indulge in Delta's generous hospitality. Ingunn was an Elite-status runner in the Boston Marathon! |
Race Day
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| Long, early morning walk from the Millennium to the relay shuttle bus |
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| Pumped and waiting for my baton hand-off for the final leg of the relay |
Vine video: Hit the unmmute button to hear the crowd cheer for the lead marathon runner as he races past the final baton hand-off point.
More runners ran past as I anxiously waited, stretched, and bounced to the rock music on my running song playlist.
Finally, I spotted Ingunn running down the hill towards me. She yelped and enthusiastically thrust the baton towards me, as though running past. I grabbed the baton from her and started thundering down the final leg.
The cheering crowds provided course-side refreshments and encouraging shouts.
"Looking good, Delta!"
"Love the tutu!"
Considering my pain and soreness from that week's Mount Hood climb, it was satisfying to pass so many runners as I ran my segment. My feet were already injured, but a preexisting numbness in my toes (from a previous Mount Hood climb) strangely offset the pain.
An all out sprint to the Finish Swine brought my overall pace up to a 7:54 minute mile. Not anywhere near as fast as I expected, but respectable. According to an infograph texted me by a teammate, I ranked 22nd (In my leg? I'm not sure how that works) and 20th overall, and our Region West team took 5th place among all the Delta teams!
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| After crossing the Finish Swine |
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| Victorious! |
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| Post-race festivities, refreshments, and freebies |
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| Live music and dancing at the after party |
And finally, I'll throw in one more flashback from last year's Flying Pig Marathon. Delta's running teams are unforgettable, year after year!
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