My First Out-of-State Race...Flying Solo at the Flying Pig

Tomorrow morning, I'll be running The Flying Pig Half Marathon here in Cincinnati, OH; and this race will be my third half marathon in six months (who'd a thunk it?). The event also will be the first one I'm running outside of Florida, as well as the first travel race without Michelle and Mary. As such, the overall experience has been a little bit different this time around...not bad. Just different.

This year, one of my goals is to run two full marathons (one down, one to go) and four half marathons (one down, three to go...hopefully two and two after tomorrow). As such, after running a local half in February, I was looking for a half in the Spring that would coincide with some business travel. Well, since I have clients in Dayton and Cincinnati, and since a number of friends have given rave reviews on The Flying Pig, I decided to come up for some client meetings and stick around for the race weekend.

And that's exactly what I've done. I came to town on Wednesday, met with a client in Dayton Thursday, met with two clients in Cincinnati Friday, and then made my way to the race expo late yesterday afternoon. While I've attended race expos by myself for local races in Northeast Florida, it was a little different attending an expo by myself in a town with which I am unfamiliar. Again, it wasn't bad. I enjoyed strolling through the expo, stopping at a few different booths, picking up my SWAG (which was plentiful), chatting with a couple of exhibitors and runners, and then making my way to the exit. Oh, and I did get to meet this guy, which certainly made me smile...

A Pig With Wings!

So today is the "rest before the race" day, and I still haven't decided what I'm going to do...it's easier to figure out at a Disney race, where I would go to a park for a couple of hours, have a decent meal, and head back to the hotel to rest the legs. Oh, I know I could head back to the expo and check out the booths again, but going back downtown, parking, and then walking around doesn't seem too appealing. I could also go ride a few rollercoasters at King's Island, but since I don't have the annual passes that I have at Disney, I'd feel more obligated to stay there (and on my feet) longer, which wouldn't be good before the race. I'm staying about fifteen miles north of Cincinnati because it was more convenient for my business purposes; however, it makes heading back to today's race events more of a chore and less attractive.

At the end of my deliberation, I think I'm just going to find a movie theater, take in a show that I know Michelle and Mary wouldn't want to see, have a decent meal, and then head back for some rest. Early wake up tomorrow (race starts at 6:30am), so rest is key.

So blogging gives me answers...I just decided that I'm going to go take in a movie before coming back to pin this thing on my race shirt and get everything else ready for tomorrow morning.

I Don't Think Any Race Bandits Will Copy This One...Right?
There are still spots available!

So tomorrow at this time, my third half marathon will be in the books. And even though I am admittedly a bit nervous about the two-to-three mile steady incline from miles six to nine, I have trained for a PR and am hopeful to achieve it...I'll let you know next time whether I did so.

Until then, enjoy your journey...