The days dwindle â€" so now it’s time to get lots of rest, eat sensibly, wash your hands a lot (to avoid catching cold, of course) and start mapping out your Flying Pig Marathon strategy. And for first-timers, here’s more sage advice from a Flying Pig streaker (i.e., finisher in every previous Pig):
1. Do NOT wear headphones!!
Save Lady Gaga/Doobies/NineInchNails/Adele etc for your solo runs, marathon is a social event. Talk to the runners around you, find the person doing their 50th state, 100th marathon on their 77th birthday, father/daughter doing their first before she graduates from West Point and is sent to Iraq. I have met all these real people doing Flying Pigs. Real runners hate headphone wearers. Ask those around you the questions you still have from your training, the person next to you (like me) may just be doing the Pig as a training run for a late summer Ironman. Finally, it may be the first time in your life as an adult that anyone has ever cheered for you, enjoy it!
2. Do NOT “carbo-load†Saturday night.
If you do, you will be looking for a port-a-John during the race for sure. Your last chance for glycogen replacement is Friday evening. Saturday evening just enjoy a light meal that sits easy on your system. There will be aid stations almost every mile with more then enough fuel to get you to the finish.
3. Do NOT “pre-hydrate†the morning of the race.
If you do, again, you will be looking for a place to pull over before you get out of Kentucky! If you normally start your day with a cup of coffee, enjoy one on race morning, as long as you have tried it during your training. There is plenty of fuel at the aid stations.
4. Be careful around the aid stations.
The ground will be slick with spilled sport drink and there will be people/kids wandering around. Stay to the left if you aren’t stopping and move far right if you are, do NOT come to a sudden stop! Grab a cup, pinch the top closed (to limit spills), drink what you want and throw the cup to the side of the road. Thank the volunteers, look both ways, and ease back into the flow. Don’t make any sudden moves and no one will get hurt!
5. Enjoy the race, you only do your first one once!
High five the little kids with their hands out, respond to the people who cheer you on, smile. There will come a time during the run when you know you are going to finish. At that point, relax and take it all in. You did all those training runs through the winter while your spouse/friends/kids slept in and laughed at your eccentricities to get to this very point so be totally “in the momentâ€! Enjoy it, you earned it.
6. Do NOT pass anyone at the finish line!
No one cares if you finish 3147th instead of 3148th! In the final stretch, position yourself for a nice finish photo. You don’t want to finish with the guy in the shark suit, or the guy in the red dress and heels, or the girls dressed as naughty nuns. This picture will be on your wall for the rest of your life, so you don’t want a hand covering your face or your hand blocking the face of the dude you “dusted†at the line! Be a good sport to the very end!
Marathon running is a great sport and the lessons you learn, from goal setting to personal discipline, will benefit you in ways you can’t anticipate. If you are a “1 and done!†person, you will never forget this day and it may be a defining point in your life. If, after a few days, you start thinking about what you would do different next time, you are hooked! Welcome to the club
Posted in: 5K; 10K; 15K; marathon; half-marathon, Flying Pig Marathon
Tags: Flying Pig Marathon
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