Valentine’s Day is just like any other day; except that it’s not. Hallmark and “the man” like to stuff chocolates, gooshy sayings, and all that other crap down your throat. Valentine’s Day is the one day that everyone expects this, it’s okay. Flaunt your love! Express your passion for your mate. Don’t mind me glaring at you from the corner and giving you dirty looks.
I told Leanne I was going to watch American Psycho and eat cupcakes on Valentine’s Day. Which I did… Because how much more of a love story do you want?
He loves himself, right?
I really don’t want to be “that” person who is the sarcastic wench on Valentine’s Day. Really, I don’t. So I won’t. Instead I’ll talk about someone I do love. My Grandma. I know, I know. This is different. I’ve mentioned a couple of times on here that in May I am going to be doing the Flying Pig Half Marathon.
The reason that I started “racing” in the FPHM is because of my grandma. She passed away unexpectedly in 2002. Leanne and I had just had a visit up to Michigan that week and stayed at my grandma’s house, it was only a couple days later that she passed. I came home from work got sucker punched and ran into a brick wall all at the same time by the news.
In 2004, my mom decided that she wanted to train with the American Stroke Association of Cincinnati in honor of my grandma for the Flying Pig. She asked if I wanted to join, I of course couldn’t let her have all the fun so I joined her. I was in my last year of college and couldn’t really do any of the training with her, but I still did my own “training.” I know now how woefully unprepared I was for my first half marathon. I can’t remember what I really did. I know I did a lot of walking around my neighborhood in Bexley, but it was never for very long. I do remember my mom telling me that she was walking for like 9 miles at a time and feeling a little guilty that I was not. Undettered, I was still gung ho about doing it.
May rolled around a lot quicker than expected. That was okay, I was still ready to do it! During my mom’s training she had hurt her ankle and had taken a couple of weeks before the race off. On Sunday morning we were all ready to go. And by all ready I mean, cold, wet and nervous. At least I was. Sunday was a miserable day, it turns out. It was cold, very windy and raining. We donned our black plastic trash bags and made our way to the start line.
The Flying Pig always starts at Paul Brown stadium, which is pretty cool. Everybody gets all jammed onto the street, trying not to step in puddles. They were playing music, but we couldn’t hear it all that well. Then the gun went off! And 10 minutes later, we went over the start line! My mom’s ankle was still hurting so we said we would take it slow and not be crazy.
The Pig has followed the same basic route it’s whole existence. It starts off at Paul Brown,
past Great American,
over the Ohio River, into Kentucky, over the Licking River, back over the Ohio River (that’s three rivers, just in case you’re counting), back into Ohio, through downtown,
past the Aronoff Center,
up through Mt. Adams, Obrynville, turning into Over the Rhine, past the police headquarters, come out at Sawyer’s Point,and you are in the final stretch!
Once you make it to Great American again you are finished and all the riches in the world await you. And by riches I mean people with water and crinkly blankets, and bagels and banana’s, and cookies, oh and oranges!
The first year we did The Pig, we did not get to follow this route. In 2004 it was the first time the race people were doing a half, I think, and my mom was actually doing a relay with another American Stroke person. We followed the beginning portion of the race; but once we got to Obrynville we turned and kept going through Hyde Park until the midway point. This all sounds fine and dandy, but remember…it was cold, rainy and windy. Plus we were wearing black plastic trash bags. And as my mom later found out she had chipped her ankle bone and that was why her ankle hurt.
All throughout the race, my mom kept telling me her ankle hurt and that she thought she should stop. And I was like, “Oh stop complaining mom!” Just kidding! Really!
I kept telling her, “You can do it! We’ll stop once we get in Kentucky.” Or, “You can do it! We’ll stop once we get back into Ohio.” You know, trying to be the motivating daughter that I am, but also knowing that we were going to keep walking until we finished. We also discussed that mom was doing it for grandma and that she could definitely do it for her. Longer story short, we finished! Soaked, cold, wet, chipped off ankle and all; we finished.
I am so glad that my mom started this great tradition. Since 2004, we have walked in every Flying Pig Half Marathon and we are signed up to walk again this year. Every year I think of my grandma during training and the race.
It makes me happy to think of my grandma and how tickled she would be to know about all the half marathons. She might even be right there with us!
Tags: American Psycho, American Stroke Association, cupcakes, Flying Pig Marathon, grandma, Valentine's Day
