May is already shaping up to be a great month! Training is ramping up, the weather is getting nice, and races are just around the corner.
This last weekend I ran the Indy 500 Festival Mini Marathon with my wife! It was her first half marathon, and she had been training to run it for a few months. She put in a lot of hard work, and she finally got to show it all off by completing the run.
We picked up our packets complete with bibs, shirts, papers and all kinds of other goodies the night before. The Mini also does an expo with the race, where different local retailers and other companies can come out and show off their products, sell their products, and generally be a support. It's a really neat experience, and it's open to the public, not just the runners. If you're in the area around this time, I highly recommend checking it out if you can.
This is my one gripe with the Mini, and I'll make it brief: I didn't get the correct size shirt that was marked on my paperwork. I had a Medium marked down, but we discovered that I was given a Large after we got back to the hotel, which is way too big. If I would have known they didn't have Mediums left, I would have gone for a Small. Very minor gripe, but still frustrating, because I don't really have a use for a Large shirt.
We were able to get a great rate at a hotel downtown, so we stayed very close to the action. We had a good dinner and went to bed early to get some rest. Morning came early, but we had laid everything out and packed up the night before, so we had plenty of time for some granola, bananas and coffee in the morning before heading down to the start line.
Over 35,000 people participated last weekend, making it the largest half marathon in the country (at least that's what they told us over the loudspeakers). I believe it, as it was pretty tough to get around once you got down near the start area. We found our corral, and N stayed there while I headed over to the UPS trucks to check my car keys and our phones so we knew where they were when we finished.
I used that time to warm up a bit, and ran into a few friends! There was limited open space in which to actually jog to warm up, and I ended up bouncing between quite a few people, but got warm and found my way back to the corral where N was waiting.
We were in Wave 3, and had decided that we were going to run it together. We heard the Elite runners go, then Wave 1 and Wave 2, and suddenly we were moving toward the start line! As we got closer, the crowd started to move a little faster, and eventually we were jogging over the start line. We started our watches and waved to the cameras!
Miles 1-3 we did at a good pace, but I found that all the water and coffee we drank that morning had run right through me and I needed to use a port-a-potty. I told N to go on ahead and I would catch up to her. That was not my best idea.
I finished my business and took off to find N. We had been running around a 10-11 minute mile pace, so I figured that if I took off at a 7 minute mile pace, I would catch up to her pretty quickly. Well, I didn't realize how long it had taken me at the john, and before long I thought I had gone too far. Keep in mind, the people around me are all running around probably 11-13 minute miles right now, and I'm whizzing by at a 7 minute pace.
So I get up the road a ways, and think I've gone too far. I decide to turn around and jog back toward the johns to see if I can maybe spot N that way. I am now running backwards on the course, past all of the people I just passed. The looks I was catching were not the nicest, but semi-understanding at this point. It was pretty clear that I was looking for someone, but I could still feel some heat.
I got all the way back to the toilets, and realized I hadn't gone far enough forward to catch N. So, realizing that I needed to go a lot farther forward, I took off again at a 7 minute pace, going with traffic. Passing all those people that I had already passed twice now, including once in the wrong direction. Make that the 3rd time I've passed them.
I came up on someone I knew in a suburb and figured that I had maybe gone far enough this time to catch N, so I decided to stand and chat and see if maybe N would run past me. We stand and talk, and cheer on the runners, congratulate friends that we see run by. I'm standing there for about 10 minutes or so, and I start to realize that I'm catching some really nasty looks, and then I realize that the people that are running past are now watching me for the 4th time, except I'm standing and cheering them on this time.
After about 10 minutes, I decide that I didn't go far enough forward again, and that I need to just push forward and see if I can find N that way. So, now that these people have watched me run past them going forward, backward, forward again, then run past me standing and cheering them on, I am now going to be running past them one more time. This time, they did not hold back their displeasure.
"Here comes THAT guy again," "Hey, your shoe is untied!" "Ugh, what an asshole." I got all of the above and probably a few more as I once again ran by these folks at about a 7 minute mile pace. Keep in mind, this is at the 6 or 7 mile marker of the race, so we are well into the dread zone here.
After a couple of miles, I finally caught up with N on the Speedway. For those who are unfamiliar, the Mini goes around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, even crossing the famous bricks. I was really glad that we were able to cross the bricks together, and we continued on from there.
N definitely got grumpy with me as I was running with her, and understandably so. I danced and sang at times, which I'm sure felt like taunting to the other runners around me, so I cooled it around mile 11 to keep the hatred to a minimum. I think I had already pissed off enough people earlier that day, I didn't want to make any more enemies.
We crossed the line together, happy to have taken the journey together! N was amazingly strong, and I could not be more proud of her and her journey. She has provided a lot more inspiration than she probably realizes, and her support of me has helped lift my performance to heights I didn't think I could achieve. I'm sure she's going to be running more soon, but for now she's taking a very well-deserved break from pounding the pavement.
As far as the rest of my training goes, I'm happy to report that it's going well! I participated in a very fun event with Club 5280 on Sunday night, and posted a mile time of 5:41. I'm back in the pool and feeling strong, with the best feeling form I've had in years, and I'm back on the bike and getting things straightened out to hopefully buy some time there too. My run is coming along quite nicely, and I'm really starting to feel good about this season and the races I've selected. I'm already thinking about new challenges in 2016, but that will be another post.
In other news, I've signed up for Ironman Muncie 70.3 and Cicero, so I've got 2 races on the books officially. I'm signing up for Winona Lake later this month, and maybe a couple of surprise bookings coming up as well. I've got to verify dates and cost, and I'll be making moves on those soon.
I did get to try a few new and special things at the Mini expo, and there will likely be a post later this week about one of my new favorite BASE Performance products. Later on...
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