Indy Mini 2013 Report

This was my 5^th year running this race in my hometown.  We really are lucky to have the largest half marathon in the world just 15 minutes from my front door.  It’s ultra organized, well supported and lots of fun.  Nearly everyone in Indy either has run the Mini or knows someone who has.  This was my first half marathon and I PRed on this course as well.

Background – I ran a 1:53:22  two weeks ago on a slightly  hilly course, which is the best finishing time I’ve had in 2 years.   My training has been sub-pair since I’ve been recovering from PF since December.  I’ve been running pain-free for months but it takes a while to build back up while following my PT’s orders to do so slowly.

My DH is also a runner and offered to pace me in this race in hopes of helping me PR (1:49:50).  His training has been non-existent so he wasn’t giving up his own hopes by helping me out.   I thought if the weather was cool and I didn’t waste much time and energy dodging the crowd, I might have a shot at it.

Race morning – Weather was warm, 60* at the start.  The half I ran 2 weeks prior had a starting temp of 34*.  It seemed humid as well.  I had a short FE with a runner friend on FB (not sure if he’s here or over on RW though – Hi Tom!) and then got into Corral E out of Z.  There was many, many National Guards around as well as numerous K-9’s to help insure our safety.  We had a moment of silence for the bombing victims and the national anthem.  Then the announcer asks us all to sing along to the next song and the DJ plays “Sweet Caroline”!  What a nice tribute to Boston.

Miles 1-3:  8:48, 8:41, 8:32 -  It’s always so crowded at the start.  Even starting in Corral E, which is sub 2:00 finishers, I still had to dodge some old guy walking within 30 feet of the start.  Grrrr.  Oh well, ran down this road, past the zoo, caught a glimpse of the elephants and tried my best to keep DH in sight.  He’s passing people everywhere, fitting between people and just making it hard to keep up with him.  This isn’t new but it’s been a while since I’ve raced with him so I had forgotten how mentally exhausting it can be to try to keep up with him in such a huge crowd.  I wasn’t having fun.  By mile 3 I asked him to stop pin-balling around and run with me.

Miles 4-6: 8:31, 8:22, 8:55 – I feel better and settle into a good pace.  We enter into the town of Speedway and the crowds are loud.  I see my two kids during mile 5 so we stop for kisses and hugs before running into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  The only real hill in the whole race is here, where you go under the track to get to inside.   I’m feeling better after seeing my kiddos and know that running inside the track is fun.

Miles 7-9: 8:34, 8:49, 8:32 – But I forgot how much more crowded you are at the track.  They don’t want you to run on the banked corners so they have you running for at least half of it along the “apron”, which is about 1 ½ car lanes wide.  That’s pretty crowded for such a large race.  We did see the winner cross the finish line on the jumbo-tron right as we were crossing mile 7.  He finished in 1:04.  Mile 8 was good, we ran down the front straightaway so there was plenty of room to spread out.  We kissed the bricks, of course!  Mile 9 leads you out of the track and back to the road.  Saw my dad here, he was waiting on my mom who was walking the event this year (she finished!)

Mile 10-12 8:48, 8:25, 8:52: Ok, after exiting the track, I mentally started to shut down and DH could tell.  I slowed down so and he told me that we were still on track to PR if I would surge about 20 seconds every mile.  I didn’t want to hear any of this, I was hot, tired, my legs were feeling very heavy and I just felt drained.  He must have gotten frustrated when he could tell that I was giving up because next time I looked up, he was out of sight.  For some reason, that was reliving for me.  I didn’t need to worry about disappointing him or chasing after him.  I knew he was running to a bar about mile 11 where his buddy was waiting with a beer so I just focused on myself.   This was a good mile for me, lots of crowds and kids to high-five.  Ran past the bar, saw DH with a Coors Light in his hand and he yelled “See you at the finish” and I kept going.   But my surge hit an end by mile 12.  So close to the end but still so far.

Mile 13 – 13.22   8:42, 1:57:   This last mile seems to take forever.   Lots of people are fading, I see several in tears and encourage them to keep pushing.  The last ½ mile has checkered flags all along the roadside and the crowds are loud.  The PA system plays some radio highlights of past races.   I see the huge finish line sign and give it all I have left.  Finish time was 1:54:32.

I walked through the finish line and ran into a friend who offered to wait with me as I was looking for DH.  Doug, Vemonized, found me there and stopped to introduce himself and chat for a few minutes.  DH showed up a few minutes later and we hit gear check and found the beer tent.

So – to sum up – it’s a fun race, one I think everyone should run once.  It’s pancake flat, easy to PR on.  The weather was too warm for me, maybe I could have improved from my time 2 weeks ago if I hadn’t needed to dodge the crowd so much.  But I still finished under 1:55, which was my B goal.

Thanks for reading!!!

Stats:

Place: 4949, sex place 1159/16,039, AG 229.  30,071 finishers.

Without a doubt, the heat took a toll.  The top 500 usually takes a sub 1:30 time and this year it was 1:31:08.  I have never seen it that slow.

Great job!  I always love your RRs because I get to see the awesome stuff you wear for races.  That was funny that you ran by your DH sitting and drinking a beer.

It was quite humid and that did seem to affect a lot of people.  I tend to do better in warmer and humid weather (seems to loosen up my lungs) so I don't think it bothered me, but I did see a lot of people wiping sweat from their foreheads and taking 2 cups of water at water stops.  I'm sure with better weather you've got a PR coming sometime soon!

Great report and it was a pleasure to finally meet you!

Great job, Mary.  I think the one-ish minute difference between the prior one and this one is all the weather.  You are making great improvements since your foot injury.  Keep it up!!!

1.  Yes, he's a firm believer in the long sleeves, no matter what the weather.  Odd, I know.

2.  He had a buddy at the bar who had the beer waiting for him.  No money needed.  He meets the same guy every year.

3. Nope, maybe they just liked the view.  

Those slower miles -  mile 6 - stop to kiss and hug the kids, mile 8 - stopped to kiss the bricks, mile 12 - no excuse.

When are you going to friend me on FB??!!

Love the report Mary, you are a champ.  Let me guess 3 things:

 

1. DH ran in long sleeves despite warm weather;

2. DH did not bring any cash for the beer stop at mile 11;

3. In your running photo are those 3 guys behind you your personal guards?

 

Glad to see you back in form, looked like you had a couple of tough miles where your splits went up 20 sec or so (miles 6,8, 12) but you hung in there.  So cool to see your kids on course and hug them, what precious memories they are.  BTW, any fever blisters from kissing the bricks?

 

Hope the rest of your racing season goes well, pass on my regards to your DH.

Great job!  You got a great race photo, too - love it.  

That rock-and-roll fingers picture is amazing!  Such an intense expression--really beautiful.  New avatar?

Great race, seems like you really nailed it.