So here’s a summary of my experience in the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on Saturday, November 9...it was Three-Act Play

Act 1:   Start to mile 7.5

The entire focus of this (and the ultimate point of the entire day) was a running adventure with my oldest son and his oldest son, our first grandson.   You may recall GS1, age 15, has gradually been running since about a year ago, first with spring track and then fall Cross Country. So my DIL suggested, strongly, earlier this fall he register to run this half marathon...and this was the day.   

The day was chilly, with temps in the upper 20s.  I was slightly concerned the cold weather would cause him to bail but he was totally game.   I met up with DS1 and GS1 a short ways from the start grid a half hour before the gun...from there we got in the back of the pack for the start.   GS1 seemed to really enjoy the entire experience...he was laughing and observing and generally enjoying it all

The race started and off we went.  We quickly settled into a comfortable pace, as DS1 correctly wanted to take on a pace which would allow GS1 to finish.   We agreed to take walk breaks as needed and generally enjoy the experience.   

So much fun happened, I don’t have time to bore you with all of it.   Suffice it to say, though, the conversation was lively and steady. As a Dad and Grandpa, I was deeply pleased to see the wonderful relationship my son has with his teenage son.   It was open and steady, without the edge which so easily can happen at that age.   

GS1’s longest single training run was just short of 5 miles...so once we got near that distance, he was in new territory.   Around mile 5, he reported his right leg was getting pretty sore. We took some walk breaks and then ran but it was choppy.   So, I asked him if he’d like to go to a regular pattern of running one minute and walking one minute. He was fine with that and it worked...we kept that pattern through the split point of the half and full.  His spirit improved and the chatter was back and it was terrific.   

We stopped for one more pic at the break, with hugs and smiles all round. 

They carried on and finished at exactly 3 hours for the HM with a good attitude...here’s a picture my DIL took of GS1 finishing, with the state capitol building in the background.   

Act 2  Mile 7.5 to Mile 19

Bidding farewell to my son/grandson, I then set out to see what my own pace felt like on this day.   It was quicker than what we had been running and I was steadily passing people. I felt comfortable, not pressing but just running.   I hit the half way mark at 2:35 and it felt slow but that was due to the slow pace early on.   

Around mile 14, I caught up with the 5 hour pacing group.  We were entering a narrow portion of the course so I just glommed on with them...the pace was fine and I figured it would be a five-hour race anyway.   

In this pack, I had some fun conversations, most notably with a guy a year older than me as we talked about “old guys who still run”.   He was happy to hear I had run Boston this year and I learned he too had run Boston....in 1971, as a 19 year old, when he ran 3:15!! I asked how many ran and he said they were all thrilled it was the Humongous total of 1,200 runners!!   What fun to talk to a guy with that kind of history, still out there running. 

We snaked through Butler University and the Art Park and down onto Fall Creek Parkway, when Act 2 abruptly ended.

Act 3:  Mile 19 to Finish

In a mere half mile, my race went from comfortable to painful.   My left quad very quickly started seizing up. I couldn’t stop it...it ground me to a mere walk.   Full blown cramping, leaving me looking like the Tin Man, stiffly moving along. With 7 miles to go, I wasn’t keen on having to walk it in so started thinking.   I realized I had made a serious tactical error the night before in that I decided, given the cold temps, I didn’t need to pack the usual electrolyte tabs I always bring along.   Dumb, Joe, very dumb. So, how to get electrolytes?? I started drinking from my handheld water bottle, which I had half Gatorade/half water. I gradually swallowed a Gu they had handed out, despite the fact it was mocha flavored and I hate coffee.   I reloaded with more Gatorade and found another Gu pack in a spare pocket. I restarted running on a 1/1 ratio, just as I had earlier with GS1.   

Gradually, the cramping subsided.   I kept the 1/1 ratio to mile 23, when I upped it to 2/1.   That held and I ran that way to the end.   

Finishing the race was a new experience..   I think this is the slowest road marathon I’ve ever run and I was clearly in the back of the pack.  Probably useful for me to know what that feels like to finish in 5:15:27. MInd you, two years ago at this race, I went 3:58 to BQ.   But with sketchy training this fall and a 3 week flu bug hiatus, I pretty much expected it to be in the five hour range.   I still smiled all the way down the final 100m...I never get tired of finishing marathons. But today was much more a day for reflection rather than celebration.

Epilogue:  Post Race Conversations

I crossed the finish line, hit the stop button on my watch and looked up and who should I see standing the but Deena Kastor, the Olympic Bronze Medalist who came in for the weekend.   I struck up a conversation with her and she was totally delightful! We talked a lot about running, promoting the sport and paying attention. I thanked her for all she’s done for running and a lot more...it was a lengthy chat with some substance.   That was cool

Then, a little farther down the chute, I saw the Chairman of the Board of the race, the man who originally thought this thing up.   I first met him about four years ago and we’ve talked regularly since. I told him about my three-generational run and he got very excited about that.   He then pulled another Board member in for the conversation and we discussed elements of working with city authorities to pull off such a major event. So, even though my left quad was toast, it was nice my mind was working OK.   

So, there you have it.   I think this is the seventh time I’ve run this marathon...it’s very familiar turf.   I enjoy marathons so much because of days like this. The marathon is an exacting taskmaster...if gives nor offers any quarter.   You can’t fake it...you pay the price or you don’t and the result shows how many coins you put into the machine. I never tire of it.   

CLARKSTON BACKROADS TRAIL 10K

I entered the 10K at the Clarkston Backroads HM/10K/5K races that were held on Sunday at Independence Oaks County Park, located out in an area that I lived in many years ago. In fact, I remember the park from 40+ years ago as the place where I learned to X-C ski, and the race would be using some of those same trails. It also reminded me of how snowy our winters were back then to the point where X-C skiing was so popular that they had a few “citizen’s races” around the area, and I had competed in one of them at this same park. Now there's usually not enough snow to even get them out every season!

The day of the race was slightly warmer than the day before – high 30s and cloudy – but a lot warmer than it will be after tomorrow’s cold front comes through. Not much of a fashion report: tights and a mid-weight tech shirt under a running jacket. Mittens, pull-over cap, smartwool socks, and my cold-weather Goretex shoes completed the package. As usual in this kind of weather, it was hard not to get chilled at the start, felt perfect during the race, and then back to being chilled afterwards.

A number of my triathlete friends were also doing the event, so I watched them do their HM start at 9:15 and then went back inside for a last warmup before the 10K started at 9:30. It was not too large of a field and mostly a younger crowd. In fact, the only “senior” runner that I happened to see was another aging triathlete who’s a few years older than me and really slowing down these days. But good to be able to chat with someone while waiting.

The race started and we began the loop around the lake, following the old X-C ski trails that I remembered; there were even a few familiar locations along the way. The trail was generally smooth and not too narrow considering that it was not all that crowded, and the elevation changes were not as severe as I remember from skiing them. Also nothing that was much of a trip hazard as at the park where I usually run on trails. I had decided to run “smart” by walking up anything that felt steep while taking advantage of stored energy on the downgrades.

At about the 2-mile mark we exited the park to do a sizable loop on the dirt roads just outside. The roads were not closed to traffic, but fortunately it was very light. With the very high crown on the roads, you pretty much had to run right down the center; running to the side was like running with one leg an inch or so shorter than the other! Definitely not good on knees or ankles. And if you’re going to run with earbuds on, it might be a good idea not to have it turned up so loud that you can’t hear people yelling at you. I was running just behind a guy with earbuds who was staying in the middle of the road even though people behind us were yelling “car back!” I finally had to catch up with him to tap him on the shoulder and point to the SUV (a sheriff no less) that was bearing down on him.

The roads were really only tough due to having a couple of long, low grades that I found harder to handle than the short, steep hills of the regular trails. So after running a few tenths of a constant grade, I ended up walking just a bit to recover. Of course, this also meant that there had to be an equivalent downgrade at some point, and from my split on the 5^th mile that’s when it must have been.

We eventually went back through the same gate from which we had emerged with only about a half mile to the finish. I made it though one potentially confusing junction where the course split into three different paths for each of the distances, with my route being the shortest. Then it was up and over one last hill and across the finish line in 1:05:23, beating my 10K of a few weeks ago by about a minute.

The post-race food was provided by the nearby Clarkston Union restaurant, featuring their signature mac & cheese made famous on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives a few years ago, washed down by some Bellaire Brown craft beer from a Michigan brewery. By the time I left, I was getting cold again so stopped at the 7-11 just outside the park for a hot coffee to help warm me and my hands on the drive home.

The results are not online yet, but I was 1^st of 4 in my AG. Even with walk breaks, my splits were slightly negative at 10:33, 10:37, 10:41, 10:27, 10:02 (downgrade!), 10:26, and 9:14 for the finish sprint.

Two great race reports, thanks for sharing them with us.

Joe, that was one special race. I know I've always enjoyed running & biking in races & organized rides with my kids with my kids.They generated fond memories of time shared.

Paul