5 days, 15 minutes, and 15 seconds!

April 27, 2014
5 days, 15 minutes and 15 seconds!

According to the Indy 500 Mini-Marathon website, the race will begin in exactly 5 days, 15 minutes and 15 seconds from now.  I am trying not to be scared, but at this point in time, I am totally terrified.  I wish, wish, wish I had run 13.1 miles before this point so I would know what I will be facing.  I have only run 10 miles before and that run was disastrous (major cramping).  Other than that, I have only run 9.3 miles. My coach tells me that it's not how many miles you do during one run, it's how many you put in during a week.  Last week, I ran 18 miles all together.  Hopefully, I am prepared.  Hopefully, my heart will behave.  Hopefully, my lower organs will stay where they are supposed to be!

I really don't know why I should be scared.  My original goal for the triathlon off-season was to learn how to run and to be confident about running three miles.  Three miles seem like a cake-walk now.  So I have already reached my off-season goal.  I think it's just that I have never worked to hard to prepare for anything before - and when I'm out there on the course, I will be all alone.  No one will be there to encourage me.  No one will tell me that the pain is ok, just run through it.  I don't want to tell anyone how scared I am.  I'm afraid if I do, my fear will take on a life of its own.  I have to conquer this fear.  I have to remember that I prepared the best that I could and that whatever happens now is ok.

I think the thing I am the most nervous about is the stupid bus that picks up all the people who can't maintain an 18:00 pace.  I ran a 15:10 pace in the 15k.  I should be ok.  But just the idea of that bus behind me is driving me crazy.  Oh, so worried.

At any rate, here are all things I'm thinking about:

Race start:  The Indy 500 Mini-Marathon is the largest half marathon in the country.  55,000 people will run!!!  The race will be starting in five waves.  Each of the five waves will start on a separate gun and will consists of about 6,500 runners (4-6 corals). I am in the first coral (W) in the last wave.  The first wave starts at 7:48.  My wave starts at 8:45 - an hour later!  My hotel is at the start of the race.  I plan to be there at 7:40 and bring a chair to sit in until my wave to save my legs!

Start at front of my coral: I am in a coral with people running 16:00 and my 15K race time was 15:10, I suspect that I will be faster than a lot of the people around me.  So, I'm planning to be right at the front of my coral.  Based on the information provided by the event organizers, there should be 7 minutes between the back of the wave in front of me and my wave.

Pick-up bus:  The pick-up bus leaves after the last person crosses the start line and travels at an 18:00 pace.  There will only be 1,000 people behind me (and 34,000 in front of me), and they anticipate that 900 - 1,000 people will cross the start line each minute.  That means the last person - and the pick-up bus - will be one minute behind me.  I'm telling myself to just race my race - and not worry about the bus.  If for some reason, I can't maintain an 18:00 pace and they ask me to board the bus, I am going to refuse, take off my bib, and just run the rest of the way on the sidewalk as a non-race participant.

Nutrition and Hydration - Pre Race

3 hours prior to the race:  16 oz water  /  1/2 bagel  /  1T peanut butter  /  1/2 banana

1 hour prior to race:  8 oz water, sipped slowly

30 minutes prior to race:  Power Bar Energy Blasts

Nutrition & Hydration - During Race

2 oz water - every 6 minutes   

Power Bar Gel every 45 minutes (every 3 miles)

Shoes:   I purchased two new pairs of shoes a month ago and had hoped to run in one of them during the mini.  However, I decided to wear my old shoes since my metatarsals had problems in the Adidas Glide Boost and I haven't run a long distance in my Brooke Glycerins (which I suspect will be fine).   Since I ran in the 9.1 mile race in my old shoes a few weeks ago with no problems, I think they are my best bet.

Mental Preparation:  I drove the course last week.  Here are my thoughts:

Mile	Description	Impression
0-6	To the Speedway	Interesting / Fine
6-8.5	On the Indy 500 Track	Boring (according to my son)  /  Fine
8.5 - 9.5	Lots of turns	Hard, but doable. I have run 9 miles on many occasions!
9.5 - 11.5	All straight on 16th Street No turns	I anticipate these two miles will be hard, long and challenging.  One step at a time, one block at a time.  When I finish these two miles, I will be on the home stretch.
11.5 - 12	Slight downhill / along river	Hard, but ok (getting close!)
12-13	Victory mile An uphill right before the finish!	Hard, but joyous!

Mile	Description	Impression
0-6	To the Speedway	Interesting / Fine
6-8.5	On the Indy 500 Track	Boring (according to my son)  /  Fine
8.5 - 9.5	Lots of turns	Hard, but doable. I have run 9 miles on many occasions!
9.5 - 11.5	All straight on 16th Street No turns	I anticipate these two miles will be hard, long and challenging.  One step at a time, one block at a time.  When I finish these two miles, I will be on the home stretch.
11.5 - 12	Slight downhill / along river	Hard, but ok (getting close!)
12-13	Victory mile An uphill right before the finish!	Hard, but joyous!

Indy 500 Mini-Marathon Training Series - 15k

April 5, 2014
Indy 500 Mini-Marathon Training Series - 15k

I decided to use this race as a dress rehearsal for the Mini-Marathon next week.  However, at the back of my mind was the fear that if things did not go well with my pelvic organs, this could be my last race. The good news is that everything was ok.  I had some pain, but everything seemed ok "down there." And unlike the 10 mile run I did earlier, I did not have any cramping.  I really made an effort to hydrate and I think that made a big difference.

The evening before the race, my coach sent me a text that told me to relax, stick to the plan, and smile.  Perfect advice.  I wrote his words on the back of my hand to be with me throughout the race.

RELAX:  Relaxing was difficult at the beginning.  My heart rate was 113 before the gun!  During the race, I focused on relaxing physically – and kept asking myself where I was expending energy that I didn’t need to be expending.  Usually, the answer was in my neck, shoulders, and hands.

SMILE:  Smiling was easy.  I smiled at every police officer and volunteer and said thank you as I passed.

STICK TO PLAN:  I was grateful as I watched others, that I had a plan to follow.

I felt totally confident coming into this race about the plan and my ability to execute the plan.  My only worry prior to the race was about my silly organs submitting to gravity – and I was MAJORLY worried about that.

I used iSmoothRun to announce my walk-run segments – and followed the 5:1 run-walk ratio throughout the race.  I adjusted slightly a couple of times when I saw a hill approaching so I could walk up the hill and keep my HR down.  It took discipline to walk when I had just passed someone and then I’d hear “WALK” in my ear.  So I’d walk and the person I had just passed would pass me.  Ugh. 

I drank two swallows = 2 oz (yes, I measured!) of water each walk.  I ate a gel during the walk near mile 3 and mile 6 (about every 40 minutes).  That seemed like a good reward for reaching every 3-mile mark.  I drank some Gatorade at mile 8.  Not sure how I feel about that. 

During the walk segments, I tried to really relax all of my body.  I let my arms swing loosely, took deep breaths, and took long strides which allowed me to stretch my calves.  I think that helped with the cramping.  I also tried to keep my pace up during the walk.  I was pleased with the result.

I felt fine during the entire race until mile 7.  At that point, gravity seemed to win the war with my inner parts – and there was significant pain but I just kept going.  I appreciated the walks at that point.  I was happy at mile 8 to see there was just a mile left. 

At mile 9, I had LOTS of fun.  There were 7 people in front of me who seemed totally spent.  I decided to pass them all – so I kicked into running as fast as I could for the last 1/3 mile.  According to Garmin, I got up to a 9:49 pace!  And I sped by all of them - one by one!   

My husband filmed the finish and I learned that my “run-fast” form is terrible.  My cadence was 97 and I was majorly heal-striking in front of me.  Oh well . . .  still lots to learn.

While I felt great at the finish, that was not the story two hours later.  Nothing permanent – but every joint hurt, especially my ankles.  I felt like a 97-year-old hobbling along.  Totally, totally tired.  The good news is that while my joints hurt, my pelvic floor recovered almost immediately.

Finally, to put things in perspective:  When I first started doing large 5K's, I was the walker who came in dead last - and was thrilled to finish.  Today, I finished before 17% of the rest of the women.  Super, super satisfying!