May 3, 2014
Woohoo!! I Did It!! Half Marathon!!
Indy 500 Half Marathon
Oh my gosh, I did it!
It was a perfect race! All of the training plans, all
the time invested, all the thinking about every little detail, all the mental
preparation – it just all came together at the perfect time. I ran 13.1 miles without getting tired and without any more than the normal aches and creaks. Un-be-lievable!
I was so nervous at the start as I lined up with 35,000 other runners. I went to my assigned coral and when the took the ropes away that separated the corals, I was able to move up a little more -- anything to get away from the dreaded sweep bus. A man saw me inching my way in to the center. He stepped aside and motioned for me to stand next to him. I think he was one of the kindest people I have ever met. I told him this was my first marathon. He had done three. He was so encouraging. He told me that he had read that if pressed, anyone could run three times their longest training run. I kept thinking about that throughout my run. We chatted and laughed as we walked toward the start line among the 35,000 starting the race. As we approached the start line, we said good luck to each other, and then he was gone. Maybe he was an angel.
My first couple of miles felt sluggish, but then I got into a groove at the pace I wanted to go. A lot of people were passing me, which I expected. I knew that some of them were faster than me - and some I would pass later because they were going out too fast. Runners were chatting and laughing. About a quarter of a mile in, I heard someone say, "Look, the helicopter is over the finish line. The Kenyans must be finishing!" There were things to see every block. Rock bands, cheerleaders, belly dancers (!), preachers, clowns, water stations, mile markers, and one seemingly crazy woman yelling crazy things at the runners as they by. People were sitting in their yards and on their porches cheering for all of us. One lady held up a sign that said, "I don't know you, but I am proud of you." I also made it a point to thank each of the police officers and military personnel who were all along the way. The time just flew by and all of a sudden I was at mile four. How did that happen?!
I made it a point to stop at each water station. I was carrying a water bottle that strapped to my hand and was sipping water at every walk. I think I drank too much in the beginning because I started to feel like a jelly first, so I started drinking a little less, but then I noticed that while I thought I was drinking a lot, I did not have to pee, so I figured I was perspiring more than I thought I was and started drinking more again. I stopped for water at each water station. I'd take a cup from someone at the beginning of the station, crush the cup a little to make a pour spout, and then pour it into my water bottle as I ran. Then I'd get a second cup from someone at the back of the water station and do the same thing. That worked well.
I was so glad that I had driven the course because I knew my next goal was the village of Speedway, a mile away. A country band, cloggers, more water stations, and a child folk singer. I looked for the factory that I knew would be halfway and then the Mexican restaurant at the corner where we would turn into Speedway. Running down Main Street in Speedway was uplifting because I knew the next focal point was the Indy 500 race track. As I turned onto 16th Street to approach the track, a little boy was standing with his mother and holding up a sign that said, "I am cheering for YOU." I pointed back and forth from the sign to me with a quizzed expression on my back. Then smiled and gave him a thumbs up. He got embarrassed and his mother gave me a huge smile. Fun.
We ran under the grandstand into the racetrack and were greeted by the I.U. Cheerleaders. While there had been a lot of cheerleader groups along the way, I was struck by how especially motivating they were. They weren't just cheering to be cheering. They seemed to understand that their cheers could make a difference. Not sure I can explain this. . .
We rounded turn two on the track. I was having a blast. Ok, now just run to turn three. My favorite part of the entire run was a group of girls all dressed up like cartoon monkeys. Each had a sign with the first part of a goofy joke having to do with monkeys on the front. As I passed, I would point to the card, and the monkey holding it would flip it over to show the rest of the goofy joke on the back. I got a kick out of that.
As I approached mile 7, I started to feel my pelvic floor and thought, oh no, here we go. Mile seven was where I always got into trouble during my training runs. But I just told myself, "Do not think about how you feel. Just run," and that's what I did. Not soon afterward, that pain went away and didn't come back for the rest of the race.
Suddenly, I passed mile 7 and then we were coming around turn four into the start/finish line. As I ran down the straight track, the PA system started playing the theme to Rocky. I discovered that song has tempo of 90 beats per minute - perfect running music. It was so cool to be able to run that straight, see the grandstands on either side, and imagine what the winner of the Indy 500 must be thinking as they come around the track at the end of the race with all of the fans cheering. I held my head high and imagined that the stands were full of people cheering for me.
I'm not sure why there is a yard-wide strip of bricks at the finish line for the Indy 500, but there is. That's why they call the track the Brickyard. A lot of runners will stop, drop and kiss the bricks as they run by. Instead, I decided to throw a kiss to the bricks. Ok, maybe I was feeling just a little silly at that point. Lack of oxygen? Then I noticed that there were photographers above the track taking pictures of people kissing the bricks. So I looked up, put my hand in front of my mouth as though to blow a kiss. Later, it probably looked like I was blowing a kiss to the photographer, rather than to the bricks. And in the still photograph, it will probably look as though I am holding my hand over my mouth because I am about to throw up. Oh well . . .
My dad (now deceased) used to be in charge of Chrysler's racing program when Richard Petty raced for Chrysler. He would often go to the Indy 500 to watch the Indy cars race. As I ran around turn one, I imagined him sitting in the stands watching the race. "Hi Dad," I said out loud.
As we exited the track, I could see the tail end of the runners. They must have been 2 1/2 miles behind me. Good!
After exiting the track, I saw the Indy 500 Princesses. We had a lovely conversation with one of them when we picked up my bib. I told her that I would say hi to her during the race and I ran over to tell one of them to say hi to her for me. Then I passed the Mile 9 marker. WOW! Only four miles to go. I was going to make it! About this point, I was no longer being passed by runners. In fact, most of the people around me were now walking and I was passing a LOT of walkers. I had to plan my course and zig zag to get past groups of walkers. Everyone was tired, but not me. I just kept running at my set pace.
I was looking forward to Olin Avenue. The street had several ninety-degree turns as it wound through the Marathon Petroleum Corporation. As we turned onto Olin, a lady was holding up a sign that said, "Touch here for a power surge." It was literally rubbed bare in the middle. How funny. Then we turned onto 10th Street and I knew the 10 Mile marker would be appearing soon. My excitement started to increase and then I could see it. Three miles left. I AM GOING TO MAKE IT! OH MY GOSH! I AM GOING TO MAKE IT. I am at 10 miles and nothing hurts. I AM GOING TO MAKE IT!
I thought these two miles down 10th Street would be the most difficult, but the energy I had from knowing that I was going to make it - and how good I was feeling - made these two miles not so bad. I also noticed that all the people in front of me were walking. While everyone was laughing and chatting at the start, no one was talking at this point. There was not as much entertainment at this point. And the water stations were much smaller. But . . . I found the 37 blocks in this stretch of the route to be extremely interesting as it wound through a poorer section of Indianapolis. The houses were small, some not well kept. Amid the house were dingy shops and bars, one specializing in frog legs. But everyone was out in their yards, smiling and cheering us on. I suspect most of these people didn't have the opportunity to be runners. I suspect many were working two jobs to make ends meet and they certainly could not afford the race entrance fee. And yet, here they were cheering for us. Encouraging us. That really touched me.
As I ran down 10th Street, I found myself speeding up and with only three miles left, I figured that would be ok. At times, I found myself running at a pace that was two minutes faster than my planned pace – and forced myself to slow down. I settled in to a pace that was just one minute faster than my planned pace. That felt good. My form felt good. My body felt good. Everything felt great!
Then I passed the 11 Mile marker and turned onto White River Parkway. Two miles left. Two miles! TWO MILES! I remembered that I had two traffic lights before the turn onto New York for the Victory Mile. Then suddenly, runners at the side of the road in front of me were waving their arms and yelling, "Paramedic!" The lead singer in a band up the road was also yelling, "PARAMEDIC!" into the microphone. I ran past a young athletic-looking young woman who had collapsed. Scary. I said a prayer as I ran past. Then a golf cart with paramedics and a stretcher came toward me. We all pointed behind us to the collapsed runner. I hope she is ok. That reminded me of how grueling 13.1 miles can be, how grateful I was for all the training I had done, and how I should not do anything stupid in the last two miles.
And then we were turning the corner on New York for the Victory Mile. People were so excited. The people on the sides of the street were yelling, "One more mile!" The runners were yelling, "One more mile." The volunteers were yelling, "One more mile!" I was yelling, "One more mile!"
New York Street had two hills and I had pre-planned to walk both of them. I wanted to run, but forced myself to walk. No use sending my heart rate soaring at this point. But, as soon as things leveled out, I ran with gusto - feet planted below my hips, head up, arms back. I felt SO good.
When I entered the part of the Victory Mile lined with black and white checkered flags, I called my husband. Not expecting a call from me during the race, he was concerned and immediately asked, "What's wrong?!!" "Nothing!" I quickly replied. "I am coming down the home stretch! Woohoo! I'm going to make it!! See you in a few minutes!!" A lady next to me overheard my end of the conversation and started laughing. "Isn't this fun?!!" I asked her. She agreed and we ran down the road with huge smiles on our faces.
Then I running in front of the stands. The PA system was broadcasting sound tracks from the Indy 500 finishes. An announcer was talking about something. I was thinking, "Oh my gosh. I am running in front of spectators at the finish line!" All the walkers started running toward the banner over the road. We were all going to make it!
I normally sprint for the last 50 yards, but I decided to just enjoy this finish. I just kept running and began shouting "Woohoo!" as I approached the finish. I probably looked like an idiot. I was just so, so happy that I couldn't keep it inside! I yelled "Woohoo" as I crossed the finish line, and then started yelling, "I DID IT!!!" I choked up a bit, but just kept woohoo-ing!
I couldn't wait to tell my coach. The first thing I did was send him a text, even before I even got my medal. My first text just said, "Finished!!!!" Then I texted, "We did it!!!! Followed the plan the whole way. Feel great! You are the BEST coach!"
They put the medal over my head - just like in the Olympics. I felt so wonderful. My husband appeared on the other side of the fence and took a couple of quick pictures.
Then I went through the stations where they hand out food to the finishers. They gave me a plastic grocery bag and I went from station to station and opened my bag so they could drop in a banana, peach cup, cookies, pretzels. It felt like Halloween. There was also Gaterade and water. I ate a banana (mmmm) and called my son, Andy. (Mike was not at home) As soon as Andy answered the phone, I started woohoo-ing again! I just remember babbling on with great excitement about the race with a half eaten banana in my hand. I have no idea what I said. Toward the end of the call, I thanked him for encouraging me to enter the first 5k and for walking it with me - and for all his encouragement along the way. I started to cry a bit. So many emotions!
I found an open photo booth and asked the photographer if he could make me look pretty. He replied, "I don't have to. You are already pretty." I don't know why, but I told him, "I just lost 140 pounds and this was my big goal. I am so excited." He high-fived me and took my picture. When I left, he said, "I just want to high five you again." So many kind-hearted people.
I met Brian and took some more photos. Then, without ever even sitting down once to rest, walked to the hotel. Simply amazing.
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