Indy 500 Mini Marathon Race Report

This past weekend Deb, Nikki, and I crossed another state off our 1/2 marathon in 50 states list.  Friday morning I was at the ice rink with my daughter so she could take the next level of her figure skating moves test.  After she successfully passed the test, I headed back home to meet Nikki so we could get on the road for our drive to Indy.  Since Deb now lives in Chicago, we would just be meeting her at the hotel on Friday.  Amanda and her friend Becky would also be running the 1/2 on Saturday so the plan was to meet up with them as well.  I tried unsuccessfully to convince Nikki to take the turnpike so we spent quite a bit of time in road construction and traffic which resulted in us arriving a good 40 minutes later than planned.  The discussion of taking the turnpike on the way home came up and yes, we did in fact take the turnpike home and made excellent time.  Deb was also stuck in horrible traffic so we all finallly made it to the hotel a little after 7:00.  Shortly after checking in, we headed to the expo to get our packets.  We had an 8:00 reservation at St. Elmo's and Amanda and Becky were gracious enough to head over and check us in for dinner.  Both my husband and Deb's husband highly recommended we eat dinner at St. Elmo's so that is how we ended up there on Friday night.  My sorority sister, Ellen, was also running the 1/2 on Saturday so she joined us at dinner.  It was great to see her.  I was sitting next to Amanda and we got to talking.  See, I had originally offered to pace her to a sub 2 in Indy.  Missing my sub 1:50 goal in DC by 43 seconds has haunted me since I crossed that finish line.  I mentioned to Amanda that I really wanted to run fast and she said that was fine.  I was very appreciative of her understanding.  I know she is capable of that sub 2 half so I knew she would be fine.

Nikki, Ellen, me, Amanda, Becky, and Deb

After dinner we headed back to the hotel to prepare for the race and then headed to bed to try and get some sleep.  5:30 came quite early but it also came with no rain in sight.  The forecast had called for rain so this was a pleasant surprise.  We all got dressed and then drove downtown to the race start.  We ended up meeting Amanda and Becky in a hotel where we used the restrooms and sat for a little while before heading to our starting corrals.  Deb also went ahead and made dinner reservations for us for Saturday evening.  Multitasking at its very best!!  Off to the start line from here.

State #12

I exchanged hugs with Deb and Nikki and then stepped into my corral.  I had a lovely conversation with a couple that was using the 1/2 as a training run.  After this, there was a moment of silence for the Boston Tragedy and then the singing of the National Athem.  You could have heard a pin drop at that 40,000 people deep strarting line.  To be quite honest, I got choked up and had to hold back the tears.  Minutes later I crossed the starting line for my 13.1 mile journey.  I settled into my required pace early on which I was quite happy with especially with the crowd of people running next to me.  Around the 1/2 mile mark I saw Amanda.  The course was nice and flat until we got to the Speedway.  There was a good sized hill that you had to run up to enter the speedway and the track was definitey banked.  I had no idea what was about to happen to me about one mile after I entered this beauty.

I totally swiped this picture from Amanda's facebook!  Thanks Amanda!

I was progressing just fine and holding pace for the most part.  I did slow a little but I was still on pace for the most part.

See, 1:50:31 was my estimated finish time in the brickyard

And then it happened, my left calf locked up and literally stopped me in my tracks.  It was incredibly painful and I had no choice but to walk.  I was immediately relieved that I wasn't pacing Amanda because I would have felt awful and had to send her on her way while I worked out the pain.  Perhaps it was karma from the running Gods for not just running with her from the beginning.  Okay, karma, I get it!  Lesson learned!!  I tried taking in more electrolytes and water in the hopes that it would ease the pain.  Yeah, not so much.  I ran when I could and walked when needed.  I stopped at a medical tent just before mile 10 in the hopes they would have biofreeze.  No such luck so I stopped and stretched it some more and then called a friend to "cry".  I also tried to call Amanda as well as send her a text to see where she was.  She told me she was just having fun and she was at mile 9.5 and I shouldn't worry about her.  I replied letting her know that I was in quite a bit of pain and I was at mile 10 stretching.  A few minutes later Amanda appeared and I was so relieved to see a familar face.  We jogged the final 3.1 miles together.  I was very thankful that she was there.  We enjoyed chatting and reading some great signs.  We ended up crossing the finish line in 2:14.  I was just happy to finish it.  Definitely not the race I was expecting but that's the thing with running, you just never know what the day will have in store for you.  We headed to the post race party and met up with Becky and Nikki after they finished.  We were taking pictures and all of the sudden I had to jump off the ground and walk around because BOTH of my calves rolled and locked up.  Talk about painful!!

Amanda, Nikki, and I.  Yes, I am gritting my teeth in pain

We all chatted for a bit and then Amanda and Becky headed to their hotel as they were heading home Saturday afternoon.  Nikki and I hung out behind the wall of military personnel and waited for Deb.

Military personnel keeping the runners and spectators separated until out of the secure zone

I ended up getting a few more calf cramps during this time.  I did my best to walk them off.  Once Deb finished we headed to the car and then we headed to the cupcake store.  Don't judge...we earned those cupcakes!

State #12 Run and Done

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at a drive thru and then headed back to the hotel for a much needed shower and a glorious nap!  Saturday evening we headed out for some Mexican.  The food and company were great.  Oh, and the margarita was good too!  Once we made it back to our hotel and got settled in, I heard water running in the bathroom.  I thought maybe someone hadn't turned the knob all the way off.  Upon further investigation by Deb, we saw that there was a leak in the ceiling above our shower.  It was literally raining in our hotel bathroom which resulted in Deb calling the front desk and us moving to a new room at 10 PM.  Never a dull moment! 

Sunday morning we headed out for brunch and then we said our good-byes and started our drive home.  We made much better time on the way home thanks to the decision to take the turnpike!

I had a massage last night and come to find out my calf pain was directly related to an incredibly tight IT band!  Thankfully I am feeling much better today! 

Complete a half in all 50 states status: 12 states and D.C. completed

Completed states: Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.

Up next: State #13----somewhere...lol....we need to figure that out!!  I might also be working toward a pretty lofty goal but I will save that post for another day!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Cleveland Marathon 2012....Goodbye Demons

As many of you know, I have had some bad karma the past two years at Cleveland Marathon events.  I decided I was going to take on my demons from the past by running the 1/2 at the Cleveland Marathon this year.  I figured this was the perfect event to take on for my May 1/2 marathon. 

Race morning came early as it always does.  When we got to Brown's Stadium around 6:30 or so it was already 71 degrees.  It was nice to use the restrooms inside the stadium instead of port-a-potties for once.  After using the restroom we all headed to the start line where I saw my friends Bill and Kristin and gave them both hugs and wished them luck.  After I said my hellos we took a few pictures.

Kim, Becky, Missi, Me, and Bick

Our running shoes



As we were standing at the start line, talking with Dave who had come downtown to support us during the race, we decided we were going to try and run a sub-2.  During this discussion Jenn was trying to make her way to us as she wanted to run with Kim.  Eventually Jenn caught up with us and shortly after that the race started.  My plan was to run with the girls and run by feel.  The start of the race is straight uphill and we were all feeling it.  I was quite happy with our 9:33 for the first mile.  Once we had the first mile behind us I settled into a good pace and we were all running together.  I would check in with the girls every so often to be sure everyone was doing okay.  The next 8 miles we ran between 8:35 and 9:34.  The sun was beating down on us and I was definitely feeling it.  I had started dumping water on my head and down my back around mile 6 to try and keep my body temperature down.  I was still doing okay until we hit a crazy hill at mile 10.  I knew once we hit that hill I needed to slow it down and run smart due to the heat and lack of breeze not to mention the fact that I had witnessed several people passed out and ambulances on the course at this point.  I made the decision to walk the hill at mile 10 and I am glad I did.  Even with walking the hill my mile split was under a 10 minute mile.  At this point I had no idea if anyone was still running near me.  I had lost all sight of everyone.  During mile 11 I did a 3/1 run/walk and managed to pull of a 10:11 mile.  Mile 12 was my slowest mile all day at 10:57, but I am totally fine with it because I did stop to walk with a girl that looked as if she may go down.  I gave her some of my water and she seemed to be doing better so I continued on.  At the last water stop around mile 12.5 I grabbed two glasses of water as I had been doing since mile 6.  I would dump one on my head and one down my back.  However at this particular water stop they ran out of water and the girl next to me had a full marathon bib on so I told her to go ahead and take both of my cups of water as she had a long way to go.  I figured I could walk to the finish line if I had to.  She was very appreciative and thanked me.  I was more than happy to do it as she needed that water much more than I did at that point.  She went on her way for the full and I continued on towards the finish line.  As I was approaching the stadium I came upon a girl that was walking and told her she could do it because we were almost there.  She started running with me and the next thing I knew she was long gone.  I just ran a steady pace to the finish line.  She had to be running fast because I ran mile 13 in 9:21.  I vividly remember the final tenth of a mile because I realized I hadn't been affected by Cleveland event demons past one single time.  I was in fact finishing the Cleveland 1/2 Marathon with a smile on my face with an official time of 2:06:17.  I say "take THAT Cleveland!"  I noticed Missi in the finisher's chute right in front of me so the two of us waited for everyone else to finish.  I wasn't feeling the greatest so I downed a bottle of water, a chocolate milk, and a banana.  I slowly started feeling better once I had a chance to sit down.  After everyone was done we talked a bit more and had some pictures taken.

Never so happy to be done!!

Congratulations 1/2 marathoners!!

In the end I was actually incredibly happy with my 2:06 finish in Sunday's conditions.  The best part is that I didn't experience any demons of Cleveland past! Oh and my time was actually a PR for the Cleveland 1/2 course so I will take it.

Will I ever run another event at the Cleveland Marathon again?  Well all I can say is never say never....

Oh and for those that read my post prior to the 1/2, I did not meet my secret goal.  In fact based on the temperature at the start line I didn't even try!! 

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!