Indianapolis Mini Marathon . . . Check!

So . . . the Indy Mini was this weekend. I went hoping to finish under 3 hours. I was very anxious, excited, nervous, all wrapped up in one. I'm not sure why I was a worried. I've done two mini's. But they were inside. I was surrounded by familiar faces the whole
time. And Mama Tina was there at a moments notice to get me anything I needed. This one was different. Outside. Surrounded by 35,000 strangers and totally alone. Well, except for two friends. But we weren't running together.
Should I "carb load", how about "gu" gell or "gu chews" or energy supplements? And what about bathrooms? YOu wouldn't believe the nightmares . . .
So, I "kinda" carb loaded. I had pasta for dinner the night before. And a whole wheat bagel the morning of. And I never needed "gu" before so I opted not to bother.
Running on the street does not compare to running on a gym floor or an inside track. this was definitely tough stuff. I'm sure there are all kinds of reasons that it is different. "Real"runners know the science of the matter. All I can say is that it is more impactful. You feel it.

Many people rave about how "fun" this mini is. OOOooooo, all the people and the bands and entertainment. What.Ev.Er. That is not for me. Running these distances is anything BUT fun. It is WORK. It takes focus and determination. All those "bands" were annoying and a distraction. Bringing the ipod was a good move on my part. I plugged in, focused, and got down to business.

On the up side, there are THIRTY-FIVE THOUSAND people in this race. I was passing people the whole time. That is pretty cool. You can't get bored. Every step you are figuring out where to go next to fit through.

I determined before the start that I would drink at every water station. Everything I have read says to drink early and often. So that is what I did. I zoomed right passed the first gatorade stop. I cannot stand Gatorade, powerade, etc. They make me want to hurl. Litterally. However, after about mile 4 I realized that I was going to have to suck it up and choke it down. My body was going to need it. From there on I did just that. I drew quite a few chuckles from volunteers who watched my contorted expression as I forced myself to drink it.

I jogged the entire distance with the exception of water stops. I allowed myself to walk here while getting a drink. I think this helped me get through it all. And . . . about half way through I said screw it and walked for about two minutes. I RAN the last quarter mile. I seriously had to concentrate on every stride of that final push just to keep myself from stopping.

I walked away from the course knowing that I left it all out there. I could not have pushed any harder. I feel very good about that.

My final time . . . 2:47:34. I am proud of that time.

I am so glad that I put the time in to train for it. I was moderately sore afterwards, mostly because I didn't stretch very much when I was done. More than anything I was EXHAUSTED afterwards. I didn't get enough sleep the night before. Lesson learned.

I can't say that I'm too interested in doing this again. I really don't enjoy running. As I said earlier, it is work. But I will say this, I like what it has done for my body.

And, there is that race in Chicago in October that I'm registered for. . .