2010 Indianapolis Mini Marathon

The 35th Running of the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon took place on Saturday, May 8, 2010.  The Mini has sold-out for the past nine years with 35,000 registrants, and an additional 4,000 participants in the Finish Line 500 Festival 5K. The Mini-Marathon is the largest half-marathon in the U.S., and overall, the fifth largest running event in America. The 2010 event sold out on December 14, 2009.


Ladies and gentlemen ---- I finished.  It was one of the best days of my life.  I went through 75 different emotions in 3 hours and could barely walk - seriously - when it was done, but today I feel great, can't believe I did it and am so proud.


I ran my first half marathon in 2004.  I trained harder and just generally did a better job but still finished in the back of the pack.  This year, I have no idea where I finished, but there were probably about 33,000 more participants and I was most definitely not in the back of the pack!


It was cold. And windy.  And cold and windy. The cold didn't really bother me, but the wind gusts were intense.  Once I got going, though, I didn't notice the wind at all - unless it was behind me and my pace went from 12:00 or 13:00 to 10:30 :)  Those were nice wind gusts!  When I crossed the start line, about 20 minutes after the race began, I had to choke back some sobs.  I"ve wanted to run this race for a really long time and I was finally doing it!


The first 8 miles, I ran.  It was a steady pace, under 13:00 minutes, which is what I always want to run at right now.  I felt great.  I was listening to great tunes, smiling at the musical selections I had made and the order my husband had put them in, and just enjoying the people on the route and the event in general.  We had just hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is supposed to be the highlight of the race - running around the track - but it was my downfall.  It was boring.  People were starting to pull of the side and stretch.  It's a 2.5 mile track and you can't see anything around the corner, so you have on idea when it's going to end!  So frustrating for me!  There were some cheerleading squads along the way - my favorite was the squad that all had shirts on that said, "Our coach needs a husband!" - but that lasted for about 2 minutes of entertainment.


This is when my mind starting playing tricks on me.  My knee hurt.  I needed to walk.  My music was boring.  I still had 5 miles to go.  There are people who have finished by now.  I didn't train well.  I'm a fool.  People are passing me.  My goal is under 3 hours.  I quickly did the math and realized I was not going to make it so I got pissed.  I tried to run really fast but knew I wouldn't be able to keep up that pace. Whatever, I'm excited I'm doing it.  This is awesome.  Look at all those people!  Wait, are those kamikazi shots in front of that bar? 


Seriously, it was crazy!


So, I started to run/walk.  When I walked it hurt more.  When I ran it hurt less but it was so slow I felt like I should just be walking.  When I walked, I would text my husband to tell him where I was, along with some expletives that I won't mention....but then I realized I was at mile 11 and 2 more miles didn't seem like ANYTHING to me.  It felt better walking - even if it was more of a shuffle - and I was so proud.  I choked back more sobs.  I replayed some tunes that were particularly motivating.  I knew my family was at the 13 mile sign and all I wanted to do was see them.  I was now running to get to the 13 miles sign. Nothing else mattered.  When I got there and saw them, I started yelling and waving my hands and went right to them.  Here's a shot that my hubby took:

I was whooing and slapping everyone high five and smiling and at this point, nothing else mattered.  I was going to finish, I was so proud, it was AWESOME!


Then, I had to start walking.  The race was over.  And I was in PAIN.  All I wanted to do was sit and stretch but I was seriously afraid I'd never get up.  I was sobbing, for multiple reasons, and I swear when the lady handed me my medal I almost grabbed her and hugged her.


I finally found a spot to sit and stretch and it felt so good.  My family caught up with me and we hugged and smiled and my hubby helped me stretch.


IT WAS AWESOME.


Walking back to the car was next to impossible.  I was moving so slow.  I couldn't step off curbs or walk up them without feeling like I was going to fall over.  When we finally made it to the car I couldn't wait to sit and boy did I realize then how much I smelled!!!


When we finally got home, I took a REALLY HOT BATH, took some Advil, laid down and took a long nap.  When I got up, I could actually move!  And this morning, when I got up, I felt ok!  I felt like I had just had a hard workout the day before - which I had!


That's the recap - on to the next one!  I can't wait - and now I have to decide which one to do!


WHOOOOHOOOOO! (that is what I yelled at photographers every time I saw them - can't wait to see those pics!)