Indianapolis Indiana Race Recap

Here is the race recap for Indianapolis.  Officially,  One America Mini Marathon

Indianapolis, Indiana

Registration:

Registration was through ImAthlete.  I had to create an account and I now have another account for something for which I will never remember my password.

Fee:
The fees were $75 for the half and since Valerie came with me AND ran the 5k, it was another $35 for the 5k
$11.56 processing fee
Total, in case you hate math $121.56

The Expo:

This expo was at the Indiana Convention Center.  It was the same old thing.  I suppose this is what people want and likely what vendors desire too.  I bet they sell all sorts of stuff.  In fact, Valerie bought a water resistant phone carrier for her arm.... sucker!  Truth is, Valerie hates this type of shopping and wandering around the convention hall as much or more than I do.  I had to force her to walk down half of the aisles and point stuff out for her saying, "don't you want one of those?" and "oooh, look at that.  Maybe the kids would like that,"  I was met with a quick and emphatic, "NOPE!"  So, we walked the convention floor for about 4 minutes after getting our race packets and walked to the hotel... which was connected to the convention center.  Finally an easy one.

Shirt:
The shirt was a long-sleeved wicking, tech shirt.   Valerie's shirt was gender specific and short-sleeved.  These pictures show the front and the back of my shirt.

Race Day:
Saturday

Race Start Time:

Race start time was 7:00am for the 5k and 7:33am for the half.  Valerie went off right at 7:00am, but the half started about 90 seconds late.  Actual start time 7:34:30.  I was happy that it started a little behind because I was rushing over from the hotel that was directly adjacent to the start.  It was 40F and raining.  I was cold.  So, after I saw Valerie off, I went into the hotel lobby, in the warmth and waited.  I was not able to stretch or move around much because there was a whole bunch of other folks who had the same idea, but I was able to get a breakfast bar and some water... which was good, because I forgot to get breakfast.  I was more focused on getting Valerie to the starting line on time so I forgot until we were almost there.  Oh well, It all worked out.  

Course Map:


I thought this would be a "cool" race because it ran through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and around the track.  And I was right.  It was pretty cool.  Funny story.  After the race, when we were at a local burger restaurant, the owner asked me if I stopped and kissed the bricks.  I had no idea what she was talking about.  Later, a friend of mine asked me if we ran over the bricks.  I had to ask... OK, I Googled it.  So, the tradition is to kiss the bricks that are laid out on the track after you win the Indy 500.  My friend said, I guess you didn't win.  Far from it.  So, while we were at the airport we saw a friend who had also run this race -- He actually ran it fast!  Super fast!  He finished 30 minutes before me.  Anyway, I was telling him about all of the brick questions.  He said, "Oh yeah, there were signs and reporters, and celebrities and people stopping to kiss the brick and photographers.  I am surprised you didn't see them!"  I saw NONE OF THAT!  Seriously!! I did not notice any part of that.  However, take a look at the photo below.

Nope.  No bricks!!  No idea what they are talking about.  LOL.

Accommodations:

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Indy.  It was attached to the convention center and it was the old Union Station train station.  There were actual train tracks inside the hotel and trains on them.  They converted them into rooms, so you could stay in the train.  We did not, but it was really cool either way.  Also, it is a working station, so real live working trains pass by your room several times each day and night.  They give you ear plugs for each person in your room.  It did not actually bother us... and it was pretty cool.

Transportation:
We took a Lyft to the convention center from the airport and then we walked to the hotel and everywhere else.  Indianapolis is a really nice and pretty city.  Interesting architecture and old buildings and it was clean and just nice.  There were a bunch of electric cars around called BlueIndy.  You can rent them for the day or hour or week or whatever.  I considered renting one of those as they were right outside of our hotel and I saw a place at the airport also, but the Lyft ride was only $11, so I decided to save that type of thing for a time when I needed to go more places.

Weather:

The weather was cold.... AGAIN. It was 40F at the start... AGAIN... only this time it was raining.  It rained from 7:00am to 7:45 or so. Valerie tried to get me to buy some gloves at the Expo, but I declined.  My hands were not really cold this time.  In fact, because I spent the 30 min before the race in the hotel lobby, I was not really cold at all.  It was chilly, but not terrible.  I prayed that God would hold off the rain and He did!  It was cloudy and moist for most of the race, but the sun came out after a while and it felt really nice.  

Race Morning:

We walked through the convention center to get to the start of the 5k... on purpose,  It was cold and windy and neither of us wanted to be outside.  Good thing there was a way to to get there through the convention center in doors.  Valerie told me that there were Indy cars that separated the waves.  Since I was closer to the front, we did not have any cars separating anything, but she said it was pretty cool.  

Race:

The race was well organized.  I did not have any trouble finding where to go.   There was no confusion.  And based on what I have already told you, you may understand that it is important to me for there to be no confusion as I get confused easily and miss most everything.  The roads were not as bad as New Orleans, but could use some work around town.  There was one part where we were entering into the Speedway that I stepped into a hole and twisted my ankle.  It did not hurt too badly and I do not think it hampered my "performance" much, if at all.  It was nice to have the draw of the lap around the Speedway to look forward to.  Knowing that was coming up kept me from running too fast (so that I would have some energy left to make it a mile around the track), and kept me motivated to keep going.  It was also nice that it was in the "middle" of the race, because as you left the track it felt like you had accomplished something and the finish was within reach.
I really needed a couple or a few more weeks to train for this race.  The leg is all good, but my cardio was just not there completely.  I walked for a very short 10 seconds after mile two.  I thought this was going to be a melt down race for me, but I was able to recover quickly.  I was just going too fast.  I was only running 7:55-8:00, but I just could not sustain it.  After that short walk, I slowed to 8:30-8:40 and did just fine.  This is significantly slower than I had been running prior to hurting the calf, but I just did not have the lungs for it.  Good news is I have 5 full weeks before Minnesota.

Water/Food Stations:
There were water stations every1.5 and some were even closer than that.  Once again,  all I saw was water and Gatorade and MOST of the stations were water only.  I did not get any Gatorade until after I left the Speedway.  I would have liked to have had something other than water at least once during the first 8 miles.  There was a Cliff Shot station at mile 9 and that was nice as I was in need of some energy at that point. I saw no bananas or other food at any of the stations.  (but, I think we have already established that I do not see everything).  

Scenery:
The scenery was downtown Indy and the Indy 500 Motor Speedway.  Indy is a nice city and the Speedway was just cool to run on.  I thought it was a rather enjoyable race.

Race Entertainment:
There were several smaller acts, but not necessarily music.  There were a few bands, but I found it fun that there were several cheerleaders - little ones, and even a group of cloggers.  I have no idea how they clogged for several hours, but presumably they did.  One entertainment station was at a bus stop, one guy with three large speakers playing loud music.  It kinda made me chuckle.

Finish:
The finish was Just a couple of blocks from the start.  It was one of the more organized finish areas that I have encountered so far.  I think the reason I felt this way is because it was LOOOONG.  It went down one street and then turned and went down another.  This sounds like a bad thing, but I liked it because it meant that there were not hoards of people all vying for the same space.  It may not be apparent, but I do not really like crowds of people.  Especially when they are all bunched up into an area.  There was bananas, granola bars, water, gatorade, fruit cups and a few other little things.  I ate them as I walked back to the hotel where Valerie was waiting.


Bling:




The finishers medal was pretty cool and went with he whole Indy race theme.

Misc:

This was a nice race.  If I had my lungs and had been able to keep a good pace, I think this would have been my favorite race so far.  There were lots of people.  I think there were 20,000 in this race and there was no marathon, only the half.  I never was able to get "out in the open".  Usually the crowd thins out and you have some breathing/running room.  Not this time.  In fact, while we were making our way around the track, I was passing two guys (yes, I passed a few people), one of them was passing the other, so I drafted him to make the pass... well, he decided this would be a fine time to take off his jacket and put it around his waist.  Of course he had to slow down to do it which put me in a pickle.  I tried to split the middle sideways, but I ended up bumping both of them.  I yelled, "excuse me!  Sorry!" but, I doubt they cared.  Probably just mad that I bumped into them.

Post Race:

I walked back to the hotel and got a shower and laid down for an hour and then Valerie and I packed up and found a local hamburger joint.  It was a good burger and much needed.  I actually did not eat the whole thing... but someone that I know DID eat their entire thing.

As I mentioned, I have 5 weeks until Minnesota.  I plan on getting my cardio back in that time frame.  I start back tomorrow.  Honk if you see me on the road.  BTW... I am running this next race for St. Jude's Children's Hospital.  Please consider donating to this great cause.  Simply click here:
http://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/Heroes/Heroes?px=4464319&pg=personal&fr_id=64831