Mini Indy Marathon Race Day (5/7/05)
Race Day
After our night of messed up sleep the 5AM alarm clock went off way too early. I hit the snooze button twice before we finally started moving around. I drank my Accelerade and ate a Clif Bar. I tried to do some "body-weight" adjustment, but things weren't flowing well in Indy. The weather was clear and sunny with temps near 60. It was a little warmer than we expected, but still nice for a half. We got outside around 6ish and did a 1.3 mile warmup down the finish straight, through the IUPUI campus and then back to the hotel. We did the "USUAL" drills in the parking lot, headed back up to the room to put on our Gazelle singlets, take care of last minute business, and head on over to the start. We dropped our stuff off at the FEDEX trucks and started walking over to the start line. We made a last minute potty stop and got in the "B" corral about 7AM. There weren't many folks in there at all. It was really nice to be up front. I started feeling like another hydration adjustment, but didn't go. I wish I would have since it would have saved me some time in the end.
The corral filled up pretty quickly so Alex and I settled in a good spot where we could get a nice tangent into the first turn. Someone sang "Back Home Again in Indiana" and then the queen of the 500 festival sang the national anthem. The wheel chair folks started off first and the runners started a few minutes later. The gun went off and we took off. The first part of the course was slightly downhill and I was really careful not to get pulled out too fast. I saw Jeff and Andy go by on the right as we were in front of the zoo.
First mile - 7:42
I wasn't happy with the first mile since I was shooting for a 7:20 pace for the first 10 miles, but I didn't want to get it all back in the first mile. I wanted to chip away at it and put myself in position to run the last 5k really strong. We headed north along White River Parkway and then headed west on Michigan toward Speedway. I felt like I was in a really good rhythm the next few miles and hope I can remember how that felt for future long races.
Miles two and three - 7:18, 7:18
We had about 2.5 miles until we hit the track on some straight roads with some 90 degree turns. There were many bands and cheerleaders along the route, but no one reallys stood out. As I mentioned in my Friday entry, the scenery for this race is unimpressive to be nice.
Miles four and five - 7:13, 7:14
I started to tire a bit going into mile 6. It could have been the faster pace for miles 4 and 5. I ate some Enervitine at mile 5 and took on some additional water. There seemed to be plenty of water, but the gatorade stations seemed to be few and far between. I had to pee pretty bad as we entered the speedway. It was nice to run under the bridge and get some shade for a bit. I finally gave in and ran into a bathroom right in the infield near turn two. Of course I couldn't just do a splash and go, so I wasted at least a minute in there...definitely something to work on for future races. Running on the track was great. The music was good and I was thinking of all the history that this place has. As I ran by turn 4 I was thinkig of Little Al and Emmo touching at the end of the 1989 Indy 500. As I turned onto the front straight I thought of the 33 cars taking the green flag at the start. I tried to stay near the bottom of the track so the camber wouldn't mess me up. When I got to the entrance of the pits, I remembered a huge crash by, I think, Scott Brayton into the pit wall entrance. I made sure and touched the bricks as I crossed the start finish line and headed off into turn one. The exit out of the track was kind of weird running along an alley-like road and back onto 16th street back towards downtown.
Miles six through eight - 7:28, 8:14 (hydration adjustment), 7:26
The next little section was a little zig zag outside the Marathon Oil refineries. We finally got onto 10th street which is the start of three long straight sections. I wanted to take off at the mile 10 marker, but I was feeling a bit tired. I continued to run as I felt and my times dropped a bit. I was feeling the heat, but was staying mentally strong. I was taking on water at every other stop and drank the rest of my enervitene at mile 9.
Mile nine and ten - 7:33, 7:34
I knew my McMillan goal of 1:34:XX was out the window, but I still wanted to walk away with a PR. I picked up the pace for mile 11 and 12. There was a poor guy laid out during mile 12 who was being worked on my paramedics. When I hit New York street at mile 12.1 I knew I had to bust a good last mile to PR. I stayed focused on my form and ran strong. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Olson on the side of the road cheering for me...that was really nice and gave me a lift. I saw the 3/4 mile, 1/2 mile, and 1/4 mile markers and kept charging toward the line. It felt really good to finish in 1:37:48...a 24 second PR over the 2004 3M half marathon.
Last 3 miles - 7:25, 7:26, 7:09
Last .1 miles - 0:45.28
I realized my McMillan goal may have been too aggressive since it was based on a 5k on an easy course in perfect conditions. The thing I was most happy with was that I was able to run as I felt and my body adjusted to the conditions and I was able to finish strong. I started out the first 5 miles at a 7:20 pace, slowed a bit in the 2nd 5 miles to a 7:40 pace, and then picked it back up to a 7:21 pace for the final 5k.
I grabbed some food and went over to the Indy Runners tent to meet the guys. I grabbed a bratwurst at one of the food tents and headed back to the tent for some beer. We hung out for a bit and then headed back to the hotel. We headed back to the pizza place and moved through another Colossus and had a couple of Hennepins. I was feeling good! The guys dropped me off at the airport and I was back on my way to Austin. I grabbed two cheese burgers and a shake in Dallas and got on my next plane. I was home by 10PM after a very long day.
Race Stats -
overall place: 1194 out of 25054 - top 5%
division place: 168 out of 1847 - top 9%
gender place: 1064 out of 12421 - top 9%
time: 1:37:48
pace: 7:28
5m time: 36:46 (7:21 pace)
10m time: 1:15:04 (7:40 pace)
last5k: 22:44 (7:20 pace)
After our night of messed up sleep the 5AM alarm clock went off way too early. I hit the snooze button twice before we finally started moving around. I drank my Accelerade and ate a Clif Bar. I tried to do some "body-weight" adjustment, but things weren't flowing well in Indy. The weather was clear and sunny with temps near 60. It was a little warmer than we expected, but still nice for a half. We got outside around 6ish and did a 1.3 mile warmup down the finish straight, through the IUPUI campus and then back to the hotel. We did the "USUAL" drills in the parking lot, headed back up to the room to put on our Gazelle singlets, take care of last minute business, and head on over to the start. We dropped our stuff off at the FEDEX trucks and started walking over to the start line. We made a last minute potty stop and got in the "B" corral about 7AM. There weren't many folks in there at all. It was really nice to be up front. I started feeling like another hydration adjustment, but didn't go. I wish I would have since it would have saved me some time in the end.
The corral filled up pretty quickly so Alex and I settled in a good spot where we could get a nice tangent into the first turn. Someone sang "Back Home Again in Indiana" and then the queen of the 500 festival sang the national anthem. The wheel chair folks started off first and the runners started a few minutes later. The gun went off and we took off. The first part of the course was slightly downhill and I was really careful not to get pulled out too fast. I saw Jeff and Andy go by on the right as we were in front of the zoo.
First mile - 7:42
I wasn't happy with the first mile since I was shooting for a 7:20 pace for the first 10 miles, but I didn't want to get it all back in the first mile. I wanted to chip away at it and put myself in position to run the last 5k really strong. We headed north along White River Parkway and then headed west on Michigan toward Speedway. I felt like I was in a really good rhythm the next few miles and hope I can remember how that felt for future long races.
Miles two and three - 7:18, 7:18
We had about 2.5 miles until we hit the track on some straight roads with some 90 degree turns. There were many bands and cheerleaders along the route, but no one reallys stood out. As I mentioned in my Friday entry, the scenery for this race is unimpressive to be nice.
Miles four and five - 7:13, 7:14
I started to tire a bit going into mile 6. It could have been the faster pace for miles 4 and 5. I ate some Enervitine at mile 5 and took on some additional water. There seemed to be plenty of water, but the gatorade stations seemed to be few and far between. I had to pee pretty bad as we entered the speedway. It was nice to run under the bridge and get some shade for a bit. I finally gave in and ran into a bathroom right in the infield near turn two. Of course I couldn't just do a splash and go, so I wasted at least a minute in there...definitely something to work on for future races. Running on the track was great. The music was good and I was thinking of all the history that this place has. As I ran by turn 4 I was thinkig of Little Al and Emmo touching at the end of the 1989 Indy 500. As I turned onto the front straight I thought of the 33 cars taking the green flag at the start. I tried to stay near the bottom of the track so the camber wouldn't mess me up. When I got to the entrance of the pits, I remembered a huge crash by, I think, Scott Brayton into the pit wall entrance. I made sure and touched the bricks as I crossed the start finish line and headed off into turn one. The exit out of the track was kind of weird running along an alley-like road and back onto 16th street back towards downtown.
Miles six through eight - 7:28, 8:14 (hydration adjustment), 7:26
The next little section was a little zig zag outside the Marathon Oil refineries. We finally got onto 10th street which is the start of three long straight sections. I wanted to take off at the mile 10 marker, but I was feeling a bit tired. I continued to run as I felt and my times dropped a bit. I was feeling the heat, but was staying mentally strong. I was taking on water at every other stop and drank the rest of my enervitene at mile 9.
Mile nine and ten - 7:33, 7:34
I knew my McMillan goal of 1:34:XX was out the window, but I still wanted to walk away with a PR. I picked up the pace for mile 11 and 12. There was a poor guy laid out during mile 12 who was being worked on my paramedics. When I hit New York street at mile 12.1 I knew I had to bust a good last mile to PR. I stayed focused on my form and ran strong. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Olson on the side of the road cheering for me...that was really nice and gave me a lift. I saw the 3/4 mile, 1/2 mile, and 1/4 mile markers and kept charging toward the line. It felt really good to finish in 1:37:48...a 24 second PR over the 2004 3M half marathon.
Last 3 miles - 7:25, 7:26, 7:09
Last .1 miles - 0:45.28
I realized my McMillan goal may have been too aggressive since it was based on a 5k on an easy course in perfect conditions. The thing I was most happy with was that I was able to run as I felt and my body adjusted to the conditions and I was able to finish strong. I started out the first 5 miles at a 7:20 pace, slowed a bit in the 2nd 5 miles to a 7:40 pace, and then picked it back up to a 7:21 pace for the final 5k.
I grabbed some food and went over to the Indy Runners tent to meet the guys. I grabbed a bratwurst at one of the food tents and headed back to the tent for some beer. We hung out for a bit and then headed back to the hotel. We headed back to the pizza place and moved through another Colossus and had a couple of Hennepins. I was feeling good! The guys dropped me off at the airport and I was back on my way to Austin. I grabbed two cheese burgers and a shake in Dallas and got on my next plane. I was home by 10PM after a very long day.
Race Stats -
overall place: 1194 out of 25054 - top 5%
division place: 168 out of 1847 - top 9%
gender place: 1064 out of 12421 - top 9%
time: 1:37:48
pace: 7:28
5m time: 36:46 (7:21 pace)
10m time: 1:15:04 (7:40 pace)
last5k: 22:44 (7:20 pace)
posted by Paco at 8:58 PM
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