Weekend in Indy - Friday (5/6/05)
Day two of my three days in Indy started pretty early. We got up at 6:30 to get in an easy run before the day before the race. We did a little loop starting near the finish line over to the starting line and then east to see the first part of the course. We headed north along side this little river to New York street which is the finishing street. From the corner of the river to the finish line is exactly a mile...a very nice reference point for some severe "butt-kicking." The Indy veterans showed us the two false finish lines before the actual line. This was so helpful come race day. There was an indoor bridge on the IUPUI campus and then another place where the photographers took pictures. Total mileage was about 3.5 miles/32:27.
We cleaned up after the run, hit Einstein's for some bagels and then it was off to the expo. There were no lines at all and it was a very nice expo. I bought a couple of shirts and then did some sampling at some of the booths. Alex and I jumped in the Indy car simulators for a game and then we headed off to lunch. We got back to the hotel and then headed off for a drive of the course. The course was very flat and not too nice except for the start, Speedway, and the finish. We stopped and took the bus tour of the speedway which was totally awesome. I used to be such a huge Indycar fan and getting to Indy one day has always been a dream. It would have been nice to see the cars run, but this was still very cool.
We picked up some supplies on the way back and then hit the hotel for a bit. I felt like I had been doing too much, but since it was only a half marathon, I wasn't too worried. I took a nap while watching TV so I did get a little R&R. We headed north to a suburb called Carmel to meet a friend of the Caroline posse for dinner. We ended up at a nicer place than we expected for some good pasta. The waiter was a clown who didn't get that we just wanted some pasta and wanted to get out quickly. He was giving us the whole ambience thing and we were like, bring me some damn food and then the check.
We got back to the room about 9PM and got all of our stuff together for the AM. I think we did lights out around 10PM and I was hoping for a good night's sleep. We were in for a couple of surprises. First at 11PM, Alex's phone went off...right about the time I was finally falling asleep. Then at almost 3AM, another alarm went off. As I got up and flipped the light on, I could see Jay pummeling the alarm clock in a daze. Alex and I rushed the table where his phone was and I finally figured out it was the fire alarm that was going off. We looked outside and didn't see any flames and it finally stopped so we went back to bed. So much for good sleep!
We cleaned up after the run, hit Einstein's for some bagels and then it was off to the expo. There were no lines at all and it was a very nice expo. I bought a couple of shirts and then did some sampling at some of the booths. Alex and I jumped in the Indy car simulators for a game and then we headed off to lunch. We got back to the hotel and then headed off for a drive of the course. The course was very flat and not too nice except for the start, Speedway, and the finish. We stopped and took the bus tour of the speedway which was totally awesome. I used to be such a huge Indycar fan and getting to Indy one day has always been a dream. It would have been nice to see the cars run, but this was still very cool.
We picked up some supplies on the way back and then hit the hotel for a bit. I felt like I had been doing too much, but since it was only a half marathon, I wasn't too worried. I took a nap while watching TV so I did get a little R&R. We headed north to a suburb called Carmel to meet a friend of the Caroline posse for dinner. We ended up at a nicer place than we expected for some good pasta. The waiter was a clown who didn't get that we just wanted some pasta and wanted to get out quickly. He was giving us the whole ambience thing and we were like, bring me some damn food and then the check.
We got back to the room about 9PM and got all of our stuff together for the AM. I think we did lights out around 10PM and I was hoping for a good night's sleep. We were in for a couple of surprises. First at 11PM, Alex's phone went off...right about the time I was finally falling asleep. Then at almost 3AM, another alarm went off. As I got up and flipped the light on, I could see Jay pummeling the alarm clock in a daze. Alex and I rushed the table where his phone was and I finally figured out it was the fire alarm that was going off. We looked outside and didn't see any flames and it finally stopped so we went back to bed. So much for good sleep!
posted by Paco at 8:16 PM
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