2007 Mini Indy Half Marathon

Today was my third "mini" and the conditions weren't the best. It was probably the warmest weather for a half I have ever run.

I flew out with Brian yesterday and we were pretty much on our feet most of the day. We got into Indy and to our hotel around 2:30PM. We hit the expo and were able to rest for about an hour before we met Alex, Jay, and the Carolina boys for dinner and Buca de Bepo. We ordered two family style dishes that really hit the spot. Afterward we hung out a bit before hitting the room. I think I fell asleep a little after 8PM while watching NASCAR and did a final lights out at 9:30.

We got up at 5:30 and were out the door at 6:15 to meet Jay and Alex for the walk to the start. I ate two pop tarts and about 24 oz of Ultima before we left. I also ate a CarbBoom about 30 minutes before the race. The weather was really humid with temps in the mid 60s. It felt cool, but the air was really thick. We jogged over to the area where the wheel chairs park and did some drills. I lined up around 7:15 and the gun went off around 7:35.

The first miles were very strong for me, but I had to make a pit stop during mile 5 which cost me some time. The music was plentiful as usual and in the first half of the race the duo with the old fashion bass. They were playing "Born to Be Wild" when I ran by. The usual folks were out there as well..cloggers, bagpipes, and lots of heavy metal folks.

Mile 1 - 5 Splits - 7:16, 7:13, 7:11, 7:09, 7:45 (pit stop)

After the potty stop we headed into Speedway and there were a lot of folks out there cheering. Coming up onto the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is always cool. We run along the south side of the track and then run underneath through a tunnel into the infield to start the lap. It was at this point that I really started to tire. I tried to get some mojo from the speedway and all the history there, but I knew I was on borrowed time. There were a few local HS cheerleader groups out there which was nice. On the front straight I went wide hoping for a nice photo on the bricks. I saw Al Unser Jr. out there waving and high-fiving runners as they ran by which was really cool. I finished the lap and then wanted to finish the last 4 miles strong. The sun almost peeked out at mile 10 which would have really sucked and made it worse. That stretch was really hard. I was hoping to break 1:35, but at this point wanted to finish under 1:40 to keep my seeding for next year.

Miles 6-12 splits - 7:20, 7:33, 7:34, 7:38, 7:44, 7:46, 7:57

When we reached the final mile I really wanted to finish strong and gave what I had left down the finishing stretch and ran a 7:18 mile 13...very satisfying! Overall, not my best race, but I really enjoyed myself. It was nice to do an out of town race with no pressure.

Overall - 1:38:52/7:32 pace
Finish - 1361/29211
Male Finish - 1202/13967
40-45 Finish - 195/2049

After the race we headed over to the beer garden and watched Dave and Rae again. They are awesome! They left after about an hour and then another band came on that wasn't as good. It was great out there in the sun with cold beer and good music. After that we headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and headed to lunch, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum, and then to dinner. We ate ate Bazbeaux Pizza for both lunch and dinner. They have some of the best pizza in the country so eating there twice in one day was great. It was a really fun trip with the guys!