Mini Marathon Moguls

After four enjoyable months of training for the 5th of May, Emily and I put our rubber soles to work on the warm streets of Indianapolis as dawn broke. 2 people out of 29,200 finishers, we managed to avoid injury, enjoy the sights and sounds, and record personal victories against the clock.

Friday night was full of anticipation and nervousness. The dynamic duo waded through a couple thousand people in the Indiana Convention Center to pick up our runner packets, bib numbers, and timing chips. We received a give-away bag with snacks, coupons, and the most important freebie a long sleeve T-shirt. Following proper pre-race meal specifications, we dined with some friends at Dunaways on the south-side of Indianapolis for some custom prepared pasta dishes and plenty of bread. Joining us at dinner were my friend Tony Devinney and girlfriend as well as his friends Mr. Ron Dill, his son Randy, daughter Rhonda, and her husband Eric. We had never had the pleasure of the Dill's company before, but it wasn't long before we were all holding our sides with Tony and Ron trading hilarious stories. We finished the evening preparing ourselves for a 6:20am wakeup call and gearing up for bed by watching Man Vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel. If that guy can survive the African wilderness, we should have no problem with the tame streets of Indy!

The morning arrived and a quiet couple went about solo preparations for the big start. I made sure to slam a bottle of Aquafina as soon as my feet hit the carpet. Foremost on my mind were the protection of certain body parts from abrasions and rash. Vaseline and bandaids were utilized with strategery. After dressing and lacing on the Brooks, the first challenge of the day was manipulating the itty-bitty safety pins to hold my bib onto my shirt. My sausage fingers had trouble getting them open, pinned, and closed before my fresh attitude collapsed. Finally prepped, we checked the weather, and seeing no rain, left the hotel room in silence.

This picture is of Angela Ranta, Mary-Margaret Warrick, (former vball teammates) and Emily.

Lucky for Emily and I, our hotel room was a mere block from our designated starting corral on Washington St. We had been assigned the O corral, as in Oh man, we are behind like 20,000 people. The day started gray and the music blaring through the speakers combined with thousands milling around didn't keep my nervousness away. I aimlessley fumbled with my IPOD and energy Gu package in the hidden pocket of my shorts. They proved to be very useful companions on the long morning run. The race was to start at 7:33, 3 minutes after the wheelchair entrants began. Emily and I officially crossed the starting gate 11:03 seconds after the gun. Our official time began then thanks to the trusty chip securely fastened to our shoelace.

The first 4 miles, Emily and I maintained 9 minute mile pace, a full minute a mile faster than most of our long distance training. This was accomplished by carely weaving in and out of individual runners and groups of runners. Due to the vast number of runners, it was difficult for us to be side by side and most of the first 40 minutes of the race I was chasing Emily as she darted like a nimble rabbit through the throng. At this point, I was growing concerned with my pace and decided to scale back to hopefully a 10 minute mile pace. She quickly outran my view, especially after I opted for a quick pitstop after over 5 miles in. I knew the Indianapolis Motor Speedway beckoned for miles number 6 through 8.5 and I wanted to be fresh for the long stretch on the 2.5 mile oval blacktop surface. It was quite a neat experience jogging on the flawless paved surface and literally footing the entire track. The empty grandstands were staggering with size and scope. The entire population of rochester would have perched comfortably in the upper most corner of one of the many grandstands. I felt very focused and fairly consistent through this portion of the run. Emily was long gone, but I was hoping she was maintaining her great form from earlier.

Along the entire 13.1 mile course, well-wishers of all kinds helped maintain the infectious good spirit by playing music, waving signs, and singing popular songs. It was quite a spectacle and as well as I could, I attempted to take it all in while slowly jogging by. I managed to keep a respectable pace up through the 10 mile mark and made good use of the frequent Gatorade and water pass-outs. I even managed to get a water and a hug from my college pal Tiffany Rife formerly of Winamac, IN. This occurred late in the race and was a nice morale booster. The last three miles were less graceful and even had 3 periods of 30 seconds or so of walking to gather my remaining muscle energy for the last mile. The last mile is a straightaway stretch of New York street that takes you past IUPUI and Military Park, the final destination. It was very crowded with screaming people and music and was a perfect way to finish. My last 3 miles were my slowest, but I still managed to beat my best expectations for finish time by a few seconds. Emily's parents, Paul and Nancy, were strategically sitting next to the road on the last mile and helped propel me for a strong finish and a proud time of 2 hours and 14 minutes. My goal had been 2 hours and 15 minutes! What a great time. The next 10 minutes were spent very slowly walking through the chutes receiving a plastic grocery bag full of fruits and cookies and water and snacks. It was a little piece of heaven as I chugged water and ate my chocolate chip cookie. The best part was getting my finishing medal put around my neck. It was hardly something I had dreamed about happening, mostly because it seemed totally unrealistic for me to train and run something like this. It is still hard to believe.

After a quick pause to stretch my tired legs and arms, I proceeded to the Alphabetized family reunion area of military park and found Emily and her parents chatting near the big 'G'. Emily had kept up her fast pace and finished with an amazing time of 1 hour and 59 minutes. I was so proud of her for continuing that pace for 2 hours. I don't know how she did it. I guess running through the snow, rain, and wind this winter must have helped us out a lot.

Overall, the experience was much more enjoyable than I even imagined when I fantasized about it after signing up last fall. I would actually consider doing it again ( a complete shock to me) and would encourage both friends and family to try it. It is less grueling than I thought, although very challenging. I did have a sore knee from mile 10 to the finish, but not real painful, just sore and stiffening. Lana, you should do this, it is a feeling you would probably get attached to! After time spent cooling down with U of I alums and the Kubalas, a quick shower was had followed by a great lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery. My House Burger was one of the best sandwiches I've ever tasted! And the iced tea was to die for.

Thanks for all the well wishes and support. I really enjoyed this unlikely experience! I had never run more than 6 miles at once my entire life until this February. Talk about crazy!