I know I've come far with my running when I not only register for and race 9.3 miles, but I actually like it!
Indiana came at a good time for half marathon training, so it was a fun race in itself, but also a good barometer of where I am at for June.
So let's see,
My first time in Indianapolis was for the race and I have to admit, I was rather impressed. It was smaller than I imagined, but very clean with a fun little downtown area. Like most of the country this spring, it was really windy, but luckily the wind turned to a nice breeze for the race.
The 15k started at the NCAA Hall of Champions. The Boyfriend and I cruised through the museum at the start since it was a place to stay warm. Indy was a little chillier than I had thought it would be, but I guess being April, the weather could have swung either way. The race started right on time, a definite benefit of running a no-frills race. Packet pick-up was literally just the bib; no other swag. I appreciate the simplicity of not being handed a bag of stuff that is going to end up in the trash.
The race started right at 8am. I lined up about mid-pack, while The Boyfriend went to front with the fasties. My legs felt good and ready to run and my knees were braced to (hopefully) prevent any PFPS recurrences. I started out too fast, most likely from an unfamiliarity with running longer distances and from just general excitement. I hit the .5 mile mark at 4 minutes, even though I was trying to maintain a 8:50-9:00 pace (which is hopefully what I'll be running the half marathon in). Way too fast! I tried to slow down, but hit the mile at 8:15. Since Indianapolis is completely unknown to me, I really had no idea where I was running, even after looking at the course map. Not knowing, so far, works well for me.
Indy is slightly hilly, but nothing major. Unfortunately, by mile 3, both my knees were starting to hurt. I told myself to make it to mile 5 and then decide how to handle the remaining 4.3 miles. I was still holding a good pace and didn't want to lose that. The breeze had picked up a bit and I was getting a bit warm. I took my gloves off, and tucked them into the waistband of my running tights, but neither made it across the finish line with me:(
After the 5 mile mark, I told myself to push through to the 10k. Despite my incessant knee pain, the rest of me felt great. My legs weren't tired at all, despite the soft hills and the too aggressive start. At the 10k, I told myself to just push through to the end. Despite the last two very painful miles that slowed me down, I finished under my time goal at 1:22:22.
Thank you Indy for a great race!
