This weekend brought upon some milestones in my running tenure. The Indy 500 Mini marked my 30th half marathon, the largest race I have ever participated in (40,000 registered participants) and the fifth half marathon I have ran in the last six weeks.
Compared to my hometown Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon, there are many similarities: both have been around for a similar amount of time, expos seem to be the same size, run around a historic track and hit mile 9 after the track. The big difference is the size of this race is simply massive!
Packet pickup was held at the Indiana Convention Center. Aside from the traffic in the area, the expo was large and fairly well organized. Runners were met with a ton of vendors with goodies. The packet pickup was in the back of the venue, which directed people through the madness. I would have used a maze format and had the packet pickup to the right, directly followed by event merchandise, then through the maze passing vendors and Indy cars. This way, people would be moving in one flowing direction all the way to the exit. Nonetheless, the packet pickup was easy and the volunteers were extremely helpful and nice. In the packet, participants received a really nice long sleeve tech shirt and a hat ideal for running (it even had a pocket). A date would have been nice on the hat; however, from a business standpoint, I completely understand buying these in bulk and using them in upcoming years.
Race day was interesting. I woke up to almost 70 degree temperatures. My immediate thought was to run a smart race and avoid overheating. The strategy in this one was to stay hydrated throughout and finish strong. Preparation and training had led me to this point and I did not want to cancel all that out with a carelessly ran race. I headed down toward the start a little over an hour early. I assumed the area would be congested and parking would be tough. I easily parked, took my time prepping and ran a warmup mile toward my corral.
I noticed I was in Corral G when I received the participant card in the mail. This was troubling due to my pace and placing in past races. I thought the same when I lined up in Corral G, especially talking to people around me with an expected time of 1:40+. I can only assume the time I registered was a little late and the faster corrals were full, so I was placed in this one. Oh well, I was sweating and knew temps would pose a challenge; therefore, I was comforted knowing my placement would help slow me down. The speaker by us was not working, so I heard pieces of what I thought to be the nation's Anthem. I saw the start of the race on a big screen ahead. Hundreds of runners began to shift toward the start - it took me five minutes to get up there. Our engines were started and we were off, here is how my race went:
Miles 1-3: The first leg of my race clarified my purpose. Due to the slower corral where I was placed and the amount of people combined with warm temps, my Indy 500 Mini was all about the experience and not the finish time. It took five minutes to reach the start and the dodging was endless. I felt good but cautious, This leg was spent weaving in and out and passing slower runners and WALKERS! Cutting and jumping up on sidewalks was a little weary on the legs. I was rested and had no doubts about finishing the race. I did wish I was a faster corral because i got a little frustrated. 7:09/mi average in the 1st leg while passing the Indy Zoo.
Miles 4-6: Leg 2 of my race, although still dodging and weaving, was fairly neat due to the approach to the Indy Speedway. The companies, whose logos seen on the Indy cars on TV are all placed on this approach. I was feeling relaxed and smooth and hit every hydration station, which there were the most I have ever seen! While the area was interesting, the prime sight was in mile 6 as we approached the giant Indianapolis Speedway. While averaging a 7:09/mi pace, running through the Speedway on the actual track was awesome! Through the first half of the race, the crowd never gave, which was really tough to adjust to. There was no getting into a groove today.
Miles 7-10: Leg 3 started off was an awesome experience, when runners got to cross the bricks! I wanted to stop and kiss them so bad. I ran on, focusing on hydration, efficiency and time. In the track pace slowed me a lot, averaging a 7:21/mi pace. As the cars do, runners hugged the inside track and would not let anyone pass. Mile 8 led us through the rest of and out of the speedway, to see mile 9, where I finally got separation from the slower runners. We headed back towards town and this was the chance to increase the pace. Temps had warmed up so I kept it steady and consistently hydrated. Pace averaged around 7:15/mi.
Miles 11-13.1: Back into town and along White River toward the finish. Along the last straightaway, crowd support was amazing and I gave a little more. I did get the pace average down below 7:10/mi but the heat countered me. Although I felt great, I ran a cautious sprint through the finish. Here are the official results from my race:
The finish line area was laid out well. We received sweet medals, yummy snacks and water. Toward the end, hydration fans awaited the blew a cool mist. I spent a few minutes and headed to the post-race party. I admit, I was adamently searching for chocolate milk, but still notice the stages set up where bands played and other amenities for finishers.
As I said earlier, this race, for me, was all about the experience. The Expo, the size of the field, seeing the Indianapolis Speedway, the volunteers, and the post race party was awesome. All of that, combined with the organization of it all was truly amazing. The longevity of this race was obvious in the way everything was set up and taken down. My comment to my wife after the race was, "They really know what they are doing and they know how to do it big."
Thank you to the event organizers and the volunteers for an excellent race. I will not hold the "Corral G" placement against you. I promise to register early for next year, just be sure to get me in A, B, or C, please.
FEEDBACK for the ORGANIZERS:
I really cannot give too much feedback to the organizers that succeed in organizing a race with 40,000 registered participants, year-after-year, and get better each year. I provided some preferred adjustments to the expo and dissatisfaction with my corral placement, but the overall experience of this race was unique and fun.
HAPPY RUNNING!!!!!
As always great job. Did you ever find the chocolate milk?
ReplyDeleteLove you, Mom.