Ran this race on Saturday at the suggestion of my sister who ran it last year. She loved it for being flat, well-supported and with great weather and I found all of that to be true.
Arrived in Indy on Friday afternoon to be warned that Trump would be in that night for a rally with Pence and that it would interfere with getting downtown that evening and the next morning for parking. Hit the expo with friends and then Whole Foods for dinner things since traffic would make it tough to get to restaurants. Then we all went to a Shabbat service at a packed synagogue to #showupforshabbat and show solidarity following the Tree of Life shootings the prior weekend. It was pretty amazing. Dinner in was a really great strategy and we all got to bed at a decent hour.
Woke up on race morning ready to go. Handled the extra early drive time (thanks Trump) by eating my protein bar early and bringing a dry half bagel along to the start. One of our favorite features of this race is that the start line is close to the Indianapolis Convention Center and they let runners hang out inside until the start. That was yuge considering we arrived about 90 minutes early. Well, we arrived nearby 90 min early but couldn't get to pre-paid parking for the reasons mentioned above so lost another 15 dealing with extra road closings.
It was ~34 degrees outside so we were super happy to wait inside. I've never legit raced in cold weather before so wasn't 100% sure I'd be ok with what I chose, but the capris, Oiselle team crop and mittens turned out to be perfect. Also had on an old sweatshirt to toss at the starting line. The music in the expo was terrible so when they kicked us out, we were ready.
I was in Wave 2 and my friends in Wave 3 so they dropped me off and headed to their spot. The Wave 2 section was overflowing so I couldn't actually get inside the corral. Also, the 2:00 Half pacer was standing next to the Wave 2 entry sign. That didn't bode well for me and I heard a lot of grumbling around me. Originally my plan was to run the first couple miles a few seconds slower than a pace of 8:15 (to PR and based on training), try to run smooth and efficiently on pace through mile 10, then see if I could push. But I had a BHAG goal of 1:45 (5 min faster than my last half). After the first wave went, ours moved forward enough for us to get inside the gates.
I passed a billion people in the first 2 miles, frustrating in spots that were tight. I passed a bunch who slowed to a walk or were already walking...in the first mile...super frustrating. But after 2 miles the rest of the race was wonderful. We had tons of support, great police assistance, the course was lovely and varied and spectators were fun. I didn't hit every water stop but was pretty efficient when I did and I remembered to eat half a Huma around mile 6 (I had been forgettingto eat my gels during training runs). Splits for first 2 miles: 8:21; 8:16. And the 8:16 felt easy.
I decided while dealing with the crowds that since I was used to shifting gears in my hilly long runs, I'd shift gears in the flat race by speeding up/slowing down based on feel. That turned out to be great for me. Splits for miles 3-6: 8:10; 7:50; 7:59; 8:00. I was feeling like if I could hold the 8 I had a shot at the big goal that I wasn't quite ready for yet based on training. I decided I would feel better about bonking at the end than leaving anything in the tank so I figured I'd keep pushing and see what happened.
Around mile 7 we split off from the marathoners and basically u-turned left to turn back towards the city. Now we had lots of space. We also finally had some sun and temps were in the high 30s so I took off my gloves. I was still feeling really good and splits 7-10 were 8:03; 8:00; 8:05; 8:00.
Somewhere during the 11th mile it started to get tough. I was expecting it. Finished in 8:13 and couldn't quite get myself back to 8. Did some mental math in mile 12 and knew I'd PR even if I let myself slow like my legs wanted but after all the work I put in there was no way I was doing that. I wouldn't settle for slower than 8:15. Last 2 miles were exactly that: 8:15; 8:15. It felt like I had lead boots on for the last .1 and I finished at 1:46:40
I'm super happy with the race. While I didn't finish under 1:45, I know it's waiting for me with a better training cycle. (I re-sprained my ankle in early Sept and had to take 2 weeks off, then ramp back up cautiously). I ran the plan and left nothing in the tank. And while it hurt in those last few miles, I'm already ready to look for another one. But not yet. I'm registered for a 50K in January and a 6 hour race in June and want to push the distance boundaries a bit before getting back to speed again.
Absolutely loved Indy and I'd go back happily.
