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Name:
500 Festival Mini Marathon
Date: May 2, 2009
Distance: 13.1 miles
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Course: Flat and fast (Click here to view course.)
Time: 2:15:39
Pace: 10:21
Place: 14,217 out of 30,211
Division: 1,175 out of 2,904
Results Link: Click here.
Weather: 55°, cloudy, wind calm
Notes: On the morning of the 2009 Mini, I awoke at my aunt’s house at 5:15 after four hours of sleep. (I got to bed so late because I had a gig in Nashville on Friday night.) I got ready, and then met my parents and Let's Go buddies from Bedford at the 465/37 junction. We parked at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy, walked to the start line, and then split up to go to our respective corrals. I was in Corral G. Mom and Dad stuck with me until I started the race. I reached the start line three minutes and 13 seconds after the starting gun sounded, which was 45 minutes sooner than the folks in Corral Z. My plan was to run 10 min. / walk 2 min. over and over, and I stuck to that plan. The first six miles were awesome. I was high-fiving spectators and cheering. There was a hot air balloon race running concurrently with the Mini, so it was cool to watch the balloons, as well. Mile Markers 6-8 are on the Indianapolis Speedway, and that’s always a difficult spot for me. The track is quiet (no fans allowed), hotter than the street, banked, and seemingly unending. Two cool things did happen on the track though: I ran into a friend, and I saw Al Unser, Jr., and blew him a kiss! When I exited the track and hit the 10 mile marker a little later, things started to get tough for me. I took a double walk (4 min.) before Mile 12 in order to finish strong; and that I did, in 2:15:39. The odd thing is that in 2007, when I ran the entire race without walk breaks, I finished in 2:18:22. It looks like walk breaks are the key for me! I recovered within two or three minutes, and I had no harmful pain. My muscles were just long-run sore from working hard to get a PR. Many of my Let’s Go training friends had PRs as well, and my sister-in-law Stephenie ran her first Mini in 2:23. It was an awesome race!
Photos: 23 — See below.
Date: May 2, 2009
Distance: 13.1 miles
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Course: Flat and fast (Click here to view course.)
Time: 2:15:39
Pace: 10:21
Place: 14,217 out of 30,211
Division: 1,175 out of 2,904
Results Link: Click here.
Weather: 55°, cloudy, wind calm
Notes: On the morning of the 2009 Mini, I awoke at my aunt’s house at 5:15 after four hours of sleep. (I got to bed so late because I had a gig in Nashville on Friday night.) I got ready, and then met my parents and Let's Go buddies from Bedford at the 465/37 junction. We parked at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy, walked to the start line, and then split up to go to our respective corrals. I was in Corral G. Mom and Dad stuck with me until I started the race. I reached the start line three minutes and 13 seconds after the starting gun sounded, which was 45 minutes sooner than the folks in Corral Z. My plan was to run 10 min. / walk 2 min. over and over, and I stuck to that plan. The first six miles were awesome. I was high-fiving spectators and cheering. There was a hot air balloon race running concurrently with the Mini, so it was cool to watch the balloons, as well. Mile Markers 6-8 are on the Indianapolis Speedway, and that’s always a difficult spot for me. The track is quiet (no fans allowed), hotter than the street, banked, and seemingly unending. Two cool things did happen on the track though: I ran into a friend, and I saw Al Unser, Jr., and blew him a kiss! When I exited the track and hit the 10 mile marker a little later, things started to get tough for me. I took a double walk (4 min.) before Mile 12 in order to finish strong; and that I did, in 2:15:39. The odd thing is that in 2007, when I ran the entire race without walk breaks, I finished in 2:18:22. It looks like walk breaks are the key for me! I recovered within two or three minutes, and I had no harmful pain. My muscles were just long-run sore from working hard to get a PR. Many of my Let’s Go training friends had PRs as well, and my sister-in-law Stephenie ran her first Mini in 2:23. It was an awesome race!
Photos: 23 — See below.