Gray Guys/Girls Masters Focus Triathlete Forum (all levels welcome)--CLOSED (Page 42)

no weight change - 5pts
288 minutes workout - 9.6 pts

total of 14.6 pts for the week

I signed up to do a biathlon in June in place of the triathlon I was considering.  The bike and run distances are about the same (4 mi run/20 mi bike compared to 21 mi bike/4.4 mi run).  Only difference is no swimming - which is OK with me since I haven't been anywhere near a pool in 7 months  - and the run comes first.  I need to start upping my run training though - my regular 2-3 mile runs aren't going to be enough.

Judi - congrats on your race!

Hi all!  Sitting here in a hotel in Springfield, Missouri and finally have a couple minutes to put up a quick post.

I will start with the readers digest version.  I finished the half-marathon, I wasn't first and there were several thousand people behind me.  I was happy with that!

Now the long winded version if you care to take the time -

When we left CA on Friday the 26th our intent was to go through San Antonio, TX (plan was to play on the Riverwalk for a little bit), then go on to New Orleans, up through Alabama (visit Taladega Speedway) then up to Nashville and on to Indianapolis.  Unfortunately when we got to Las Crusas, NM two things happened.  1) The Weather Channel started talking about severe weather along our planned route, I mean SERIOUSLY talking about severe weather.  When they started saying 80% chance of tornadoes in front of us that got our attention. 2)  and perhaps more importantly for the race, I started getting a sore throat.  We decided to divert north and go through Albuquerque then east along I-40 to miss the weather (fat lotta good that did because as we checked in to the hotel in St. Louis a tornado warning was issued - we watched it go by about 5 miles north of us).  I had been planning to do an easy run every other day as we went across the country - note to self; it is highly unlikely you will run when you are dodging weather and your spouse is terrified.  I did get a run in while we were stopped in Tulsa, OK, however, two rather large dogs jumped a fence as I came by and quickly convinced me that perhaps it wasn't so wise to run in an unfamiliar area.  By then my cold was well beyond a sore throat.  Pretty much any physical activity and I started coughing.  Great - just a few days before the mini!  We got in to southern Indiana a couple days early because of our changed plans which was wonderful because we got to spend a great deal of quality time with family.

We drove up to Indianapolis and checked in to the hotel around noon on Friday.  We chose the hotel we did because my corral lined up literally outside the front door of the hotel.  We went over to the Mini-Marathon Expo Friday afternoon so I could pick up my packet and my other half could patronize I believe ALL of the vendors!  I was feeling pretty crappy (sorry but thought you needed the proper imagery).  At the expo information booth I asked about downgrading to the 5K instead of the Mini and was told I could do that if I wanted, just had to line up in the 5K corral in the morning.  I talked to my running coach that afternoon and he suggested perhaps not running at all if I didn't think I could put forth a full effort.  All well and good except I had just driven 2,500 miles and dodged tornadoes all the way across the country as I did it.  I was doing a race if I had to crawl.  Friday night we had dinner at Buca di Beppo - if you have never heard of it they serve incredible Italian food and LOTS of it.  I think just about everyone entered in the race had the same idea, although we had reservations so it wasn't too bad.  Sadly I had zero appetite but forced down some spaghetti and meatballs.

Saturday morning I woke up and looked out the window down to the street at the excitement that was building around the starting line.  I still didn't feel very well but the excitement was contagious and I decided I was going to attempt the mini.  I entered the race so I could run around Indianapolis Motor Speedway and that is precisely what I intended to do.  There are no words to describe starting a race with 35,000 of your closest friends!  Beyond the barricades people were lined up 10 deep on both sides of the street and screaming at the top of their lungs!  There were at least a half-dozen news helicopters hovering overhead as they broadcast the start live throughout Indiana and the surrounding area.  There was a crescendo of noise like I have never heard before. I have competed in some pretty big races in my life and nothing really compared to the start of this race.  Of course I got caught up in the moment and I rather foolishly began running - WAY too fast - which lasted about 200 yards before I started coughing.  For more than a couple minutes I thought I might be done right then and there.  I finally got the coughing under control and figured if I had any hope at all of seeing the speedway, let alone the finish, I better think more along the lines of 'back of pack' then run.  No shame as I walked pretty much the entire distance.  And I had a blast!  There were all sorts of performers every few hundred yards for the entire distance - ranging from high school bands, to cheerleaders, to girl scout troupes dressed as various cartoon figures cheering everyone on, to wounded warriors offering encouragement.  The outbound and inbound courses ran side-by side at mile 1.5-2 and when I got there, the leaders were already on their way back (they were at mile 11.5-12).  The winner finished in 1:01 and some change.  My only though was, "Really?"  I got to about mile 5 and saw the speedway in the distance.  I told myself it was time to 'suck it up buttercup' and tried running again.  Yeah, OK, so I am a slow learner.  I will say, you have no idea how big the speedway is until you actually get to see the track from ground level.  Funny though how that 2.5 miles seemed to just fly by!  It was absolutely crazy at the yard of bricks as everyone clamored to get the best picture at that iconic location.  I got my picture at the yard of bricks (the start/finish line of the speedway) which was really the point of the entire race in my mind.  It was rather anti-climatic as I exited the speedway and the thought occurred to me, 'now I just have a really long ways to get back to the finish.'  From mile 11-12 I was really having a hard time and discovered that breathing is kind of a necessity.  I had a couple thoughts of hanging it up and just told myself, "if you can't handle this little distance, sick or not, you will NEVER be able to do a full Iron.  That thought got me through mile 12.  Then we rounded the corner on New York Street which goes to the finish.  At that point, I knew I had less than a mile and figured I would literally crawl if I had to - I am happy to report I finished on my feet.

The race was incredibly well organized.  There had to be thousands of volunteers and they all knew exactly what they were suppose to be doing.  I don't think there is anything the race promoters could have done differently to make things better.  They have done this race so many times, they have it down to a science.

The only thing I would change is to not get sick before the race.  I suppose it is open to debate whether or not I should have competed.  I wanted the picture at the yard of bricks and I wanted the finisher medal.  The only way was to suck it up and go do the race.  I already have entered next years race so I will have another chance - and next year I will be running over the bricks, not stopping for pictures.  I learned quite a lot from this experience.  While driving out and combining vacation with the race seemed like a good idea at the time, I am not so sure that is the best way to approach a race weekend.  It seemed like the race was always secondary to all the other things going on and then through in severe weather pretty much all the way across the country and the race was never really the priority it needed to be.  I am not sure that flying is the answer either as then you have the time change to deal with.  I will have to give some thought to how to handle it next year.

All in all, I had a great time.  I looked at the results and saw that some 10,000 people finished behind me.  I never expected to win, so just crossing the finish line was a victory in my book, especially when I remember that slightly more than a year ago, running 100 yards was nearly impossible.

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Congrats Wendy!  Sorry it took so long!  Certainly there was more emotion in Boston, but I understand how the crowd support makes for an incredible experience.

James I will get you updated challenge totals when I get back to CA later this week.

Good job Judi!  Sorry I didn't say it sooner.

Couple more days!  Thanks for being patient.

Congratulations Kris!  Sorry I didn't say it sooner.  Welcome to the world of triathlon!

A duathlon?  You mean you ran twice?  On purpose?  Greater athlete than me!  Congratulations!

I am doing it again next year!  Even though I walked it this year, it was a blast.  Maybe we can start together!

Well call me silly.  Sorry about a couple of double congratulatory posts.  Been so long since I looked at the forum I forgot what I had posted (does that show my age or what?)

Well not really so sorry.  Kris and Wendy you certainly deserve it.  Well done!

I saw this article.  Some of the crap they pass off as food is disgusting.  More and more convinced that if I can't pronounce an ingredient on the list (or if sugar is in the first 3 ingredients) that I really don't need to buy it.

Scott, great job pushing through the HM.  Crazy stuff leading up to the race and feeling lousy?  Hard to push through.  I can see after all that driving why you kept going....

Congrats on finishing despite the cold and weather issues along the way. 

I just checked the website and it looks like registration for next year doesn't re-open until September (wish I'd looked sooner) so I've got time to decide for sure - although I'm 95% sure I'm going to do it.  Hopefully we can meet up before the race!

Scott. That was a great race report! congrats, that was some fine effort pony-ing up and making it happen in spite of all the obstacles put in your way. I am going to remember your persistence the next time I start to wuss out.

Happy Birthday James!