Indianapolis Marathon Recap ...

Location: Indianapolis, IN
Date: 10/16/10
Temperature: 43 degrees at the start, 65 degrees at finish
Official Time: 4:49:38, 17 minute PR

THE COURSE:

Before arriving to the start line on Saturday, I knew very little about the course I was about to set foot on. I had heard that it was mostly flat with a couple of small hills and the website told me this ...

"The Indianapolis Marathon and Half Marathon courses start with a loop through historic Fort Benjamin Harrison along the tree-lined Fort Parade Grounds. The course then heads North for a loop through Fort Harrison State Park. The Half Marathon then returns to the finish line while the Marathon continues through the State Park to Fall Creek Parkway. This begins a beautiful, flat, tree-lined, creek side, out and back stretch along Fall Creek Corridor Park before returning to the finish line via the State Park."

But that description didn't do the course justice.

From mile one to mile 26, the route was absolutely beautiful. We wound our way through Fort Harrison surrounded by majestic trees at the peak of their fall colors. At one point during the first few miles, runners are tunnelled in by trees of red, orange and yellow and are protected entirely from the sun. It was peaceful and quiet, even as 5,000 runners bounded through. Later, as we ran through the barren walnut trees, I couldn't help but be taken by the beautiful starkness of it all. It was almost enough to make me forget about the climbs that filled the first half of the race.

After mile 13, the course lost it's rolling hills (which I was quite happy about) and it flattened onto a beautiful out and back path that weaved through the trees. I don't believe that there could be a more picturesque fall scene. It's a shame that I was to uncomfortable to really appreciate it all ...

THE BAD:

Bathroom Issues: I woke up at 6 a.m. for this race and by 6:15, I knew I was in trouble. My stomach was not happy. I made my first of seven "pit stops" and prayed for the best. But, by the time we arrived at the start, I had to make "pit stop" number two and it wasn't pretty. Once I got to the corral, I thought everything was all good. My stomach felt OK and I was ready to go. Then we were off. Unfortunately, by mile three, I was already searching for the next port-o-john. It took almost as much effort not to have a "skirtastrophe" as it did to run. So, just after mile six, we stopped and I went.

Three minutes later, we were back on the course, trying to make up time. We did pretty good but at mile 12, I was racing to the port-o-john again (think Dumb and Dumber). This cycle repeated itself for the remainder of the race. And every time I "pit stopped" and watched my time creep up as I sat there, it got harder and harder to recover. (I spent so much time in the bathroom that the port-o-johns started appearing in my race photos. See?)

I began to lose my drive and every ounce of water in my body. I couldn't hydrate fast enough to replace all the liquids leaving my body. My fingers turned to sausages and my legs started to cramp. It kind of sucked.

(Note: On a somewhat positive note, it appears that my colon cleanse was caused by a stomach bug and not nerves or runner's trots. How do I know? Dizzle presented with the same symptoms less than 24 hours later.)

Course Support: While the course was beautiful and there were ample water stops (only one GU stop though - bummer), the course was QUIET. There were few spectators aside from the start/finish area and around the water stops. I swear that at points, I could have fallen to the side of the road and no one would have noticed (and I thought about it). I really would have appreciated a cheer or two when I didn't want to go on.

Chafing: I almost never have chub-rub, thanks to a lot of Body Glide. But, I went to the bathroom so many times that by mile 16, I was feeling the burn.

THE GOOD:

My outfit: Yellow NikeFit Shirt, Orange Running Skirt, White Under Armour Hat and Pink/Orange/Yellow Striped Socks.

I was beyond comfortable and I totally matched the race. I mean, look at how the bib number just blends into the skirt. I couldn't have planned that better if I had tried.

My running partner: J's cousin Kim (who's training for NYC Marathon) was running the half as a training run. She offered to stick with me until the half and the full courses split at mile 13. We had a blast and she really distracted me during those early miles. Here we are before heading to the race.

And this is us at mile 4 (thanks to Judi @ Twelve Fit Feet. Her "fan club" took this shot as I ran by).

My race plan: It was my intention to run the first three miles around a 10 minute pace. When I hit mile 3, my watch read 30:30. After that I just wanted to run comfortably, hopefully somewhere between a 9:30 and 10:00. And I did that, except that my tummy literally exploded at mile 6 and from then on I lost some serious time in the bathroom.

My husband: J met me at mile 24 (when I felt like I was done). He cheered me on (which I really needed), ran with me and snapped some photos of me in action.

If I wasn't so exhausted, I would have kissed him. Have I mentioned how much I love him?

The last two-tenths: By the time I hit mile 26, I knew I had a PR (even if it wasn't as large as I had hoped). At that point, I saw my girls and J's cousins on the course, cheering me on. I grabbed the kids and told them to run to the finish with me. It was the highlight of my race.

My perspective: Even as the race was dragging on and my dreams had been crushed by a port-o-john, I stayed positive. Positive that I wanted to do the whole thing over again. Soon. (Yes, I am crazy.)

The Finish: Who wouldn't love the finish of a marathon? Crossing that line was amazing. Doing it with my girls was even better. And grabbing a 17 minute PR was icing on the cake. And the bling didn't suck either ...