Seymour Mini Marathon–Race Recap

The Seymour Mini Marathon took place on Saturday, May 4th.  I found out about this race near the end of 2012 and the entry fee was only $20 if you signed up before 12-31-2012.  Aside from this super cheap entry fee, another positive thing about this race is that a local animal rescue & shelter was the beneficiary of it.  They also asked that you bring an item for the shelter (dog food, collars, bleach, towels, etc.) on race day.

For some reason, I thought that the start time was 7:00am.  Seymour is about an hour & a half south of Indianapolis but with what I thought the start time was, we decided to get a hotel room so that we wouldn’t have to get up so early.  When investigating hotels in the area, I was surprised to learn that they were all requiring a 2 night stay because the Kentucky Derby was the same weekend.  Note: Louisville is still an hour away from Seymour.  Oh well.  I found a hotel in Edinburgh which was just 30 minutes north of Seymour.  And although the race start time was actually 8:00am we still decided to stay closer to the race.

We left Friday night after the dog sitter arrived at our house but stopped in Franklin, IN to have dinner with Rodney & Jill at Applebee’s.  The hotel (Holiday Inn Express) was a short drive from Franklin.   It was a very nice hotel and then second good Holiday Inn Express I’ve stayed in prior to a race.  Great service and clean.  We weren’t out of bed very long and then it was lights out.

I set my alarm for 4:30 which was probably a little too early. But better to get everything taken care of (shower, food, etc.) rather than feeling rushed and perhaps having an “emergency” later.   Earlier in the week, the weather was calling for 70% chance of rain but it kept changing and looked good race morning.

   

It was 30-35 minutes to the Seymour High School where the race was starting.  We got our packets, bibs and shirts and after a quick stop in the bathrooms (inside the high school!) we went back to the car.  My husband tried to nap but I decided to walk around and take some pictures.

       

The race started on time.    This was a very small race; 200 registered but just under 150 finished.so no corrals and no timing chips.  I hadn’t run since last Saturday’s half marathon so I was curious to see if that factor would end up being helpful or harmful.  The course started through some of the downtown area, residential areas and then about a 3 mile out and back on a country road and then back through neighborhoods before finishing at the high school.  I was able to see my husband on the turnaround.  Of course he was heading back in as I was just heading toward the turnaround.  There wasn’t much “fan: support on the course but there were water stations every two miles and they were handing out GU gels at the turnaround.  While we were running through the downtown area, we had to cross a railroad track three times.  I always wonder what would happen if a train came.  That would suck to be stopped by a train.

My head wasn’t in this race for some reason and I took way too many walking breaks.  Not sure if it was the “no running for a week” or what.  At least I was able to stay in front of one girl and a couple that I had been doing “the dance” with throughout the race.  I did however finish ONCE AGAIN within my average finishing (slow) time slot.  They were giving away prizes afterward but you had to be present to win.  However, we were ready to head for home.  We had another event to attend at 3:00pm. 

     

On this same day, the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon (the “World’s Largest Half Marathon”) takes place in Indianapolis. My husband and I have done “the Mini” several times so I am now on the hunt to find other half marathons in Indiana. The hope is to do all the half marathons in Indiana at some point.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Country Music Half Marathon–Weekend Recap

Choosing this half marathon would fulfill three things: 1) It crosses Tennessee of the half marathon in every state list, 2) it is drivable from Indiana and 3) we get to me “new to us” family.  My husband discovered he has a cousin in Franklin, TN which is super close to Nashville thus we would get to meet him & his family.

We left Indiana around 9:00am Friday morning.  It was approximately a 4 1/2 to 5 hour drive.  We hit some construction near the bottom of Kentucky but it didn’t really factor in to our drive time.  It was more annoying than anything.  It started raining as we approached Tennessee.  This would be a theme for the weekend.

We found our hotel (the Union Station Hotel), checked in and then walked to the Expo, which took place at the Nashville Convention Center.  As per usual, Rock ‘n’ Roll has a ginormous expo.  And while I don’t need another technical shirt, I bought two (plus lets not forget that the race gives you one!), my husband bought a jacket, we got an event pin for our state map and a magnet.  We hadn’t even left the Brooks section yet!   Upon checking out of THAT section, we walked over & got our parking wristbands and then Kara Goucher was speaking so we walked over the stage area and listened to her for a bit.  More walking around = more purchasing.  We saw that Kara was talking pictures and signing autographs so we got in line.  It didn’t take too long and she was super nice & gracious.

   

  

Across from the convention center is the Bridgestone Arena where the Nashville Predators play.  Scrolling on their outside marquee was a list of upcoming concerts.  Listed was George Jones.  Oddly, he had died that morning.  Someone needs to change that sign.

Back to the hotel to touch base with my husband’s cousin & we determined that we would meet at Applebee’s at 6:30pm.  It wasn’t very far from the hotel and thank goodness for OnStar! 

Dinner was nice and two of Brian’s children were able to come as well.  But we had an early wake up call (and the kids got a little restless) so we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel.

We were still trying to figure out what we were going to do in the morning about transportation.  Although we paid for the parking upgrade that meant we had to leave super early.  But…the forecast was for rain all day (this would NOT be a lie), so do we walk to the start line which was less than 2 miles away?  But then how would we get back from the finish line.  Finally we decided to suck it up and drive.  The alarm was then set for 4:30am.  Since it was going to be raining all day, I wouldn’t take a shower prior & only shave my legs.

We got to the parking area in plenty of time and at that point it was only drizzling.  After some confusion about what we were suppose to do with our gear check, we got on a shuttle and headed to the start area.  We waited in the Platinum area, cycled through the bathrooms and tried to wait until the very last possible moment to go outside.  The rain was falling harder at this point.  We had someone take our picture inside since I knew we would be soggy doggies by the time the race was over.  The forecast was for 70% chance of rain the entire time.  But alas, it was time to go.  Good luck kisses and we headed to our corrals.

I have no picture of this race from along the course because it was raining so hard the entire time.  It’s a shame too because it would have been a nice course otherwise.  The hills were somewhat of a killer for me since in flat ol’ Indiana, I do not train for them.  And of course, there was the rain.  I wore my lovely black trash bag up until the 13 mile marker and then I went all Incredible Hulk and ripped it off before the last turn prior to the finish line.

I texted my husband to tell him I was done but he was already in the truck trying to get warm.  He tried to come back in but they wouldn’t let him.  So no finishers picture together this time.  The winds had started to pick up too as I walked to the truck.  I felt bad for all the folks still out there on the course, especially those doing the marathon.  Getting out of the parking lot was a bit of a cluster but we finally made it back to the hotel.  John showered first and wanted to stay in the warm water longer but he said it felt like it was running out.  So yes, when it was my turn, the water was barely warm.  Everyone in the hotel must have been showering at that moment.

We went down to the hotel restaurant for brunch.  The food was good but our waiter was awful.  It was then back up to the room for a nap.  Later in the afternoon we walked over to the Country Music Hall of Fame for a tour.  It was nice but I was tired so I’m not sure I enjoyed it to the full extent.  There was a memorial for George Jones there.

 

Back to the hotel where we went down to the bar so my husband could reload on carbs (hee hee ) and then we waited on his cousin to get there.  One of the craziest things this weekend was that we saw a post on Facebook that two of our friends that live in Kansas (I was just there last weekend but didn’t get to see them) were also in Nashville so we made plans to meet up with them too.  Every now and then, the world can be a very small place.  We went to a couple of honky tonks but we called it a night around 10:00pm.  It had already been a very long day – even with a small nap in the afternoon.  As luck would have it as we walked UPHILL back to out hotel, it started raining. 

When Kansas meets Indiana in Tennessee.

Garmin (Wickedly Fast) Half Marathon - weekend recap

http://www.olathe.org/cvb/sports/Marathon/index.html

This race was chosen because it was "relatively" close/drivable from Indiana.  Initially my husband was going to do it with me but he decided that he didn't want to do back-to-back-to-back weekends.  So I asked my brother to accompany me.

But let me back up just a moment.  This race is in Kansas and it more or less has a Wizard of Oz theme.  Naturally that means a Dorothy race outfit is a MUST.  Oddly, that was difficult to find.  Long story short, I was able to get a child's medium, have it cut in half so that I had a skirt and then the "bib" was attached to a technical shirt.  My friend Mary from high school was the fabulous seamstress that helped with creating this.  She did a good job!

   

Okay back to the weekend.  I left my house around 7:00am and got to my brother's around 8:15am.  It didn't take too long to load up the car and then we were headed west.  The time passed relatively quickly as we listed to the news as they were searching for the Boston Marathon bombers that day.  (Still unbelievable that all of that happened.)  We made very few stops; once for lunch, once for gas.  Next thing you know we are at the Garmin headquarters in Olathe, Kansas to pick up our packets.  Not much of an expo and it was outside and was very windy.  Then it was off to the hotel.

   

Through the race, I was able to get a great deal at the Holiday Inn Express.  It was a nice hotel; I'm assuming it was new.  They had complementary shuttles from the hotel to the expo that night and also race morning.  We weren't sure if we would take them in the morning or not.  It wasn't a far drive (10 minutes?) but you needed to be parked EARLY. 

We needed to find places to eat.  My brother has Crohn's Disease so his options are limited.  I decided to eat in the hotel restaurant (Johnny's Italian Steakhouse) and he went across the street to a different steak house.  My pasta was really good and in keeping with tradition I got a slice of tiramisu to go.  Sadly I was disappointed with it; it had a pie crust bottom.  Weird.

    

Early to bed and my alarm was set for 4:00am.

I slept relatively well and my brother said he did too.  We decided NOT to take the shuttle buses and thought if we needed to, we'd just sit in the truck until closer to the start time.  Well that wasn't going to be a problem.  Parking was congested and it took longer than expected to get it.  We weren't rushed for time but we didn't have time to just sit in the truck.  A few pictures before the start (it was great to see others in Wizard of Oz costumes) and then we were off.

   

     

Nothing really to look at on the course.  And although they advertise it as Fast and Flat....that certainly isn't the case.  The marathoners started with us, they broke off around the 3.5 mile marker, joined us again around 7-8 (as we started the paved trail part of the course which was very nice) and then broke off again.  STRANGE. 

 

 

 

 

I didn't have a great race but it was within my average finishing time.  My brother crushed it and got a new PR.  So happy for him.  After a quick picture at the Finish Line it was back to the car and to the hotel to shower & load up the car. 

We grabbed lunch at a Subway and then headed west (the wrong direction for home) because we were going to the Wizard of Oz Museum!

I grew up loving that moving...okay, I still do and we were so close that I felt like it was a must see.  Sure, it was 90 minutes out of the way and this would get us home even later but luckily my brother was a good sport and agreed.

It was a small museum and I guess I'm glad I went because I would probably always wonder what it was like but I would never suggest that anyone make a special trip to go see it.  Unless you're close by at the time.

  

It was a L.O.N.G. drive home.  We got to my brother's house around 12:30am Sunday morning which meant I got home at 2:00am.  And of course, I had my sweaty Dorothy costume that i didn't want to get ruined so I put it in the washer and waited (unloaded my suitcase & put a few things away) because I didn't want it to sit in the washer wet overnight either.  So I had to hang it dry.  UGH!  I was finally in bed at 3:00am.  As Dorothy would say, "There's no place like Home."

It was good to spend time with my brother.  I'm really glad that this worked out and that he was able to go with me.

Henry County Mini Marathon–Race Recap

 

It was the inaugural year for this event and I had been signed up since early January, if I remember correctly.  I figured it would be a small race but didn’t realize they were limiting it to 500 participants.  It also had a 5K & 10K option.

I drove to New Castle the day before to get my packet.  Its less than an hour east of Indianapolis and although I could have picked up my packet race morning, I wanted to see where I was going, was there any road construction I should know about & how long would it take me…knowing my drive time would be quicker oh so early in the morning.

Packet pick-up was at the YMCA.  I didn’t have any problems finding it and although it wasn’t supposed to open until 5pm, I saw other people coming out with packets so I went in around 4:45.  The course would be (mostly) a double loop of the 6 mile route.  I’ve never done one like that & must admit I had some concerns.  Don’t know why; I’m just a natural born worrier.

As I was driving back to Indy, I noticed that the Steve Alford All-American Inn had advertised a King bed room for only $55.  I was so tempted.  The extra 1 1/2 hours of sleep sure would be nice.  But decided to stay with the original plan. Side note: Steve Alford is from New Castle, played basketball at IU and now coaches at the college level.  He’s the local celebrity to say the least!

I got up at 4:00AM (UGH!), took a quick shower and ate my usual pre-race meal of peanut butter on wheat toast, a banana and a Starbuck Frappuccino. I went to the bathroom as many times as I could before leaving the house at 5:15AM.  This was really too soon to leave but;    1)I wanted to give myself some wiggle room in case I needed a bathroom stop, 2) you had to pick up your timing chip that morning and 3) there was a pre-race meeting at 7:00AM.  I was pretty sure the meeting would be worthless & I was correct.

I did stop at a rest area in Greenfield on the way and used the bathroom again.  I think mentally I was making my stomach more nervous because this wasn’t my regular routine.  I got to the park with plenty of time, got my timing chip and then got in line for the bathroom.  Luckily this was an indoor facility – The Smith Building – but only one women’s restroom and there were only two stalls.  At about 6:50AM I ate a packet of Sport Beans and then waited for the meeting.  Just like the last event I did with this organization, the main purpose of the meeting was to go over the course.  If you aren't already familiar with the area, are you really going to remember all of this 30+ minutes from now while you are out there?  I highly doubt it.  After a few minutes I went back inside to wait and get in the bathroom line one more time.

There was a nice sunrise to start the race.  It was cool and windy.  I had taken a throw-away and some gloves but decided not to fool with them.  All three distance started together and the race started on time. Probably two-tenths of a mile into it we are running up our first hill.  There was elevation chart so I had no idea want to expect.  I told myself to run the hills the first time around but could walk up them during the second loop if I needed to.  I had my iPhone with me and there were a couple of things along the course that I wanted to take a picture of but decided against it.  I thought if I really wanted to I could just go back after the race and take them then.  The course was well marked but the roads through the park/golf course were in bad shape; lose gravel and lots of pot holes.  Between miles 2 & 3, I felt like I needed to make a bathroom stop but the restrooms in the park were still closed for the winter!  Luckily, this feeling eventually subsided. The first loop wasn’t bad although the wind was still crazy and it wasn’t at my back very often.  Some of the roads in the park were banked so I tried to stay in the middle when I could.

Since this was a small race and I’m a slower runner, I approached the second loop alone.  And I was confused at one point when some runners were headed back toward me and was worried that I was doing it wrong. I remember passing the 7 mile marker and then some time later looked at the time on my iPhone and thought I was having the slowest race of my life in quite some time.  The phone said that it was 9:00AM and I still hadn’t seen the 8 mile marker.  Seriously?  Were the hills really taking that much of a toll on me?  Then I remember that we started at 7:30 and not 7:00 so I wasn’t 30 minutes behind…but I still hadn’t seen the 8 mile marker.  Well I must have completely overlooked it because when I came upon the 9 mile marker I certainly felt better about things.  The strangest thing about the course was an extra “turn around” on the second loop.  It was on the south side of the road but they didn’t want you to do it until you had gone through the main turnaround point.  So that meant as we are running east we now had to cross the road so that we could run this little loop (maybe two-tenths of a mile) and then cross the road again to get on the proper running side of the road. (it wasn’t a closed course and there was a officer there but there was some traffic).  It just would have made more sense to do it first while we were on THAT side.

The best thing that the last part to the finish line was downhill.  Wheeeee!  It also had a hairpin turn that you had to be cautious of but going downhill was fun.  When I crossed the finish line I was fairly certain that I had a new PR but I wanted to wait until the final results to be sure.

Back inside the Smith Building and the Optimist Club was serving breakfast – FREE!  I enjoyed two pancakes and a water.  YUM!  The award ceremony was scheduled to start at 10:30AM but they started early and again, small race so I hung around…just in case.  Well, you gotta love being an older runner in a small race because I got an age group place award! 

      

I got a PR by one minute and a place award  I’d say it was a pretty successful Saturday.