Sunday, November 6, 2011

2011 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon


Marathon #12 is in the books and I really couldn't be happier with the results.  Even though it wasn't a PR, it was probably the best marathon that I've run in the last 3 years.  I was able to pace myself fairly consistently and other than walking through 2 of the last 4 water stops, I didn't have any major melt downs.
Going into Saturday's race, I thought I was capable or running somewhere in the 3:30 to 3:40 range.  I didn't follow a training plan but after running both the Run Woodstock Trail Marathon & StumpJump 50K over the last couple months, I figured I could count those as two very long and very slow training runs. My plan for Saturday was to start out running 8:00/mile and hope to hang on until the finish in front of the state capital building. This worked for the first 10K but after a quick bathroom break on Mass Ave, I got antsy and picked up the pace to make up lost time.  I tried to calm down and slow it down a bit but still ended up putting in back to back 7:45 miles. After that, I was able to settle back into an 8:00/mile pace. I was able to stay right around that pace up until mile 20.  I didn't have any cramping issues, which was a first for me, but I could feel the energy starting to fade. From there I broke the race up into 2-5Ks and decided to take a GU and walk the next water stop and then repeated the same process at water stop around mile 23. I ended up crossing the finish line in 3:33:44.
The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon is a great race and even though it's only in it's 4th year, it's an extremely well organized event.  The course takes you past most of the major sights of the city including Lucas Oil Stadium, Conseco Fieldhouse, Butler University & the Indianapolis Museum of Art. There is a bit of a boring stretch between miles 19 & 21 while your're running along the White River Parkway. To break up the monotony, someone put up Hoosier Trivia questions and answers on alternating signs throughout this area.  Some question were easy, some were hard (I still have no clue who Hoagy Carmichael is), but I have to admit that this kept my mind occupied for those miles. My only complaint is that they were out of chocolate milk at the finish line though they more then made up for it with the unexpected stocking cap that they handed out to all finishers along with the medal.

Garmin Connect data