1. Run the Indianapolis Mini Marathon

Jenny, Me and Steph pre-race

I did it! I ran the Mini! I ran with my friend Steph and her best friend Jenny. We had a great time. The weather called for rain but it mostly held off and ended up being a super day to run.

Jason has run this 1/2 marathon for about 6 or 7 years now and I never thought I would be able to run it let alone WANT to run it! But a little before Christmas my friend Steph said she was going to run it. Then another girl from our birth board signed up to run it as well. So that meant that Steph from Illinois was running and Kim from Ohio was running. I couldn't let Indiana be under represented! I mean this IS my hometown, so I decided to sign up and run it with friends. That sounded so much more fun than struggling through three hours of running by myself.

So training began in January. That's when I got shin splints and had to sit out three weeks to let my shins heal. At first I loved running on the treadmill. I'd never really run outside before, nor had I run more than three miles. I could make sure I maintained a steady pace on the treadmill and track my progress easily. I enjoyed seeing my time increase as my ability increased. I could run 12 minute miles for 30 minutes, then 35 minutes then 40 minutes...little by little I inched my way up in time. I remember the first time I hit 35 minutes I felt like I'd just run and won the Mini! Forty minutes on the treadmill for me equaled about 3 miles. So when it came time for me to start running more than 3 miles at a time I was a little torn as to what to do. They treadmills at the gym are only supposed to be used for 30 minutes and I already felt guilty for going 40 minutes. So I decided it was time to take the game outside.

Up until this point I'd always run indoors at the gym. And never complained. But after one fateful 4 mile run on a crisp February evening I became a true believer of outdoors running. It was like turning on a switch. The feel of the crisp air made it easier to breath, seeing my feet advance me to further mileage gave me hope. Even though I couldn't tell how fast I was going, I felt comfortable and confident. I was in love. I finally understood why the treadmill gets such a bad rap!

Anyways...after hitting my first "long" run ever of four miles, I didn't look back. I did four miles, then five miles then six miles. After I ran a "long run" of six miles I decided I needed to run that twice a week. So I ran six miles twice a week and keep adding miles to my longer Sunday runs. With five weeks to go until the Mini, I was running six miles twice a week and 7 miles was my longest run so far. That's when it happened. I hit my wall. I tried to run 8 miles and just missed it having to walk the last half mile. Then I tried again and was only able to squeeze out three. I started to get discouraged feeling like I wouldn't be able to run the whole Mini, which was my goal.

The following week I set out with my sister to run 6 miles. I felt pretty good after running it so I told her I was going to keep going and see where it took me. I asked her to ride her bike back home, let Jason know and bring me back some water. She did and three miles later I had conquered 9 miles. I didn't let two weeks of set backs get me down. I just kept running my six miles and then added to it. And mentally that's all it took for me to know in my heart that I was going to be able to do this thing. That week I ran 12 miles. I still had two weeks before the Mini so being able to do 12 helped psych me up and carry me on towards race day. The next week I ran my six twice and then another 12. I was pumped. I was ready. I was going to do this!

Kim, our friend from the birth board, ended up moving from Ohio to California in the middle of training and it didn't seem feasible for her to fly cross country to run a 1/2 marathon, so she ended up cheering us from the side lines via online. Jenny had shirts made for everyone with our names on the back and Steph sent mine to me through her wonderful Uncle Phil. (I have such Uncle Phil envy it's not even funny) So race day we all met in our designated corral T and anxiously awaited our start!

I won't bore you (okay hehehe...more than what I already have) with details of 13.1 miles. But some highlights were:

1. Running with two awesome girls who made the time fly by
2. Seeing 2 dudes dressed as Gumby and a third as Pokey run around the track
3. Seeing Luke from Waverly school...a 9 year old boy...run with his dad...through the pain
4. High school bands...enough said...
5. All the people lining the race route cheering everyone on
6. The spirit and kindness of all the runners
7. Seeing a man pee in the bushes
8. Seeing a woman who had pooped her pants while running
9. Running down Victory Mile with my family holding out flowers for me

Coming down Victory Mile

Waving to my family...can you see their flowers

just under and to the right of the blue balloons?

My boys celebrating my finish

And the absolute most amazing thing about the race? When it was all over Jack ran into my arms and whispered into my ear, "Mommy! You did a great job! I'm so proud of you!"

And then in true Jack fashion he added, "You were pumping your pistons really hard!"

I will run this race again. It was hard, it was demanding training for it and it definitely had some down moments, but overall this was a really pleasant experience. Looking forward to the next one already!