Victory Lap at Indy

See that shine on my face? That’s the sheen from a glimmering new PR! On a chilly, very windy day, I turned in a 1:32:48 half marathon at the Indy Mini on May 8, improving my previous best for the 13.1 mile distance by 2 minutes 17 seconds.

I grew up about 20 miles outside Indianapolis, so the Mini is something of a “hometown” race for me. Since my parents and several other family members still live in the area, running the Mini gives me the opportunity to have a great family visit while enjoying the experience of participating in the largest half-marathon in the country.

Normally, the Mini is solidly booked on my race calendar by November, which is almost a requirement because the race sells out so early. But since I was running my first Boston Marathon this year, just three weeks prior to the Mini, I hadn’t registered. I didn’t know if I would be recovered enough to run a half-marathon. Consequently, I had decided to run the Mini just five days before the race. I will never run a race as a “bandit” (someone who doesn’t pay the race fees), so I was perusing online runner forums for someone who wanted to sell his race bib. In a twist of fate, I ended up taking my nephew Michael’s bib, as he is nursing an injury and decided he shouldn’t run.

With the bib secured on Tuesday, I set to preparing mentally. Even though I had put in a ton of training miles already this year, I hadn’t done any speed work, and a 5-mile tuneup run on Tuesday could best be described as “crappy.” I ran hard, but my pace was only 7:29 per mile – 14 seconds slower than my half-marathon PR. I remarked to my wife about that personal best, “I have no idea how I ran 7:15s for 13 miles!” It was beginning to look like I’d record a so-so time at Indy.

Ah, but race day had other plans. I awoke feeling refreshed, relaxed and excited. I told myself, “You can do something special today.”

We left the house with a car full of racers (wife, daughter, nephew and niece-in-law were all doing the 5K) and headed to the starting area to meet the rest of our party (brother-in-law and niece doing the half, sis-in-law doing the 5K). We were running a bit late and couldn’t connect with the other three folks, so I sent my family on the way to the 5K start line and went in search of a warm place to sit and wait for an hour till the half started.

At race time, the temperature was in the upper 40s and the wind was howling at 20+mph. In the start corral, nearly 35,000 runners couldn’t generate enough body heat to shave the goosebumps from our skin. The starting gun fired, and 30 seconds later I crossed the start line for my fifth Indy Mini.

I knew the first 4 miles were headed west and north, which was into the teeth of the strong northwest wind, so I did my best to tuck in behind larger runners as much as possible. I would draft off them until I found someone close who was running a bit faster, then I would leapfrog up to that person.

Unlike all of my previous races over the past two years, I decided to watch my mile splits closely. I was definitely going for a PR if the wind would allow it. Mile 1 passed in 7:30, exactly the pace I wanted to run for the first 5 miles. Mile 2 came in at 7:01, and mile 3 was 7:02. Faster than planned, but the wind proved to not be a factor, and I was feeling great. When mile 4 flew by in 6:53, I knew only a major blowup would keep me from a PR. Still, 6:53 was too fast, so I backed off and turned mile 5 in 7:09.

At this point, I could see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway looming ahead. I knew mile 6 was just inside the track, and by the time I would make an entire loop of the famed 2.5 mile oval and get back out onto 16th Street, I would be at mile 9. From there, it was little more than a 5K to the finish. Excitement was welling inside.

The only thing resembling a hill on this course is actually more of a valley – a short, steep tunnel that takes you from the outside of the Speedway under the racetrack and into the infield of the massive facility. When I hit that down ramp, I leaned forward and flew. The momentum carried me up the other side where I crossed mile 6 in 6:49.

If you have read any of my other race reports, you know it’s rare that I can finish a race longer than 10K without having to pee at least once. (My doc says, “You have the prostate of a 60-year-old.” Great.) I had held it as long as I could, and I figured after burning a 6:49, I had earned a little rest break. So I hit a portajohn and still managed to get to mile 7 in 7:49 – and that was with a stretch of heading into the strongest wind of the race as we went through turn 3 of the track and into the “short chute” before turn 4.

With business attended to, I could get back to focusing on the race. Well, that is after I smiled broadly for the cameras as I ran over the storied “yard of bricks” that marks the start/finish line of the Indy 500. Just after passing the 8-mile marker, I passed a young man who called out, “You’re running with DetermiNation? Me too! I’m running with them at the Chicago Marathon.” When I said I was on the volunteer committee in Chicago, he asked my name. “David Pittman,” I said. He exclaimed, “No way! I’m Zach!” Zach is one of the runners I was assigned to mentor with DetermiNation. We had exchanged emails prior to the race, but it was great to meet him face-to-face for the first time while running. We chatted briefly, shared our target goal and pace, then wished each other well on our way to respect personal bests (he beat his goal of 1:40 by five minutes).

As the pack of runners exited the Speedway, the wind was now at our back. My plan was to get through 10 miles in a comfortably fast pace, then let it all hang out for the last 5K. Mile 9: 6:58. Mile 10: 7:00. Time to GO!

Just before Mile 11, I noticed a street named Belleview, which made me think of the old Springsteen song “For You,” popularized by Manfred Mann in the ’70s. One line is, “And they’re waiting for you at Bellevue, with their oxygen masks.” Right then, I wouldn’t have turned down an oxygen mask. Mile 11: 6:55. Mile 12: 7:10, though it felt faster than the previous mile.

At mile 12, the course turned east and headed straight for 1.1 mile to the finish line. One aspect of the Indy Mini that I’ve come to love/hate is the final mile countdown. Large signs mark every quarter-mile. At 3/4 to go, I’m kicking and feeling reasonably good, though I’m wondering why I can’t see the finish line sign. 1/2 mile to go: I’m laboring and still can’t see that sign! (I didn’t learn until the next day that heavy winds had knocked down the structure the night before the race.) 1/4 mile to go and I’m thinking, “WHERE THE #&*@ IS THAT FINISH LINE?!?! Use your arms, DP, use your arms! Do something special!”

Mile 13: 6:47, the last .1 took 39 seconds for a finish in 1:32:48, 843rd place overall. Thrilled! Smiling! Happy!

By the time I passed through the finishers’ area, collecting bananas, cookies and my medal, I was already thinking, “I can go faster. I know I can.”

Runners: often pleased, rarely satisfied.

Next up: My report on the Keys100 Relay, a 100-mile relay from Key Largo to Key West.

Related posts:

1. THAT’s what I’m TALKIN’ about!
2. Toughing Out a Mini
3. Rock ‘n Rollin’ in the Desert