I ran the Indy Monumental 13.1 this weekend. The weather was chilly and sunny (28-45 F) throughout the day. There was some cloud cover but the weather was comfortable for running although it was a cold start.
Parking downtown is limited due to road closures so I had to park north of the downtown area but it was about .5 mile walk and $5 for all day. I found some folks stranded by the bus system that morning so I took them down to the race with me. It was clear they were racing because of their bibs and running gear to I felt comfortable offering a ride.
I was in wave 4 and the race began at 7:30 so my race began about 8:15. I got my Garmin set up and started out a bit fast for me at 11:49 mile on the first mile. I actually didn't think I was going that fast so I was surprised when the Mile 1 marker came up. I slowed down and started my run/walk cycle at that point. I knew my shoes were aging before the race so I wanted to pound my legs a bit less and use the walk for rest breaks. The aid stations were staffed by some cool groups. The first one was a group of Chinese in costumes; dragons, Panda etc which was fun. They were all smiles and made that first aid station fun. Another group was dressed for Christmas in Santa costumes. For the most part the race didn't have a lot of spectators. I think the weather was a bit of a deterrent. Standing around was much colder than running.
About mile 3 I was stripping off my jacket and gloves to get cooler. I was holding onto a 13 min pace the first half but by mile 8 I had to stop at a portapotty and that was a long delay. There were only 2 there and a long line but I couldn't put off a stop any longer so I was destined to wait. It was at least a 5 min wait and maybe longer so that added to my reported pace. However, I was holding onto the 13 min pace for most of the race until the older shoes began to be a factor. I felt my legs and feet getting sore and I decided I'd walk most of the last mile to reduce the pain I would feel after the race. I wasn't running to get a PR that day and wasn't worried about the delays. I just wanted an off-season run to keep my fitness.
This turned out to be a nice run. It's a flat fast course. Apparently, some were able to complete the course in a little over an hour and the marathoners were doing it in 2 hours and change along with about 34 Olympic qualifiers in the race.
I enjoyed visiting with my daughter and son-in-law in Indy, ran a nice race and met some of my teammates from Chicago for dinner the night before.
It wasn't an expensive race $45 and the support was good. The food afterward was bananas, pizza, chocolate milk and chips. You get a medal and a hat at the end and a nice nylon Tshirt in the goodie bag. I felt the price was reasonable and the route was good.
One note: although Indy has a lot of monuments, the only one you see on this course is the Soldier and Sailor Monument in the photo above. I found that a bit odd and despite living in Indy for 8 years, I don't think I really know where those other monuments are. Possibly in the Cemetary where quite a few famous authors are buried.
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