Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini-Marathon and 5K

I was up at 4:30 this morning. I am so thankful to my kids who allowed me to get a great night's sleep before this race- I felt great! Got up- got a plain, dry bagel and a cup of coffee- beat all the traffic downtown and got a parking spot right by the start line- it was perfect! I didn't even mind standing in the wind waiting- because it totally paid off.

I had a goal to run 5 minute intervals of walk/run and a stretch goal to finish under 40 minutes. I didn't do either- but I'm pleased to report 2 things- I ran MORE than 5 minutes and walked much less. I noticed a girl about my pace and I started trailing her- she was setting my pace for about a half mile before she started to notice that she had a shadow. So at one point where we both decided to take a walk break- I introduced myself and said "Thanks for keeping the pace- you're keeping me going" and she said "Really? Because you chasing me was making me go faster!"- so we laughed and then discussed our strategy- we were now in this together. We walked for a minute and then started jogging again. At one point I had to slow to a walk to work out a cramp- and she kept going- but then she slowed as I started running again- so we essentially crossed the finish together. It was a personal best for me!!! I took 2 full minutes off of my last 5K. I was not under 40 minutes- but it was 41:32 - pace of 13:21. I am pleased with that and I will definitely "run" with it!

After the finish line - and collecting my race medal (hope to post a pic later)- I got to talking to my pace buddy- her name is Lara and turns out- she was from just outside of Pittsburgh, PA - this was such a coincidence because I grew up in Latrobe, PA and just so happen to be traveling there today. So we laughed about that- and exchanged contact details- she'll be in touch so we can try to keep up on training together and potentially train for the mini together next year!
Now I'm off to go back up all my stuff for my trip and get a shower (boy do I need it). This was a great race and I feel fantastic!

Also- a special thanks to the anonymous girl who had been behind me most of the way who gave me encouragement at the end to keep running as I started to slow to a walk. She said "No way lady- you have to run to the finish, I've been watching you run the whole time- you're not going to get passed by me now". It was EXACTLY what I needed to hear- and it meant SO much to me.

One final note- Hats off to the city of Indianapolis - this race is SO well organized for how big it is- well done Indy!