IU Mini Race Report

Spring running season is finally here! Thank goodness! I am tired of the cold, damp, and dreary days. I am ready for sun, warm breezes, and warm temperatures! It is so hard to stay motivated to run when it is cold outside and you have to wear layers. With work, bad weather, and weekends out-of-town, I wasn't expecting much when I decided to run the IU Mini this morning. I only signed up this past Tuesday because I wasn't sure what to do. I had done a few long runs on the weekends I was in town, however I hadn't trained past one 9-mile run. During the week, I was at work until 7pm almost every night, so week night runs were short ones around my neighborhood. The weather was cold this morning (about 32 at race time) and I was running late to get to the start line, but I made it with 5mins to spare. The start was cold in my shorts, but I had warmed up by mile 4. I ended up running with another girl beginning around mile 4 or 5. I didn't know her, but we had about the same pace so we jogged together and cheered each other up the hills. This race course is one of the toughest out there. It is almost entirely hills. You have to pace yourself to go up slow and steady and down slow and steady. Anyway, Jean (my pace partner for the race) and I kept going. I was fine until mile 10 and then my legs started to ache pretty bad. But, I didn't feel like I could walk because Jean wasn't stopping. I did walk through some water stations and then catch back up with her. A few times she was ahead of me, but I eventually caught up those times, too. I had no idea what my time was for the race. I don't wear a watch and no one on the course was calling out mile times. But, as I mentioned, I had no expectations and my only goal was to finish. However, we kept on running and I crossed the finish line at 2:02:40. I was shocked to say the least! This is definitely my best mini time. The cooler weather definitely made it easier to run.

Next up is the Indy Mini in May. It happens to fall on a very busy weekend for us, so it is going to be stressful to run in the race. Also, I am worried that I will try to much to match my time in the IU Mini. What if I have a bad day? What if the weather sucks and makes the race difficult? What if I get a crappy start corral, which makes it hard to run because of all the people to navigate through? What if I get side stitches and have to walk? There are too many thoughts running through my head. So, I am going to try to go in with the same expectation - to finish.