Training and making #yourministory

Training pitfalls/hints leading up to up to the Indianapolis Mini Marathon

*Follow your training program-you are all here, so you are following one! Don’t overdo it, or try to play catch up. A missed workout is just that, a missed workout. Don’t beat yourself up over, sometimes we need a break. Don’t give up when life gets hectic or a minor setback. Even if it turns into a bad week, there is always the next.

*Trial your race day clothes, everything down to your socks! If something doesn’t seem right, adjust.

*Train with the fuel you plan to eat. There will be water and Gatorade on the course, Cliff shots at mile 10. Trial Cliff brand before-Kroger, Runners Forum both carry them. Make sure they work with your stomach. Bring your own, don’t depend on them still being there at mile 10.

*Practice your race pace, if you have a goal in mind. I personally will do 6X400’s the week of the race, every other race pace to feel my speed.

*Hydrate!  ½ body weight, ounces of water per a day. No matter if its race or training day, use this practice. Be very conscious of your water intake the week of the race.

*Take your rest day. Rest means no pounding on your feet! A rest day is an easy way to prevent injuries.

*Train in a variety of weather; you never know race day conditions.

*Practice eating and running on your race day breakfast.

*Lay your race day outfit out days before the race with a note for anything needed for race day. Walking past the layout several times a day before the race will help you think about if you missed anything!

*Make sure you are getting extra rest several nights leading up to race. Race day jitters can make the night before sleep challenging. 

Race day!

* Don’t try anything new!

*Trust your training. There is nothing you can do about training on race day, stay mentally tough.

*Know the course, drive it before if needed. There is a great map on www.indymini.com I would recommend downloading. Also have your parking figured out prior to the day of, (keeping the road closures in mind). If you are person who needs that last minute bathroom break, also be aware of where those are located. Those lines will get long, so make sure you leave plenty of time to get there!

*Dressing for race day…early May seems to heat up pretty quick. Personally, I dress for 15 degrees warmer. So if its forecasted 50, I dress for 65 degrees. Also bring a “throw away” shirt to put over your race shirt. It will keep you warm while you are standing around waiting to start. Also beware of the first mile: those throw away shirts to be thrown at your feet or face!

*Headphones, technically not allowed. They will just make you take them off at the track. There is SO much entertainment and encouragement, personally I think it would be a disappointment to miss!

*Post race: Military Park is beyond crowded-have a meet up plan established with friends and families. Also don’t forget to bring a change of clothes. If it’s a cold day, your sweat soaked clothes will start to turn cold after you stop moving. A towel, and a change of shoes, sandals if your feet swell, area also good to bring.

*Have fun, enjoy the experience! If things get tough, make a game out of it (catch a person, predict your time to a landmark).

*if applicable, ring the PR bell at Military Park!

People who race together, stay together

 Kids, jobs, and life in general put spouses on the back burner. The person who you couldn't imagine your life without suddenly becomes your tag team wrestling partner in the game of life, trading off and collaborating to somehow and someway to get everything done. And when that date day you have waited for a month for finally comes, somebody throws up, a babysitter cancels, or some another mini-crisis occurs. This is the story of our lives. 

So... back to running. Rewind to October 2015. When I approached my husband about running the mini, (this would be the Indianapolis Festival 500 Mini Marathon I so lovely refer to as simply, the "mini.") I believe his exact words were simply "no." (Rewind also to the 2008 mini, Jason's first and only 1/2 Matathon, where his longest training run was 6 miles. This had a huge influence on his answer: ) But as an ambassador for the year's mini, it is my job to promote and recruit for the mini. So I was relentless, and when he said he would do it if I ran with him, I agreed. And for those who don't know me, I will admit that I'm way selfish about running, but I felt if it's my job to promote and recruit, said my obvious reply was yes. So I will forgot my level 2 seeding and a hopeful sub 1:40 time to make this a successful and memorable experience for us. (Although I totally think this guy can go sub 1:40 if he trains rights!)

So intstead of the weekly "sit down", we have a weekly "run on." Of course we start out reviewing our week thus far, what's to come, and plans for the weeken ahead, (our runs are every Wednesday after work). Our runs work on many components of marriage-coprimise, communication, and supporting each other. We compromise a on route and a pace, we communicate on how we are feeling, and we support each other when we are struggling on those last miles. When we are done, we feel like we can accomplish anything in our marriage, and most importantly reminding ourselves who blessed we are to still get out there and get after it at 37 years old.

I asked my husband what his thoughts were on our new weekend runs. He told me that they reminded his of back to the summer of 2007, when we ran together and cooked dinner EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT religiously. And we fell in love over that. These runs are the time when life is perfect, all is good, and we can accomplish anything together. And how fitting was it he proposed to me in the middle of a 5K in 2008. 

But at the end of the day, a seasoned runner with a career ending injury, told me this week, "it's not about the miles or the pace, it's ability to get out there and run." It with my nagging IT band and my husbands pending asthma flare up this week, we remembered that on yesterdays run. We simply "enjoyed the run."