Running the 2016 Indy Mini with my husband. Best. Decision. Ever. Because we did PR together, (thanks for the shirts Leslie), and I learned a ton along the way. Mostly that it's not about the amount of miles or the pace, but the people you run in it with.
It was definitely an emotional race going in. Being selected as ambassador to promote the 2016 Indy Mini, my favorite race of all time, brought so much more meaning to this amazing race. And convincing my husband to train and run the 13.1-the ultimate ambassador feat. This weekend kicked off so special at the expo with our first official family packet pick-up, even if my daughter Jude is banned from the expo for life for a few unnamed reasons. 
Coming in to the race their was much debate on our pace. My husband is not a big fan of my "go out hard pace and see what happens" method, so we agreed on an 8-8:15 pace. In additon to racing with me, he was blessed to experience all my pre-race anxiety, starting out it me insistent on making a 6:30 am photo opt with the ambassadors and heading over the Connection Pointe tent before hand, (which includes some of the MOST amazing people I have ever met.) This may or may not be the reason he forgot his Garmin 😁 And so glad to get a shot with fellow ambassador Brandi. Who knew 2 of the 33 ambassadors would hail from the great town of Brownsburg?!
Despite being seeded five corrals apart, we came to a common ground. We started with my training partner Kelly, which was even more special, as we have trained HUNDREDS of miles together since meeting last fall. 
And we took off. And this is how the 2016 Indy Mini broke down for Jason and I:
Mile 1-5: Simply fun. We fluctuated between 7:50-8:10 comfortably, chatting and having a blast with it. But it got hot. Fast. I NEVER have stopped at so many water stations. But that's the huge plus running with hubby-switching off on getting water. 😌 Heading into Main Street, one of my favorite places of the race, but sadly, the fan base was not what it is used to be.
Mile 6-8: We rocked out a 7:48 mile heading into the track, feeling pretty darn confident at this point. But for some reason, the track was my most miserable of my previous 11 mini's. Whether it was the heat or the energy spent with trying to make sure I stayed with Jason, it simply sucked.
Mile 8-10: Heading out of the track Jason informed me he couldn't eat any of his fuel, which worried me as I sucked down my second gel pack. Mile 8 and 9 were our slowest, (besides when we stopped to be recapped in mile 13). I thought we were doing ok, but the Garmin said otherwise. Discouraging, but this was not my race, and just wanted Jason to feel good. We were both starting to struggle, and focused on landmarks at this point, as sub 8 miles had slipped away.
Miles 11-12: I officially entered #strugglebus territory. Jason found a second wind and was hauling. Ironically, he was worried I would slow him down, and it was total opposite. Again, it was his race, but I was starting to struggle to keep up with him. And when we crossed mile 12 and saw 1:39 roll across I fought back tears, as that was last year's time, and had no idea how my legs were going to carry me strongly for one more mile. Once again, in the words of Ron Burgandy, I was a "glass case of emotion."
Mile 13.1: Longest mile ever. Jason told me he wanted to run a 7:45 last mile. And he was well on his way to it, however I was a good 20 yards behind him. I could not keep up. I kept pushing and pushing, telling myself "I can do this-I had two kids drug free," but apparently this was harder than childbirth. The finish line was closing in and I was afraid we would not keep our deal of crossing together. Then at mile 13, my husband did something I would have never done, (because apparently I am a selfish runner I realized). His nursing instinct kicked in and he picked up a guy who collapsed, and I instantly followed him. It was the most amazing moment ever to hear the crowd cheer. And at the moment, our time no longer matter. After we realized there was no way we could have carried him in his current condition, as we got him to a medic, and finished. 1:47.5 offically. Not our 1:45 goal, but with the journey and help we provided along the way, it didn't matter. We had got our "PR together." And I could not think of a better person to bring the PR bell with!
The post race was a blast, thank you so much for the Connection Pointe and Runners Forum tent for some providing such yummy goodies and beverages. It was wonderful to celebrate with friends and recap the day. Even though it started out a little hot, we were blessed with great weather and couldn't be more thankful! And so excited to celebrate with my sister in law Sarah, who was recovering from surgery at this time last year, to come back and have such a phenomenal race. 
All I all, the 2016 Indy Mini could have not turned out better for our first half together, (well maybe if we would have got a picture with Meb : ) And how did I know it was my favorite mini ever?! Because I was smiling in almost every single picture taken while I was running, and I truly, ran happy :-)
