The 2024 CNO Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

The 2024 CNO Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

Listen vs. read - PART 1
Listen vs. read - PART 2

What. A. Weekend. 

Here's the short version:

The long version starts on Thursday when I had my first volunteer shift at the expo. It was fun getting a chance to see the expo hall in its "before" state. Usually I arrive once everything is already set up to help work the info desk. This year, I helped with the setup by taping labels to shirt bins, organizing pre-orders and race shirts, and giving my thoughts on how the party lights should look hanging over our speaker stage area. I got to see my fellow board member turned friend, Ashley Haynes, before her evening shift and talk about our upcoming race plan my coach had given me. Ashley was ready for anything I was going to throw at her.

Some other highlights included:

  • Running into my next podcast guest, Nathan Partain, who was fresh off of New York and came to volunteer 
  • Asking our staff member, Becky Miller, tons of personal questions and getting to know her better 
  • Seeing Larry Coblentz in his new element for Athletic Annex
  • Meeting fellow podcaster, Luke Tormoehlen, also with AA
  • Introducing myself to Olympian Bob Kennedy, AA Co-Founder

(Side note: The Athletic Annex set up a giant blow up house and turned it into a super shoe and art gallery featuring posters designed by local artists)

  • Seeing Abby Prentice and commiserating about our marathon carb loading
  • Chatting with race directors for the Carmel Marathon (Jay Drupa) and Indiana Women's Running Festival (Todd Oliver)

Part of me wanted to stay for the rest of the evening, but since Sydney had a half day of school, I needed to get home to get her from our neighbor's house. I managed to leave shortly after my shift ended at 3pm.

FRIDAY - the day before the race

Because of parent teacher conferences, my 7yo, Sydney, didn't have school on Friday. Thankfully, she's gotten pretty good at riding her bike and I got her excited about coming with me on my shake out run (3 easy miles plus strides). I wore my newly rhinestoned race shoes to make sure they were fully broken in (I'd taken them on an easy 10 miler the week before). I was inspired when I saw Alexi Pappas do it to her New York Marathon shoes and I just so happened to have a rhinestone kit and a shit ton of rhinestones left after Taylor Swift from the weekend before.

After my run, I hopped in the shower to get ready for our parent teacher conference with Sydney's teacher at 11am. After the conference, I rushed back home, made some plain pasta for lunch, packed up all of the running things, got ready so I'd look presentable for my panel discussion, and headed downtown.

I parked at Victory Field and headed over to the expo. It looked like I was about to move in with all of the crap I was carrying. On the way over, I ran into Brendan Kelly, who I'd just met for the first time at the Indy Half, and Robert Jackson, who I'd never met in person until this moment. Brendan crushed the half marathon with an PR and Robert snagged a PR in the full.

When I got into the expo, it was in full swing. This shift I was back for my usual job of manning the information booth (which is on your left when you enter the expo). First, I caught up with our Executive Director, Jed Cornforth, for a few minutes to iron out last minute details for the Elite Athlete Panel discussion taking place that afternoon. He told me I was going to be introducing myself and the incredible women I was interviewing. This added a little to my nerves, but I was expecting it. Good thing I brought my trusty notecards to prepare. While I was at the information booth, I wrote down bullet points for each woman's bio and kept practicing in my head what I would say to introduce myself. 

Meanwhile, runners have a lot of questions about race day. And finally in my third year or so of doing this I know some of the answers. The questions we get asked the most are:

  • Where do I pick up my packet? (right?!)
  • Where should I park on race day? 
  • Where should I have an Uber drop me of on race day?
  • Where should my family go to cheer me on?

Pro tip for anyone needing to park: use the SpotHero app and book a spot in advance so you don't have to worry about it. 

Sara Hall was scheduled to arrive at 3pm, so as that time approached I needed my brain to focus less on answering questions and more on asking questions. Erika and Stephanie were near the speaking area, so I went over there to introduce myself. Turns out this was Stephanie's first time speaking at an expo, which immediately put me at ease. And I loved talking to Erika. They are both endlessly cooler than I am, but so nice.  

There was a bit of a miscommunication with Sara and she was in the staff room waiting for someone to come get her, but none of us by the speaking area knew this. With Stephanie was one of her teammates, Dot McMahan. As the time approached for us to start, we told Dot she should join us on the panel. Now we're like 5 minutes out and someone takes away one of the chairs and this sends the rest of us into a panic (ok, just me into a panic). Where was Sara? Did something happen? I knew she'd gotten in last night so I was confused. 

I told the team we'd have Dot join us and to keep a chair open for Sara just in case. And then right as we all moved to sit down Sara came! Thankfully I got to say a quick hello and hug her before we got started. I was happy to have Dot join, but I hadn't had the chance to stalk her social media to know how incredibly lucky we were to have her join. I awkwardly had her introduce herself. Among her many accolades was a win at the 2019 Monumental marathon - wow. What in the world am I doing here interviewing these women? Where is Lindsey Hein when I need her? Impostor syndrome at an all time high. 

But we did it! I asked a bunch of questions, they answered them with a ton of great insights. And we had a lot of Q&A from the audience. If you'd like to watch a reply of the session you can here! I still haven't, but will probably try to make myself do it so I can learn what I can do better next time - if in fact there is a next time.

After we were done, we got a picture of all of us and a line immediately formed to meet Sara Hall and get photos. Stephanie and Erika were whisked away to the Brooks booth and I gave them each an Athlete Bouquet I made for them. I nearly didn't get a photo of me and Sara, but John Stille, our past Board President, helped me butt in to get one before she had to go back to her hotel. She was so gracious and sweet and I wish I would have gotten to spend more time with her. If you don't know Sara, I highly recommend you listen to a podcast interview with her - there are a ton! Here she is on episode 515 of I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein.

After Sara was gone I felt like I could breathe again. I did actually get comfortable during the panel but I had started out with a lot of nerves and my body was still feeling it. And then next up to the stage would be Olympic Champion, Cole Hocker, being interviewed by Matt Ebersole.

For Cole's fireside chat the place was absolutely packed. We knew it was going to be standing room only since we didn't want to crowd the space with tons of chairs. If you weren't able to hear this session, you can watch it here. Watching Cole watch himself win gold gave me goosebumps. If you don't know what race I'm talking about, do yourself a favor and Google the men's 1500m final in Paris. It's unreal. The coolest part is learning that Cole knew he would win. To the untrained eye, it looked like an underdog story, but the truth is that it was meant to be Cole's. I digress... 

While this was taking place, I realized I hadn't picked up my packed yet. With everyone listening to Cole, we snuck back to grab my bib. And when I approached the volunteer I recognized her face. I asked her if she'd worked at Westfield High School. She had. She asked me my name and the year I graduated ('04) and get this - she was my high school guidance counselor. Mind blown. But that's not the craziest part. She goes on to say that her husband is the founder of the race. Well, I know the founder of our race, Carlton Ray. And sure enough that's him. Such a small world. 

As Cole and Matt were getting close to wrapping up the session, our team asked for help getting Cole from the stage to the staff room where he'd get a break before taking pictures for an hour. I've never acted as part of someone's security detail before, but man was it fun. As soon as he was out of the stage area about 4 of us and Cole's two security guards made a break for it. People tried their best to attempt a quick selfie, but were immediately shut down. Like a weirdo I was holding up my giant Stanley and walking behind one of the security guys. "How's it going Cole?" I remember saying. And something like, "Wow this is weird." "Don't worry, I'll get them with my Stanley." 

We made it across the room and through the crowd without any trouble and shuttled Cole into our tiny staff room that I'd tidied up before Sara's arrival (thank goodness). Cole immediately, and I mean immediately, took off his medal and set it on the table. You could see two red lines across the back of his neck. My friend Ashley Haynes and I were in the room with him - the few other staff members that were with us had stayed out. I now realize it was because they were giving him a break from people but I think my brain was too dumbfounded by what was going on to be smart. He let Ashley and I each touch the medal and holy shit is that thing thick and heavy. I gifted him a mug with his picture on it and he opened it in front of me. Seriously, he's the sweetest kid. 

Before we could leave the room, a couple of family members were ushered in to see Cole - aunts I think. I'm not entirely sure. They were decked out in Cole fan club attire and talked to him about holiday plans. I took a few pictures of them and and then Ashley and I were able to give Cole his space. 

Once it was close to the time we were going to need to take him across the hall, I told Ashley we should go back in for a quick photo since we hadn't gotten one before. I told Cole about my podcast and how I'd love to have his dad come on (even though my dad has been hounding me about getting Cole himself on. Dad, Cole is not an every day runner). 😂

And then it was time to take Cole to the meet and greet. We were able to sneak through a door through an empty hall which felt very fancy. Ashley and I asked Cole if this is what his life is like now. He laughed and said that at running events, yes, but not at Kroger. I told him at least not for another four years. When we walked into the room for the meet and greet, everyone cheered. There were probably a couple hundred people waiting maybe? I'm not sure, but we wanted to make sure everyone waiting would be able to get a photo. 

Ashley and I hung around to see if the team needed help, but everything was under control. So, it was time for us to get our stuff and make our way to the hotel to check in and get dinner. 

The Bottleworks Hotel is an awesome place to stay before a downtown race. I’ve been lucky enough to stay there before a couple of other races and they get the details just right. While it’s not walking distance from the start, it’s only a short Lyft away ($6 worth). And right next door is the Garage Food Hall that has food options for everyone. My food of choice for the night before a race (or any Friday night for that matter) is pizza. And the pizza at Abbiocco is so good. Ashley and I each got a 10” pizza - mine cheese and hers was cheese with pineapple. Right next to pizza is Axels beer, so I got my one pre-race beer to finalize my third day of carb loading efforts. 

We ate at the bar and the bartender leaned around and asked us if we were important people for the race. We laughed and admitted we were in fact board members but not that important. She held up a race packet bag that we both thought for sure had been left behind by a patron, but sure enough it was the bartender’s! She told us it would be her first half marathon while not pregnant. Hope she had a good race. 

As we both neared carb capacity, we decided to take the rest of our pizza back with us to the hotel. I was hoping I could find the appetite to eat the rest, but if you’ve done a three day carb load you know the struggle of not wanting to eat anything by the end. 

By this point it was a little past 7pm. Besides the carbs, I wanted the beer to help me wind down a little. I was still on such a crazy high from the day that had just transpired and I needed a decent night of sleep. It had also been a long day and even though I was about to sweat my ass off running around town, I desperately wanted a shower. I figured it would also help me relax. Side note: the water pressure at Bottleworks is amazing. 

After I was showered and in my PJs I started to get my stuff ready for the morning. Here’s a great example of the difference between trail runners (Ashley) and road runners (me)… I meticulously laid out my stuff on the couch and took photos while Ashley’s was piled up in the corner. 🤣

We watched some Shark Tank followed by some 20/20 to wind down and went to bed around 10. I told Ashley she is the quietest sleeper. Pretty sure she didn’t breathe or move the whole night. Meanwhile you have me tossing and turning and having the weirdest dreams about getting lost at a race. Jessica Simpson was there.

Saturday - Race day

My alarm went off at 5:30am. We scheduled a ride for 7am, so we had 90 minutes to get ready. Plenty of time. After brushing my teeth, the first thing I do is make coffee. Gotta get the body moving (💩). And of course I brought my toaster from home to make a peanut butter and banana bagel for breakfast. I also brought me and Ashley IND mugs to drink our coffee out of. 

My stomach is always a little off on race morning so I usually have to force feed myself the entire bagel. Especially after three days of eating all of the bagels. But I know my body is really going to need the fuel and I’ve given myself plenty of time to get it all down.

I turn on the TV to get my mind to be quiet and we watch some Modern Family while we slowly get ready. We joked that the longer we were in the hotel room the more tattoos we were going to end up with. I brought my "Run the Mile You're In" tattoos and my new "You Get To Do This" tattoos for us. But we both also brought a shit ton of metallic tattoos - eye glitter ones, elephants, stars, you name it. It was tempting to cover myself with them, but we didn't go too crazy. I settled for the under eye sparkles, mantra tattoos on my left arm, an elephant on my back, and a dreamcatcher on my calf. OK, maybe that is a lot... ha Could have done more. 

The bathroom thankfully wasn't a problem and once I took care of business I was ready to get dressed. The first thing I always do is cover myself in Squirrel Nut Butter (anti chafe). In my bouquets I include vaseline which works too. Underwear line, inner thighs, feet, underarms and under the sports bra strap (my problem spot). The final touches are my race bib and a throwaway shirt along with my sunglasses and gloves I didn't want to forget. Oh, and fuel. I lined my pockets with 4 packets of Anderson's Pure Fuel and 2 salted watermelon Gu Energy gels.

Our ride arrived on time (one tried to come early and thankfully they replaced that driver with another one) and we waltzed out of the lobby at 7am. The Bottleworks Hotel had put out a spread of water, fuel, safety pins, and hydration for runners. I grabbed a bottle of water before I realized I'd accidentally brought my Stanley with me to the car. Whoops. At least I was handing off a bag to my coach at the start.

We got dropped off at Pennsylvania and Market close to the start. Ashley's office is right on the circle, so we were able to head upstairs to use the bathroom. She has a killer view. 

Then, we walked over to the Capital Building to meet up with my coach and more of her athletes with Team RMR (Rachel Michelle Running). The sunrise on the way over was delightful. 

Speaking of the sunrise, it was weird to have daylight saving time happen before the marathon. I swear it usually happens after and we start when it's still fairly dark out. Anyways, we walk over to the capital building and see one of Rachel's athlete's, John Carter, waiting on the steps. He shares that he's going for a speedy 3:05 (he ran a 3:06:19, so pretty damn close). 

Then, my friend and teammate, Sarah Stewart, comes down the stairs with her beautifully decorated race bib. I'm obsessed with the pre-race tradition she has of letting her kids decorate her bib. It looked amazing! 

Slowly a few more of us gathered and got a group photo before heading our separate ways. I was happy I got to hug Jennifer Nei, who was tackling 26.2 after getting the green light from her doctor and was nervous about the race. And I also got to hug Rose Scovel, who isn't part of Team RMR, but ran her 100th half marathon!! I missed seeing Chris Jones, but he crushed his race like I knew he would! 

Time to head to the corral and we've still got plenty of time until the race starts at 8am (it's around 7:40am). On our way in, I happen to spot Wyatt Moss, an incredible guy who is running a marathon in a different state every weekend in 2024. I had no idea he was coming to Indy and wish we would have known in advance since he said he didn't know anyone besides the friend he stayed with.

He ran NYC too (in a tux!) and got to share some miles with the amazing, Alexi Pappas (again, the Olympian who inspired my shoes), so, of course, I showed him what I'd done to mine in her honor. We both gushed about how much we love her and I wished him good luck in his race. He also ran the Madison Marathon in Wisconsin on Sunday... I recommend you go follow his journey.

Ashley and I entered the corrals and found a spot to hang out and wait. I ran into, Blake Koriath, the CFO of High Alpha, an incredible organization I used to work with in my software days. He told me he was running his first marathon in quite a while and crushed his race with a casual 3:42:44 - not too far ahead of our finish. 

Closer to go time, we took off our throwaway shirts and passed them over to the side. Blake thought we were nuts for wearing tank tops. It's taken a long time for me to get to this point where I can wear as little as possible. The key for me is making sure the extremities are warm - i.e. wearing gloves. I debated wearing arm sleeves, but I'm glad I didn't because I definitely heated up later in the race. And I was never cold, thankfully.

I can't remember if it was before or after the national anthem when they played the audio clip of Cole Hocker's 1500m win, but I'm pretty sure it was before. I still got goosebumps just from listening to it. And whoever sang the national anthem this year was incredible. My body was feeling ready to run and in my head I kept reminding myself to take it very easy the first few miles.

Here's the race plan Coach Rachel gave me:

  • Miles 1-3 - 8:40-45, ease into it, no weaving
  • Miles 4-13 - settle in at 8:35 and hold, should feel very controlled at halfway
  • Miles 14-23 - 8:30 - stay strong through this section, it will get hard but you are ready!
  • Onto Meridian to the finish - leave it all out there!

Ashley plugged in the paces to her Coros watch so it would keep us honest. I added up the paces to see what overall time we'd be looking at and it was around 3:45, so that was my thought - somewhere between 3:57 and 3:45. It was nice knowing I was trained to crush my PR. It took a lot of the pressure off. And a BQ was not in the plans for this year and now with the new standards may be a couple years away (when I hit my milestone 40th birthday). 

OK, TIME TO GO! I tell Ashley I want to move all the way to the left so we can wave to the team (and my new friend, Cole). As we passed, I blew kisses to everyone standing on the bus stop and screamed hello to another one of my new friends, Erika Kemp, who wasn't able to run but still stuck around for the race. 

And just like that we're going. From this point on, it will be interesting to see how much of the race I remember. Feels kind of like an amazing blur looking back. We did a decent job the first few miles making sure we didn't go out too fast (well, at least the first mile). Getting too excited can get you swept up in the crowd and burn way too much energy way too fast. The "correct" way to race is to negative split - meaning, your first half should be slower than your second. The way I used to race was the exact opposite - I'd do what I could to "bank" as much time as possible so if I blew up at the end I'd have some cushion. 

The first few miles of the race go out around Lucas Oil Stadium, through Monumental Circle, down Massachusetts Ave (past the Bottleworks Hotel!) and then we head north. 

Mile 1 - 8:46

I didn't want to admit it to myself (or Ashley) because that would make it true, but shortly after taking off I had a cramp under my ribcage on my right side. This has very seldom happened to me during a race and it happened to me right out of the gate. How the fuck was I going to run 25 more miles? Always the brain being rude right away too. 

To try to make it go away, I breathed slowly in and out and repeated the mantra, "smell the roses, blow out the candles" a mantra I heard during an episode of I'll  Have Another with Lindsey Hein. I was managing, but it sucked. Made it easy not to go out too fast I guess. 

When we were under the highway I heard a familiar voice behind me, Sara Farny. Sara and our friend, Carly Trulock-Quinn, ran up beside us and asked how things were going. I admitted to the cramping issue. Sara immediately offered me some salt tablets. You know what they say... "never try anything new on race day". Well, I was desperate to make sure I wasn't going to keep having issues so I gratefully accepted a tablet from Sara and took it down. We wished them luck and off they went. My cramp did subside. Sara saved my race. Hooray! 

Mile 2 - 8:33

Before heading into the circle we see my friend, Nate Spangle. He shouts, "hey is that Ally Brettnacher from Instagram?!" and I immediately know his fellow podcaster voice (he hosts a show called GET IN). I reply with, "is that Nate Spangle from Instagram?!" We chat briefly about our goals for the race and I asked him if he knew Wyatt Moss was in town and he'd been messaging with him (of course). Nate's plan was to "gallup around" and see what happens. He ran a 3:40:55.

Mile 3 - 8:33
Mile 4 - 8:31

At mile 4 I took my first fuel - a maple syrup. So far, we were feeling great and settling in. Ashley's watch would beep at us whenever we were going to fast, which felt constant, but therefore it was a constant reminder to stay strong and consistent. 

A woman says, "I love your shirt!" And I reply, "well, I love you!" and this prompts what feels like everyone around us to share their love with one another. It was a special moment in the race and I'm fairly certain I turned to Ashley and said, "I fucking love runners."

Around miles 4/5 we had our first Timmy Howard sightings! Timmy takes stunning race photos and Ashley and I try our best to be good subjects. And for the longest time I thought Timmy was just a friend of Ashley's but then I heard his story. Timmy is incredible.

 

Mile 5 - 8:26

Also around this point I'm pretty sure we see Rachel and my friend, Christi Dee. They scream for me and Ashley as we head north out of downtown. Ashley, at what point did you tell me you almost couldn't run with me? I can picture you telling me and I think there were still buildings around, so I'm putting it here. Ashley told me that she didn't want to freak me out, but was unsure in the weeks leading up to the race that she'd actually be able to run. I'm very glad she didn't tell me. Turns out, standing at a Taylor Swift concert for 5 hours is what did the trick for her injury. Who would have thought?

On the stretch before Fall Creek I see more familiar faces. We're running close to my teammate, Jill Holtsclaw, and her friend, Danielle. Up ahead, two people start screaming for Jill and it takes me a minute to realize I also know those two people. They're my friends, Amanda Luper and Jason Noel. Amanda ran THREE major marathons this fall and Jason ran Chicago and is a brain cancer survivor. Seeing them was great! 

Mile 6 - 8:44

Not sure why mile 6 was slower. It didn't feel that way. Around this time, I also see my friends Lindsey, Meggie, Jim Patton (who just ran NYC), and Doug... racking my brain to remember who else I saw out there. It's so much fun doing a hometown race for this reason too. People I expected to see and then a ton of people I didn't expect to see that I got more power from. 

Mile 7 - 8:21 

Clearly making up for mile 6, although not necessarily on purpose. We made Ashley's watch mad enough during mile 7 that we ended up slowing down again after. Between miles 7 and 8 is where the half marathoners split from the full marathoners. And when I'm running the half I am glad not to be going right. This year, I was really excited to have the opportunity to go right and shout goodbye to the half marathoners. 

Right before the split, I see my friend, Renae Saager, quite possibly the best marathon spectator there is. This post gives you a taste. I don't remember blowing her kisses but clearly I did because that's what the video shows. Her energy is infectious. 

Shortly after the split my sister's friend Dan, runs by us and says hello. He also flew by me during the Indy Half Marathon in October and at that time he'd caught me off guard and I didn't realize who he was. So, this time I knew! It was his first marathon and my sister had ordered him a bouquet. I asked if he'd brought his butt napkin with him (that's a product I include in my bouquets) and he said he'd left it behind (I just came up with that, you're welcome). I wished him luck. He ran a speedy 3:34:45.

Mile 8 - 8:37

Time for my next fuel. Can't remember if I took Gu or syrup but I got it down and we kept on cruising. I got water and Nuun every chance I got throughout the entire race. Especially since I'd had the cramping issue early on. At this point, Ashley tells me she has to go to the bathroom. I tell her I'll just keep rolling and will see her again soon. The 3:45 pacer also sprints ahead to go to the bathroom and slightly freaks out some of his runners. I tell them he's running ahead to go to the bathroom and they just need to keep the pace and he'll be back. 

When we run under a bridge by the fairgrounds I hear my name and look up, it's Rachel Ebeyer, a member of the Fishers Running Club. She was on her bike making her way around town and spectating. I was glad I was easy to spot in my hot pink tank! 

It's weird not having Ashley next to me, but I am trying to run as steady as possible. There's a first time marathoner who runs into a friend of hers she hasn't seen in a really long time. I stay close to them and listen as they catch up. See, who needs headphones?

Mile 9 - 8:28

I turn off of 38th Street onto Washington Blvd. Shortly after I make the turn Ashley is back. She'd had to run a 6:50 mile or something like that to catch back up. I told her she shouldn't have rushed back, but I was grateful that she did. Something about making the turn to head directly north towards halfway made me want to speed up. I think it was the fact that I knew my husband and kids were going to be around halfway and that my sister was planning to be at mile 14. 

Mile 10 - 8:24
Mile 11 - 8:28

During this part there are quite a few people outside in their yards. A few had speakers with music, there were a couple DJs, still some leftover Halloween decorations. I remember there being a table with Jolly Ranchers but I also didn't want to waste any energy trying to grab one so I yell, "I'll take a Jolly Rancher" to the lady by the table. She doesn't hear me, so I attempt to grab one and completely miss. The guy next to me notices and jokes with me, "guess they didn't want to give you one." Oh well. 

Mile 12 - 8:29

These miles are a little fast but not too crazy. I take my third round of fuel and tell myself that it's about a mile until I get to see my family. I cannot wait to kiss my husband and my girls. We run through the halfway pylons and I'm feeling controlled and strong like I'm supposed to. 

Mile 13 - 8:31
Half - 1:52:28 

Shortly after halfway is where I used to live with Zach in Broad Ripple before we moved to the suburbs. My sister's friend, Ashley Reller, is there and screams my name. Only a couple more turns until my family. When we can see the spot where my family stood to cheer me on in 2022 I realize they aren't there. My heart drops. My mind immediately goes negative. Did they have a horrible morning and not get out of the house in time? I realize I forgot to send Zach a picture of the spot. 

Ashley reassures me that they'll be there and maybe they met up with my sister and will be around mile 14. That makes sense. But when we get to mile 14 and I see my sister and my brother-in-law with their friends and family, they aren't there either. I'm bummed, but I got a lot of energy from high-fiving my sister, Morgan. 

Meanwhile, there's been an adorable friendship forming behind us. Two guys have met for the first time and they're talking about where they're from and their goals for the race, etc. Shortly after I saw my sister I told them that we had around the same goal and that I'd love for them to keep talking to entertain us. They said they'd be happy to do that if we could hold the pace. 

Mile 14 - 8:29

But just after we'd made our new friends I see Zach and the girls up ahead. My heart leaps and I scream, "Zach!". He sees me and I hear him yelling, "Go, mom! Go, mom!" on behalf of the girls who are each holding a homemade sign. 

I didn't even notice what the Taylor Swift themed one said until later. My husband was proud of that one and so was Sydney who wore her gold Taylor Swift dress and purple coat for the occasion. Sloane, my 3yo, was dressed in her princess best. As I came close, I told Zach I was coming in. I gave him a kiss and thanked him for being there. Then, I kissed Sloane and Sydney and thanked them for cheering too and that I loved them. And one more final, "I love you!" as I ran off. 

You have to watch this video to see Sloane say, "I wanna go." After I left. I later asked Zach if he'd coached them for spectating and he indeed had told them it would be short lived and that they couldn't run with me. They totally would have tried too. 

Now, I was ready to conquer the second half of the race. Only two more miles until my next fuel I'd tell myself. I was feeling really good. 

Mile 15 -  8:28
Mile 16 -  8:36

Time for another fuel. Almost single digits left. There was a slight uphill followed by a downhill heading into Broad Ripple and then also heading away. Not super long and not super steep, just what my legs needed in order to feel something slightly different. But it felt pretty crowded on this part of Meridian because we were all now down to the size of a bike lane on the right hand side. I tried not to let it bother me knowing we'd open up again soon. 

We were now heading onto Butler University's campus. I suppose it's fair that college students sleep in on a Saturday, but by this point it's after 10am. There were some out volunteering at the aid stations. 

Mile 17 - 8:23

Between 17 and 18 I begrudgingly take a half of a banana. I don't like bananas. The only time I really eat them is my pre-race breakfast and maybe during/after a race. My thought was that I really didn't want a cramp to come back. I only managed a few bites before I threw it off to the side. 

Mile 18 - 8:31

We head into Newfields (previously the Indianapolis Art Museum) and I was wishing there were still Halloween lights around to look at. They were already starting to get ready for Winterlights. There was a van in the middle of the course slowly merging and a volunteer telling us to run around it. My body didn't want to change direction. I was not very nice to the volunteer as a result and when she said it was a medical van I wanted to stick my foot in my mouth. Oops.

But then, another Timmy sighting! 

Before we see Timmy

After we see Timmy

 And even when you question the angle, Timmy still gets the shot. 

We exit Newfields and take a right to head down the back gardens. While we're back on 38th street, a car honks with encouragement. I feel my cramp again. Dammit. Lies I tell myself. Just in my head. I use my breathing to calm myself and look ahead to the beautiful, curvy downhill we get to run. 

I hear a bike behind me. This time, I didn't say anything and I'm glad because it was Timmy. He'd followed us down to get a few more shots and make his way towards the finish line. 

Mile 19 - 8:21
Mile 20 - 8:26

We are now entering the quietest part of the race. These miles are along the White River and not as scenic as it sounds. All smiles at mile 20. The cramp is gone again and I'm telling myself "the wall isn't real". Although I'm still waiting for it to come. For it to get really hard. It will, just not yet.

Mile 21 - 8:31

Somewhere between miles 20 and 21 was the Red Bull DJ truck. The perfect spot for some extra energy, especially since I was running sans headphones.  These quiet miles were the only time I really noticed they were missing. And then before we left Riverside Park, my friend and Ragnar teammate, Olga, was there cheering. I didn't know she was going to be there so it was really nice to see her.

Mile 22 - 8:37

Somehow I missed mile marker 22. And it's a complete mindfuck for me. It made it seem like the finish line was still an eternity away. There was this guy I'll call, "cheerleader" but I since found out that his name is Clay Dyer and he ran Indy and then Madison the next day (thanks, Facebook). Cheerleader had been a positive energy around us for miles and around this point is when we find out he's aiming for a sub-3:45 as well. He's making it look extremely easy. He's talking to everyone, he had a beer in his hand at one point, but his encouragement at this point in the race helped a ton. There was also a guy on a scooter going slowly next to his runner and it was making me crazy. I wanted to steal it.

Mile 23 - 8:44 (second slowest mile of the entire race)

Once we saw mile 23 I told Ashley I had missed 22. She asks what I want to do for the final miles and I mumble out something like, "just keep moving." I am SO READY for the turn onto Meridian. The wind has picked up a bit but it's nothing compared to 2022 (IYKYK). My mind is starting to tell me I can't make it. That I feel like I'm going to pass out. "Lies" I tell myself. I tell Ashley that I'm hurting and she tells me to go deep in the pain cave and get comfortable. That we're almost there. I hate it in this moment but remind myself that this part of the race is everything I trained for. I think maybe I take my final fuel early. Hoping it will give me just the boost of energy I need to finish strong. 

Mile 24 - 8:28

I have no idea how close or far we are from 3:45. I know at this point I will get my PR and I want to hold steady to see by how much. For the most part Ashley has said we're at a 8:30 pace and I've been trying to to get too caught up with looking at my watch. Tracie Hunter aka @indianarunnergirl is out cheering with some signs. I don't even remember what they said. And my friends Amanda and Jason are around this point and I don't even see them but know they saw me because Jason sent me a video of me looking like I wanted to die.

This part is so hard. You can see downtown and it seems so close and yet so far away. I am living in the pain cave and moving with the speed I have left. The speed I think I can sustain for a couple more miles. Less than 20 minutes I tell myself. 

Mile 25 - 8:34 

About 10 minutes to go! "You can do anything for 10 minutes" We're keeping "cheerleader" in our sights. I can hear him continue to cheer others on. I didn't know I had it in me to speed up. I started thinking about the tents of running clubs that would line the course after one more turn. Similar to how I was thinking about seeing my family, I knew that my best friend, Alyssa, and my friends, Eileen, Kallie, Sue (a Ragnar van 1 reunion!) along with my coach, Rachel, and so many other familiar faces were going to be there cheering for me. 

After we round the corner I can see the next turn up in the distance and my chest starts to feel the emotion of the finish line. When I see all of my friends screaming for me my eyes well up with years and I clench my jaw trying not to start sobbing in the last half mile. I couldn't even manage to scream back but I knew I didn't need to. 

Shortly after I manage to ask Ashley how far we have now. It's still a half mile. Not sure what comes out of my mouth outside of profanity. So close and still far. Less than 5 minutes. "You can do anything for 5 minutes" "One last turn". 

Mile 26 - 8:17

Somehow I didn't see the 26 mile marker but we made the last right turn to see the straightaway to the finish line. There it is. I've been manifesting this feeling and this moment. Knowing it would come even though my brain tried to convince me otherwise. Ashley tells me we have 60 seconds to get under 3:45 and without even thinking I take off and go as fast as I can with Ashley right behind me. 

And we cross the finish line!! 3:44:31. I simultaneously stop my watch and bend over to dry heave. Here's my "I think I'm going to barf" face.

A guy who was behind us stopped to say congratulations and that he was following us for the last portion of the race and appreciated our effort. I still look like I'm going to die. And now as I'm looking at this photo for the 10th time, I see "cheerleader" is in the background in the black shirt. 

Thankfully after two attempts, my body decides I'm in fact, not going to die, but that I'm fine. I look up to see our Executive Director, Jed Cornforth, and a fellow board member (and Six Star Finisher), Mike Heard, waiting to congratulate us and give us our medals. It was so nice of them to make us feel special. Although now I feel bad stopping to have them take photos at the finish because we are in a lot of people's finish line photos. Not something my brain considered. 

 

And, naturally, we wanted a photo with Taylor Swift too. 

After our photo shoot and congratulating Jed on a great event, we hobbled over to find food and beer. Believe it or not I didn't make it to the chocolate milk this year - I know!! (I ALWAYS get chocolate milk at the end of a race if they have it)

We decided not to wait in the beer line, or I did because I wanted to lay down in the grass. So we sprawled out in the grass and celebrated. Eileen brought over a cooler and we sat for quite a while with my friends. We even got to see and chat with Carlton Ray, the Founder of the race as he joined us on the grass and congratulated us too. 

Once we got cold enough, we walked to find my coach who had kindly kept our stuff in her car in the VIP parking lot. I got to say hello to a ton of familiar faces - too many to name because I'll forget someone and then I'll feel like an asshole. Although I probably forgot someone in this recap and I'm an asshole. Made some new friends too. 

THANK YOU to Beyond Monumental for an incredible event! And thank you to everyone who volunteered and cheered us on! Can't wait to do it again.

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