5k Foam Fest Recap {includes a discount code}

Tags

Race, Racing, Review, Running

Disclaimer: I was offered a free Bib from the Foam Fest in exchange for sharing my thoughts on this race. No other compensation was provided. All thoughts are my own. 

I was so excited to have the chance to do another “fun run” this year, and while I love half marathons and more serious races, I feel like it adds some fun to training to have these types of runs too. I was supposed to do the race with Melissa, but she was sick, so I ended up going alone. I was really excited for this race, as they claim it’s “filthy clean”- a good mixture of mud and foam! The race website suggested getting to the venue an hour early for check in, so that’s what I did. I ended up not needing so much time at all, but in later waves (yes- you get to choose what wave you want to run in, which helped the lines at obstacles be nice and short) I saw a much longer line for registration. Just a head’s up! I turned in my waiver, left my stuff at gear check, and headed to the starting line. I started talking to 3 other women, and when they found out I was there alone, they invited me to run the course with them! One of them had even run the Indy Women’s Half the weekend before too!

The first part of the course started in the woods, climbing through webs of ropes, down trails, and up and down little hills. This was the first time I’ve ever thought that I might actually really enjoy trail running. Once we popped out of the woods, we hit the first Foam and Mud pit. The ground was really slippery due to the mix of mud and and foam. They had inflatable balls hitting you as you ran through, making it even more difficult to keep balance!

Seriously- doesn’t that look like fun?

From that point on we ran most of the race on the sides of a soybean field, which meant the ground was uneven. Some places in the fields were so uneven that we had to slowly walk so we didn’t twist an ankle. This was a little frustrating as it would’ve been fun to run a bit more of it! The most crazy obstacle for me was crawling up a rope ladder thing about 20ish feet in the air and then climbing back down. I was totally ungraceful, but it was fun.

This was sort of a huge inflatable slip and slide. It was so long that you had to run the last part of it, which was tough, but so fun.

The end came far too quickly, and I really wished I could run through the course again. The final obstacle was a huge inflatable slide with water on it- I may have yelled a bit on the way down! It was a really fun way to end this great race!

 

Even though I had gotten muddy throughout the race, I had very little left on me by the end, as you can see in the picture above. They had little stations to rinse off too, but I didn’t bother waiting in line for them.

A few suggestions for you: I brought a towel to sit on in the car, which I would strongly encourage you to do. I also brought a bag to put my shoes and socks in, since there was mud still in them. I loved being able to switch to flip flops right away. Bring sunglasses to run in so that spraying water, soap, or mud won’t get in your eyes. I wore contacts and sunglasses and was just fine. My clothes and shoes cleaned up just fine (although I didn’t wear my current pair of racing shoes for the event).

My thoughts on the race: Positives: The race was SO FUN, and I had a great time running. The obstacles were quite a bit of fun, and it was incredibly well organized. There were two places to get water to drink on the course, which was a nice touch. They had all sorts of other activities that you could do after the race too (but obviously had to pay for them). They gave out shirts at the end, and they were great. They had women’s specific shirts that fit really well and were cute! The volunteers were all very nice and helpful too.  Negatives: The entry price was $75, and I would’ve never paid that for this race. It wasn’t $75 worth of fun, for sure, even though I did love the race. I know that lots of people were able to get discounts (the women I ran with got it half price on groupon). Parking was also $10, so the price of the race in total could add up pretty quickly. I had asked a question of Foam Fest via twitter a few days before the race, and didn’t get a response, which was a little disappointing. For post race food they ONLY had pure protein bars, and they have milk and whey in it. For anyone who is lactose intolerant (like I am), vegan, or has a milk allergy, there was no post-race food available. I’d highly suggest the race look into other options that everyone could eat… especially if they’re going to charge $75 for the race. Luckily I had brought other food in the car!

So, overall, the race itself was a LOT of fun, and I really enjoyed the obstacles and getting a chance to play around in the mud. I would definitely consider doing the Foam Fest race again… but wouldn’t pay full price for it! For those of you who’d love to run the race but don’t want to pay full price, use the following code at checkout for a discount (good nationwide): FF3380

Now it’s your turn to share! Have you ever done the Foam Fest before? What fun runs have you done in the past or are wanting to do?

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Neon Dash 5k Race Recap

Tags

Friends, Race, Racing, Running

This past Saturday evening Melissa (that’s the link to her neon dash race recap), Meg, and I ran the Neon Dask 5k. This is the first night race I’ve done, and I have lots of thoughts on it, so let’s get started.

Melissa went and picked up our packets on Friday, which was really nice of her (so I can’t speak to packet pick up on race evening). I was a bit disappointed in what the race gave to us- there were generic cotton tee-shirts that fit awkwardly and were not in any way ideal for running. So that’ll get tossed pretty quickly. The other thing they gave was this weird neon dash scarf thing that looked bad no matter what we did to it. So Melissa and I decided to just go with it and did cheer leader bows with it.

Because we were feeling really weird about our whole outfit (there was LOTS of laughter as we were getting ready), we had to take a funny pic- ninja, cheerleader, ballerina.

We drove to the race site and started to deck ourselves out with glow bracelets and necklaces (Meg purchased these online- far cheaper than buying them at the race).

Nice and Clean before the race start…

The race was originally supposed to start at 8:30, but a few days before the race we got an email saying they were starting at 9 instead. Around 8:50 we walked to the race start to get in line… and proceeded to stand there for half an hour before we started running (they let tiny groups go every few minutes… but never communicated that to us. We would’ve gotten in the starting shoot much earlier if we had known).

LOVING the tutu action.

The first color station took almost a half mile to come to, and it was a powder station. Then it was almost another half a mile before the next color station. Then there were a few color stations really close together. I really wish they had been more spread out.

They had specifically said multiple times that walkers were to stay to the right, and runners to the left. That obviously didn’t happen, and it was a little annoying. I wasn’t expecting to run fast, as this isn’t a normal race, and I wanted to have fun at the color stations. However, it was really annoying to have to weave around really slow walkers.

There was water once on the course at mile 1.5, and I was looking forward to it. It was hot and humid, and going through powder stations had made my mouth extra dry. We got to the water station and there was a LONG long long line, so we decided it wasn’t worth it to wait the multiple minutes it would’ve taken to get a cup of water. When we passed we realized what the problem was: they were filling tiny cups with a water hose! SERIOUSLY. The entire thing was really inefficient, and I was not so pleased.

Mid race

We continued on, enjoying the black light stations they had to take pictures at after the color stations along the race course. That part was fun. It would’ve been fun if they had music playing around the course too- it would’ve fit in with the black lights and neon vibe.

Post-race!

Once the race finished, we went in search of water. Again, they were filling tiny cups with water that was not cold or refreshing. They had the Honest Tea company there with samples too. This was cold and refreshing, but only about 2 ounces too. So, at the end of the race, we were given about 4 ounces (MAYBE) of liquid, and that’s it. Not fantastic. The post race party was “meh”, so we headed out pretty quickly. French fries were calling our name.

We stopped my McDonald’s on the way to Melissa’s house (we spent the night there), where we stocked up on Fries and McChicken’s (it was after 11 pm at this point, and we had dinner at about 5 pm, so we were HUNGRY).

A few tips for you: Bring a towel for your car after the race is done. We were covered in liquid and powdered color, and it would’ve soaked the seats if we hadn’t brought towels with us. Bring snacks and drinks for the car on the way home, as you won’t be getting any during the race. If you’re going to bring your phone, put it in a plastic bag. My phone was in a bag, but the bag was covered in color by the end. It’s worth it to bring your phone so you can get fun pictures along the course! Line up early on in the starting shoot so that you’re not waiting around for 45 minutes after the official start time to actually run.

Pros for this race: It was pretty cheap. I paid 22 dollars I think, so of course I wasn’t expecting some of the race amenities that I was used to expecting. It was a fun environment and something different to do with friends! Running in a tutu was a blast…. and there might be more of it in my future 🙂

Cons for this race: It was REALLY unorganized. Our start time was later than expected, the water station was poorly managed (they should’ve had more tables set up, and maybe tiny water bottles or something to accommodate the crowds. Warm water from a hose was just not ok). More hydration post race would’ve been nice as well.

Would I do it again? Yes, as long as it was as cheap as it was. I would’ve been really disappointed if it had been more expensive. This race could be awesome if it was just a little more organized. Really though, I just had a fun time running in a tutu with lots of glow stick bracelets and dancing in liquid and powder color- all things I don’t do in my normal life. Running it with Meg and Melissa was a blast too!

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Indy Women’s Half Marathon Race Weekend

Tags

Friends, Race, Racing

The entire race weekend for the Indy Women’s Half was lots of fun, so I thought I’d share a little about that. If you haven’t read my race recap yet, make sure to check it out too!

I ended up getting to Melissa‘s place around 11 am on Friday morning, which meant the weekend started early! We immediately headed downtown to the expo. Walking back and forth to the car gave us about 15 minutes of walking each way, and we were both so happy to at least let our legs move a bit; the taper crazies were really getting to us. We walked around the expo for about 20ish minutes (it was pretty small and wasn’t too crowded since we were there at about noon), and then headed back to the car.

Melissa is such a creative gift-giver (seriously- I wish I was half as good at buying gifts as she is!), and this was sitting waiting for me when I got to her place:

After eating lunch (she ate pasta, I ate this awesome quinoa dish— we really just both wanted fried food), we headed out to the pool for a few hours. We finished the day with dinner (I ate my pasta then, along with some of those delicious doritos!), and we watched the first season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, which was really funny (especially how much they talked about how they only wanted to do things that were “tasteful” and “classy”- this has now become a joke of ours), and really relaxing as well. We headed to bed around 9:30, and I ended up sleeping about six and a half hours– a record for the night before a race!

After the race, we headed off to Mexican food, and Meg met us there! I felt a little badly for her, as Melissa and I were both still feeling a bit off from the race (or really, the heat during the race). I got a migraine as we were leaving the race, and took some medicine in the car on the way to the restaurant. I almost passed out as we were leaving too–I was in rough shape. We went back to Melissa’s place, changed, and headed off the pool for a few hours again. I was wondering if it would be good being outside because it was warm, but the pool was nice and cool, and that helped to revive me and cool down my body temperature.

We spent a few hours there talking, which was great! I wish we all lived closer so we could hang out more (but we ARE running a race in tutus together in a few weeks!). Overall the Friday and Saturday of race weekend were the most fun I’ve ever had around a race, and I think I’d like to spend every day post-race at a pool with friends!

Now it’s your turn to share! Are you a good gift giver? What’s your favorite way to rest after a race?

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Indianapolis Women’s Half Marathon 2014 Race Recap

Tags

2014 Challenge, Exercise, Friends, Half Marathon, POTS, Race, Racing, Running

“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.”- Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon Co-founder

On Saturday afternoon, Melissa and I were at the pool, and she (I think it was her anyways and not me- haha) mentioned that she had no idea how to really recap this race, and I immediately agreed. This was by far the most strange half marathon I’ve ever run, and it seriously can’t be compared to any other half marathon that I’ve run so far (this was half marathon #6). This was a totally different game, and one that I said on Wednesday last week might be totally different due to weather.

My alarm went off at 5, and I checked the weather (humidity at 94%-ugh), and ate my traditional pre-race meal: 12 ounces orange juice, 1 luna bar, and 1 medium sized banana. I got ready quickly and warmed up. Melissa accidently turned her alarm off, so I finally woke her up at 5:45 (we were planning to leave right around 6). She had gotten sick in the middle of the night- a great sign of the day to come. We hit the road and got to the corrals about 15 minutes before the start. We warmed up quickly and jumped in the corrals ready to go. Race start temperature was about 60 degrees with 92% humidity, but we knew the temperature was going to shoot up quickly. I took a salt packet about 30 minutes before the race, hoping that would help any cramping issues.

I need to mention again here that, because I have POTS, exercising in the heat is pretty difficult. I can’t cool myself appropriately, so anything over about 50-55 degrees is really warm for me. Going in I knew this was going to be the case, and Melissa and I decided that it was better to be safe than to put ourselves in a dangerous situation (she also doesn’t do well in the heat). Safety was the name of our game.

At the starting line

The first 5 miles flew by pretty quickly, and the temperature felt ok for us too. We started off doing a 2:1 run:walk ratio, and we decided to keep our pace equivalent to training runs until we felt like it wasn’t safe anymore. The first 5 miles we hit in the 11-11:25 range, and that felt awesome. At that point the sun had really come out strong and the temperature was rising. Melissa wasn’t feeling great, and somewhere in the 5-6 mile range my heart rate got out of control fast. We both walked for a good chunk of that mile- remember our motto? Safety first.

We hit the half way point and I was hurting from walking so quickly. When we walked, we were keeping about a 14:40 pace, which is far faster pace than I normally walk at. My right arch was hurting and my left piriformis was unhappy. I remember taking inventory of myself, looking at Melissa, and wondering how we were going to make it through the rest of the race. Running felt better than walking at this point, even though running wasn’t good for me.

At mile 7 we hit a water station and there was no line at the port-a-potty. SCORE! I hopped in and went quickly- a first for me at any race. It was worth it though (one thing I will say is that I feel like I was hydrating well throughout the race. I drank water and powerade at every station the first half, and also carried gatorade in my handheld water bottle). Melissa told me to run ahead and she’d catch up, so I grabbed the powerade at the station and walked along, eating my race fuel (cran-razz shot bloks. I also had margarita shot bloks at mile 3.8 and 10ish). I also took half a salt packet at mile 7, not because I was cramping, but because I was sweating and losing so much salt, and didn’t want to cramp at the end.

Right after mile 7 was a huge hill, and I definitely walked up it. Melissa caught up at the top, and told me that she threw up again. I felt so bad for her, and even though she told me to run ahead, I refused. We signed up together, and we were going to run it together! And honestly, I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the 2nd half without her next to me anyways.

Honestly, those last miles went by in a blur, and I felt like they went by pretty quickly too. We walked a lot, and ran as we could. Neither of us felt fantastic. The second half of the course I only took powerade at the stations because the water was too warm to be refreshing at all, and I couldn’t stomach the thought of it. Right around mile 9 I looked as far ahead of me and behind me as I could, and every single person I saw was walking. That’s when I realized how tough this weather really was.

Somewhere around mile 9 we set a goal for ourselves- we would come in before my slowest half marathon time (set at my first half marathon at the Indy mini), and that pushed us to run just a bit more. Right about mile 12 I suddenly started to shiver a bit, and said “Oh my gosh Melissa, I’m getting goose bumps.” At this point it was still high humidity about almost 77 degrees, and I shouldn’t have been shivering at all, so this was clearly a sign that my body wasn’t doing well. Honestly, if I had more than a mile left I would’ve been pretty concerned, but I felt ok continuing on, knowing that it would all be over in about 10 minutes.

Right around mile 12.5 we ran past some of Melissa’s co-workers who brought out ice cold water bottles for us. I handed off my hand held, and it felt absolutely amazing to hold something that was so cold. Once we saw the finish line Melissa told me to run ahead so I could make sure that I was under my slowest time. I ended up crossing the finish line about 20 seconds before her, but both of us ended with a time of 2:55. It’s certainly a far cry from my half marathon PR, but as I said, this race can’t even be compared to my other races.

I felt more emotional crossing that finish line than in any finish except for first half marathon- I guess because my body felt pretty off at that point. Men who were in the military were passing out the medals, and we also got roses (along with the standard banana, nuts, water, etc…).

Melissa and I took a few pictures, and then headed back to stretch.

Honestly- I wasn’t at all disappointed in our time. This race was really tough for both of us, and in many ways I had to push myself much more than in other races. I ran a relatively safe race with POTS (minus when my body started to hit heat exhaustion), and was able to finish strong in that last mile. I had fun for a good portion of the race, and this race was another example of proving that I am stronger than I thought I was, and my diagnosis doesn’t have to hold me back completely. I think that long distance summer races are just something that I can’t really do because of POTS, and that’s ok. Honestly, looking at the big picture, the time doesn’t matter to me. Me pushing myself, being safe, growing, learning, and just being able to run is what’s most important. I’m so thankful that I can run, even in the tough, hot, and disgusting races. I’m thankful for this race, safety in running, and for the lessons learned through it.

Overall the race was organized well. The course was fine- nothing special. There were plenty of aid stations with water and powerade. I wish the water had been kept cooler, as it was just gross and not refreshing the 2nd half of the race. The volunteers were really encouraging, but there was minimal spectators cheering on the side of the road.

I’m interested to see how I view this race in a few months, but right now I’m not disappointed at all. Despite having to drop our pace, we didn’t quit, and that was huge for us. More on the expo and post race fun later this week!

Check out Melissa’s recap of the race too!

For more information on POTS, click here. For other race recaps, click here. To see how this race compares to the Monumental Half Marathon, the Indianapolis Mini Marathon, and the Carmel Half Marathon, click here. For more information on my Bioskin calf sleeves, click here. 

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National Running Day {and Race Week Thoughts}

Tags

Half Marathon, Race, Racing, Running

First of all- happy National Running Day! I’m celebrating by going out on a very short run- just a little shake out one since I have a half marathon on Saturday! Last year I wrote an entire post on why I run, so check it out if you’re interested in it! Running helps me deal with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome– it allows me to fight, to prove that a diagnosis can’t completely control me. Running is a time set apart for reflection, for happiness, for time in nature, and for mindfulness. Running is for stress relief and for freedom. I’m so thankful I took a risk in that first run, and even though I almost passed out, I kept going. I run for me, and I run because I can, even though it has to look different due to POTS.

Like I mentioned, this week is race week. I’ve never had a race week that’s been so hot/high in humidity before. This is obviously pretty nerve-wracking to me, especially with POTS. With POTS I don’t have the ability to cool myself down like I used to. I already have to consume more salt and fluid than the average person, so add in lots of sweating, and I’m curious to see how it’ll go. I do know that I won’t put myself in danger, so if I need to take extra walking breaks, and/or slow my pace down, I’ll definitely be doing that. I’ll likely carry my handheld with me so I can have some extra fluid in case what’s on the course isn’t enough. I’ll be carrying extra salt packets in case I feel myself getting dizzy. And I’m debating whether I should wear a tank top or go without a shirt… with my issues cooling myself, having one less layer of clothing might be really helpful. I’m still pretty undecided on this though. This week I’m doing all of these race week preparations and trying not to let taper get to me.

I’m craving a good bike ride, but I’m not allowing myself. I walked way more miles than I really should have last week, so I’m really cutting back this week. I find myself pacing around my living room a bit, and then force myself to sit down. That’s how it goes, I guess.

Melissa and me running Carmel in April 2014

Despite the concerns about the weather, I’m so excited to get to spend more time with (and race again with) Melissa (we ran the Carmel Half Marathon together in April… when it was much cooler, but with more hills), and hit the starting line again!

Now it’s your turn to share! Why are you a runner? Any hints for running in the heat?

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Memorial Day Virtual 5k Race

Tags

Family, Holiday, Race, Racing, Running

Earlier this month I won a giveaway from Erica for a free Memorial Day virtual race through vacation races. Memorial day, as I mentioned yesterday, is a meaningful day to me, so I was happy to get to run this race.

My youngest brother graduated from college on Saturday (SO so proud of him- more on that tomorrow) and I was up late that night celebrating with him, so when I woke up early on Sunday to take my other brother part way to the airport, I felt a little blah. Once I started running around 9:30 though, that all went away. The sun was out in full force, the humidity was high, and I was a little emotional (with both my brothers leaving that day). I had also woken up at some point in the middle of the night because my left calf muscle cramped up and it was really painful- I immediately sat straight up and tried to dig at the cramp to get it to relax- OUCH!! It was still a little sore and tender as I laced up my shoes. I started off pretty quickly (especially for all of these variables in play, and hit my first mile in under 11 minutes- oops). I wasn’t wearing my garmin and went out too fast.

I also found a “hill” (when I say hill, I mean that the incline is about 30 feet, and that’s as much of a hill as I have around me) to run up and down, and that added a bit of fun to my route. About half of the route was on a new-to-me road, and that also helped to shake it up a bit.

I tried to use some of the time I was running to pray for our military members (currently serving, those who have served in the past/were injured or in some other way traumatized) and their family members (again- those who have lost a family member, are currently in the middle of a loved one’s deployment, or are dealing with the fallout of some other aspect of their family member’s service). I spent about a mile and a half praying and thinking about it-that certainly didn’t help my level of emotional-ness throughout the day!

I hit 3.1 in 34:50- again, not my fastest 5k at all, but with all the variables mentioned above, I’ll take it. I ended up running a bit more for a total of 3.6 miles for the morning. Overall I felt pretty great. My muscle in my calf is still a tiny bit sore where it cramped up, but hopefully it’ll be back to normal quickly!

Shirt that came with the race.

Once again, I just wanted to say thank you to any military members and their families- I SO appreciate your service and your sacrifice.

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2 Years of Half Marathoning {and Race Superlatives}

Tags

Half Marathon, Race, Racing, Running

Two years ago on May 5th, I nervously walked into my corral in downtown Indianapolis to run my first half marathon. Running was something that I never thought I would do because of my POTS diagnosis, but I kept fighting for it and finally was able to run. I’m filled with huge amounts of gratitude after every race, simply because I am ABLE to do it, when so many others cannot for various reasons.

In honor of my 2 year anniversary, I thought I’d do a “superlative post” on my half marathons over the last two years.

Most Difficult Race. Hands down it was the 2013 Indy Mini Marathon. I had bad allergies the week before, and by mile 4 of the race I felt pretty blah. Around mile 8 it got worse, and my last 3ish miles I had really painful calf cramps. It was all fairly disappointing.

Clearly (CLEARLY) in pain but still pushing through

Best Race Overall. The race that was my best overall was the 2012 Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon, and it’s the race where I set my current half marathon PR (I missed it at the 2014 Carmel Half by less than 30 seconds!). I felt great, had a great strategy, and enjoyed the race immensely.

Best “Feeling of Accomplishment” Race. This one was difficult, but I think the 2013 Monumental Half Marathon wins this category. My first 11 miles were flawless and I was set to PR for the day. I felt really great and was having a great time. However, I started getting nasty little muscle twinges that had me worried (especially after the wreck that became the ending to the Mini Marathon that year) and moving a bit slower. Right before mile 12 I started getting hit with even worse cramps, and somewhere in that last mile I got cramps so badly that I physically couldn’t move a step at one point. I slowly kept going, sometimes walking, and trying to put in a bit of running too. While I missed setting a PR, that final mile was such a fight, and I felt really proud of myself at the end. It really was a great feeling of accomplishment to know that I had run really well, and when it really mattered, I was able to push through.

Best Race Run With Another Person. The Carmel Half Marathon in 2014 wins for this one! I made a spur of the moment decision to run with a pace group, and then randomly inserted myself into a discussion almost immediately after the start! I ended up running the entire race with Melissa, and I had such a fantastic time!

Most Emotional Race. My first half marathon, the 2012 Indy Mini was by far the most emotional race I’ve had. The emotions leading up to the race were higher than in any other race (even though I still get excited and nervous before races now), and emotions during the race were even higher. From mile 10 on I kept getting choked up, being overwhelmed by the fact that I was actually able to run a half marathon. As soon as I crossed the finish line I burst out crying and laughing at the same time. It was by far my slowest half marathon, but I’m so proud of it.

Five half marathons, and all were great in their own way. Some were more fun, while some were great learning experiences. No matter what, I’m thankful for what I’ve learned and gained through these races over the last 5 years, and I’m thankful that I can run at all.

Now it’s your turn to share! Share one of your race day superlatives! 

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Indy Women’s Half Marathon!

Tags

Half Marathon, Race, Racing, Running, Training

In 2012 and 2013, I ran two half marathons each year. I ran a spring half marathon, took about a month to heal, trained for a summer sprint triathlon, and then jumped into fall half marathon training. This worked for me, as I usually felt injured for about a month post race. Well- this year I’m mixing it up a bit.

Source

That’s right- I registered for a summer half marathon! It was part post-race high, part not wanting to wait until the end of August to really train again, and a little persuasion by Melissa (who is also running!), and on Easter (with a price increase impending) I decided to take the leap!

We’ll see how it feels to jump back into training again so close to my last half marathon. Here’s my main concern- the heat. With having POTS, things can get kind of nasty in the heat. I can get dizzy quickly, and with POTS it’s not easy to cool myself well (that part of my system is a little bit malfunction-y). Maybe it’ll be a cooler than average day, and I’ll be fine. If it’s hotter than average, then it’ll be really slow going for me, and a PR will be absolutely out of the question. That’s not something I’m really worrying about right now, but it is on my mind as I go into training and prepping for race day again!

No matter what, I want this *bonus half marathon* to be a fun one, so we’ll see how it all goes! I’m ready for a new adventure 🙂 And yes- I’ll be doing all of these things to try to avoid injury!

Now it’s your turn to share! Have you done a summer half marathon before? Any tips for training differently (besides slower pace and more hydration/salt)?

Comparing the Carmel Half Marathon, the Indianapolis Mini Marathon, and the Monumental Half Marathon

Tags

Half Marathon, Race, Racing, Running

Oy vey- long title, right? (as a side note- how many of you use the phrase “oy vey”?). My blog post comparing the Indianapolis Mini Marathon vs. the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon gets continuous hits throughout the year, so now that I’ve run the Carmel Half Marathon, I thought I’d throw that race into the mix!  If you have specific questions about any of the races, feel free to ask in the comments section!

Race Size: The Mini is by FAR the largest, followed by the Monumental, and Carmel bringing up the rear. Each race size comes with pros and cons, so it really depends on what you’re specific needs are. The monumental feels really personal, the mini is a huge party, and carmel was nice and small, which led to extra friendly runners! The mini has people cheering constantly, but the course can be really congested, which is frustrating the first few miles.

Starting Line: With the Mini you’re assigned corrals and you must stay in that corral. In 2012 it took me about 20ish minutes to cross the starting line after race start, and in 2013 it took me maybe 12ish minutes. With the Monumental, there aren’t corral assignments (at least through the 2013 race this was true), and you line yourself up with pace signs depending on what you feel is appropriate for you. With Carmel there were corral assignments, but I switched corrals to fit with the pace that I thought I could run that day. With both the Monumental and Carmel I crossed the starting line in less than 5 minutes.

Spectator Numbers: If you want people lining the course screaming and cheering the whole time, then the Mini is your race! Obviously the Mini, because it’s the biggest, has lots of family members out cheering and holding great race signs! The Monumental is smaller, so there are less spectators, but still have quite a few people cheering along the course. With Carmel, there weren’t too many spectators out, which was a little sad, but with running with a pace group, I didn’t feel like I needed that many spectators either. Carmel winds through lots of neighborhoods, and there were people out in their driveways or at their front doors cheering. With all 3 courses, the spectators were great though!

Entertainment: Again, if this is of key importance to you, then the Mini is your race! There were lots of bands, singers, cheerleaders, friends, and family members lining the course (even in the speedway!). The Monumental has some bands along the way, but not as many as the Mini. I think I only remember 1 or 2 bands out playing on the Carmel course. This isn’t of high importance to me, so it didn’t matter much…

The Course: The Mini and Monumental are both located in downtown Indianapolis while Carmel is located in Carmel, Indiana. The 3 courses don’t overlap at all, which is nice for people who run all of them each year. The Mini takes you on a loop around the Speedway, which is sort of fun and sort of painful all at the same time. To me the speedway is the most difficult part of the course. The Monumental doesn’t have anything as big as the speedway, but it runs through a number of other “monuments” in Indy like Lucas Oil Stadium (where the Colts play) and Monument Circle. Both of these courses are really flat and speedy. Carmel winds mostly through neighborhoods except the last few miles. The course has some hills (don’t believe when people say that it’s a flat course unless you’re used to running big hills regularly!), but they’re very doable even if you don’t train on hills.

Hydration: All 3 races are absolutely fantastic with providing water and powerade/gatorade throughout the course! I have absolutely no complaints in this area for any of the races. Most of these races have stations about every mile and a half or so on the course.

Race Volunteers: All wonderful! All 3 courses have fantastic and helpful volunteers. They have all been friendly, encouraging, and supportive.

Price: I think the Mini is slightly more expensive than the Monumental, and I know that my entry to Carmel was about 10-15 dollars cheaper than the Mini.  I know that I didn’t pay more than 65ish for any of the races though. Something else to consider: you have to pay for parking both for the expo and on race day for both the Mini  and the Monumental. With Carmel the expo and race day parking are free, and that saves you around 25-30 dollars!

Expo: For both the Mini  and the Monumental the expos were held at the convention center downtown. Both had lots of vendors (merchandise, businesses, and running gear), but the Mini expo is larger than the Monumental. For Carmel, the expo was much smaller, and had far fewer vendors. It was easy to run in and run out.

Race Swag: All of the races provided tech shirts (Mini was long sleeved and Monumental and Carmel were short sleeved). 2 of the races provided hats (Mini was a regular hat that didn’t fit me well and Monumental was a nice winter hat), and all 3 included finisher medals. The Mini and Carmel had a few small samples in the race bag (like vegetable oil, lotion) and some coupons while the Monumental had a race poster. The Monumental has kind of a cool virtual swag bag, and that came with an option to get a year free magazine subscription (I got Women’s Health Magazine). Carmel came with a few coupons for local things to do and some health/fitness services. 

Communication Pre-Race: All the races were fantastic about this! I got emails regularly for each of these races, and I felt well prepared before the race. Each race had course maps with water, gatorade, and medical tents marked, along with starting line information, gear check, etc… All were really great about this! All 3 races are also very active on twitter, so that provides easy access to someone to ask simple questions. 

Time of the Year: Carmel takes place in the middle of April, the Mini takes place the first weekend of May, and the Monumental takes place the first weekend of November, so all can provide some extreme temperatures. I’ve been really lucky and had pretty ideal conditions for all 5 of my half marathons so far. 

Overall Race Quality & Enjoyment: I really truly loved all of these races. I think they were all worth the time, energy, and injury that went into training and running each of these races. I plan on running all of them again, and of course having fun while running them. It was really nice to not have to run that Speedway during the Monumental though, and I’m not the biggest fan of the hills with Carmel. I’ve run the Monumental twice (and have already signed up for the 2014 race), the Mini twice, and Carmel once. I’ve really loved them all. 

If you’re interested in specifics of these races, check out my race recaps or leave a question in the comments section. If you’ve run any of these races before, feel free to share any thoughts that you have about the courses!

Now it’s your turn to share! What do you look for most in a race? What’s the best or weirdest race swag that you’ve ever received?

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Thankful Thursday: Half Marathon Edition

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Racing, Running, Thankful

So often I forgot to stop and really think about what I’m thankful for beyond just “running”. So, as with the weeks surround my last few half marathons (edition 1 and edition 2), I’m here with my 3rd installment of the half marathon edition of Thankful Thursday!

I’m thankful that I had a great fifth half marathon! You can read all about the challenges and joys it it here. I had a really great training cycle, so I felt a little more confidence going into this race than in my last races (although I was a bit nervous about the hills!).

I’m thankful that I ended up with someone to run with! I went to the race by myself, but once the race started, I ended up running the whole thing with someone else in my pace group (Melissa!). I know that I wouldn’t have had nearly as fun of a race if I hadn’t had her running by my side. We both participate in #runchat and read some of the same blogs, so we instantly had some things to talk about.

I’m thankful for nearly perfect weather on race morning. The race started in the upper 40s with the sun rising, and ended in the low 60s and sunshine. There was a slight breeze, and it was pretty fantastic. The only thing I would’ve liked is a little less humidity (it was in the 60’s%), but overall it was really an absolutely beautiful day!

I’m thankful that, even with POTS, I can still run. I really never thought that exercising would be much of a possibility for me once I was diagnosed with POTS. Even though my first run was really difficult, I’m glad that I pushed through so I can run today. It’s hard to imagine my life without running right now…

I’m thankful for race fuel/drink. My salt packet/water/powerade/margarita shot blok combo didn’t fail me this past weekend, and fueled me well through 13.1 miles. I’m thankful that I’ve found a combination that works well for my stomach and is able to give my body what it needs.

I’m thankful that I wasn’t really sore afterwards. Of course I had some tightness and soreness, and that’s to be expected. Last May I had pain for a few weeks (that turned out to be tendinitis), and my half in november of 2012 left my walking down the stairs backwards for a few hours the next morning because I couldn’t bend my knees appropriately. I’m thankful that I was able to move normally without much pain after this race!

I’m thankful for running. Pure and simple. I love it.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today? What is one thing that running has given you? 

Looking for more ways to connect?

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