2018 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Race Report and Video - November 2018

Here is Holly’s report from the 2018 Monumental Marathon.  Following her report is a short video and comments by Dave.

This race was going to be my Fall marathon for 2018.   I wanted to do an actual road marathon in Indiana since my marathon for Indiana was that crazy indoor one.    If you are following along, you know I got talked into doing the Detroit Marathon two weeks before this one.   It did not go well and I was a little worried that this would be a slug fest as well.   The race weather looked similar, a bit chilly, but it did look like it would be sunny and it was supposed to get a bit warmer than Detroit.    I was bundled up at the start and this was another large race with big corrals.   Soon enough we were off and running.   

This was another relatively flat course and it took you through a bunch of nice neighborhoods and parks.   I was feeling good early on and was hoping it would continue.    Navigating this course was again a challenge for Dave but he did a good job and saw me a bunch of times.  I was doing this one solo and it was nice to see his smiling face several times.    

The sun did indeed come out and the weather was pretty much perfect for the entire race.    The race had some dead zones along a river trail and that was towards the end of the race where you are getting tired but the race tried it’s best to keep us entertained with trivia signs along the way.   

The spectators and volunteers were all great and I had fun interacting with them.   I remembered that this was supposed to be fun and fun is what I had!   I did have one issue at mile 7.  My hydration belt broke/malfunctioned.   I could not get it to clip back together.   I had to tie it in a knot around my waist, which was not comfortable at all and it kept sliding up towards my chest.   It was such a good look,  not!   I did start to get tired around mile 20 and had to walk a bit more but still kept a pretty good pace the rest of the way in.    

The finish line was fun, but I totally missed Dave, oops!   You got a medal and nice winter hat at the finish.    This time we slowly walked back to the hotel and took our time getting ready, because we were staying over.   We had a fun night bar hopping and then had a great steak dinner at the famous St. Elmo    It was a great day.   I’m glad I had a good race and now the big one is up next.   

Maui Oceanfront Marathon in January to get my 50th state.  I can’t wait!

 

Dave’s Comments

The day before the race and had to run out of a meeting to meet Holly in the parking lot so we could get to Indy before President Trump and the related traffic.  Fortunately it was only a little more than 3 hours from my office and we beat POTUS to town.  Unfortunately the best find I had near the hotel for pasta was Buca Di Beppo.  Yuck!  What made it even worse was the hostess stand was actually in the kitchen.  

The next morning I had to move the car out of the hotel so I wasn’t blocked in by the 5k.   The full course would have been manageable but the half and 5k ran on other downtown roads creating too many choke points for me.   After I saw Holly at Mile 2 I decided to take the long way to try to get to 5.5. It got a bit difficult navigating where I could cross the course and highway and I ran up to my planned point just as Holly showed up.   The rest of the course was not too hard to navigate and I got lucky with the ability to cross the course at several points.  I ended up at the finish line with enough time to have a beer at the well-placed finish line bar.  

Snacking was pretty good because I parked near a Whole Foods where I picked up coffee and baked goods.  I may have been a jerk at Mile ten and let the runners see me eating a darn good pecan tart. 

After the race we kept bar-hopping within walking distance to the hotel since dinner was only a few blocks away.   We ate lunch at The Tap - an extension of a brewery in Bloomington.  Even though nothing was brewed on-premise they had a great selection of their items and others on tap with some decent food. 

Afterwards we went to Rebar where they had self-serve beer taps, craft cocktails, and a nice whiskey collection.   After dinner at St. Elmo it was back to bed.  The next morning we left town and headed to get one of Holly’s favorite breakfasts:

2012 Race Recap

2012 was a big year in races for Team Tizzel. Holly added 5 more states to her 50 Marathons in 50 States goal. Race events brought us to Disney World 3 times and Oregon for the first time. Dave did his first distance beyond 5k.

January

For the past few years January has kicked off with the race events at Walt Disney World's Marathon Weekend. This is the focused event of our Team AllEars fundraising efforts for breast cancer. Dave's Duffy the Disney Bear outfit for the 5k helped us to raise over $6,000; and the team over $70,000. Holly had fun doing the half marathon with our friend Jessica on Saturday. On Sunday they ran together again, but Holly participated in the 13.1 mile relay with our friend Jamison as a partner while Jessica continued on for the Full/Goofy. There's no relay offered in 2013 so Holly may have scored her only chance for a Chip and Dale medal.

February

February brought two unique events. First, the Jost Van Dyke Invitational 5k. This is a 2 person race between Holly and our friend Dan over the hills of beautiful Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. Next, we trekked a few hours over to Goshen, Indiana so Holly could participate in her first indoor marathon - the Maple Leaf Marathon. 204 laps around a track with 8 other participants.

March

Saint Patrick's Day Weekend was spent in Virginia Beach. On Saturday Dave and Holly participated in the 8k event. The next day Holly ran the marathon. These events were well-run, had miles of shoreline, and great  after-parties on the beach. This became a family event with Holly's parents, brother, and nephew cheering her on along the way. Holly's favorite race this year due to her whole family being able to watch her finish and the excellent post race parties.

April

Holly was able to squeeze two marathons into April. First was the Go! St. Louis Marathon. Two weeks later was the Kentucky Derby Marathon in Louisville. With Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan checked off we are running out of driving distance marathons.

May

The spring ended up being a busy travel time. A week after Kentucky Derby was the Expedition Everest 5k in Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. The night race combined obstacles and puzzles to create a really fun event.

July

Fourth of July morning kicks off with the Antioch 5k. This is a pretty big local race. Hot as heck this year. When Rock and Roll announced moving the Chicago events to July we thought they were nuts. It was warm, but not as bad as it could have been for a 5k (Dave) and half marathon (Holly). We had a fun day Saturday with Team AllEars friends and enjoyed the post-race Cobra Starship performance.

September

Back on the road this month. Labor Day Weekend was spent in central Oregon with the focus on the Sunriver Marathon. A few weeks later Dave participated in the Fox Lake 5k and got an age group award. At the end of the month Holly took off for Disney World to participate in the Tower of Terror 10 Miler - another night race. Dave stayed home for that one and attended Tizzel's Food and Wine Festival.

October

Back to Virginia for Washington's Marine Corps Marathon. A great event that Holly wants to do again. The only thing that brought the weekend down a bit was Hurricane Sandy and having to leave via rental car immediately after the race.

November and December

The winter brings shorter-distanced themed races to Chicago. November brought the poorest organized event: Hot Chocolate 5k (Dave) and 15k (Holly). December was the opposite with the Santa Hustle 5k.

2013 Plans

Currently in the plan for 2013:

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - Dave and Holly are both doing the 5k and half marathon (Dave's first). Holly is adding on the marathon to earn another Goofy Challenge medal and unofficial Dopey title.
• Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend in Disneyland - Holly and Dave will both do the 5k and the half marathon. This will give us both Disney's Coast to Coast Medal. This will also be the end of Dave's half marathon career.
• Little Rock Marathon, Arkansas - We'll be joining a few friends for the race with the biggest medal in running. Holly will be doing the full while Dave snacks.
• Flying Pigs Weekend Cincinnati, Ohio - Pigs is a big race/party weekend. Dave is doing either the 5k or 10k (can't remember which one he registered for) and Holly is doing the 5k, 10k, and full which will earn her an additional medal.
• Chicago Rock and Roll Half - Holly should get something special at this one since it's her 5th Chicago RnR in a row.
• Atlantic City Marathon, New Jersey - Looks like a fun location for a race.

Hope we see you out there in 2013!

Maple Leaf Indoor Marathon Report and Video

Here's Holly's report about the 2012 MapleLeaf Indoor Marathon in Goshen, IN:

It all started with making a plan. We were sitting down trying to figure out my marathon race schedule for the rest of 2012. I was trying to find a marathon in Indiana to add it to my "50 States" marathon goal. I happened upon the Maple Leaf Indoor Marathon in Goshen, IN. It was the next weekend. I was sure it was already full, but I emailed the race director anyway. He came back and said that the Saturday and Sunday morning races were full but he had added a marathon at 2:30 pm on Saturday and he would let me in. I freaked out. How can I run a marathon 6 days from now? In the afternoon? I thought about it and figured I had to run 20 miles anyway that day and how bad can indoor marathon be? I signed up that night.

During the week I entered panic mode. Dave got sick and I knew I would end up getting sick by the marathon. I did. It was a chest cold as well. I was freaking out about what to eat as I normally just get up early and run and don’t eat. I usually have half of a Powerbar a half an hour before a race.

Race day approached and we got up at a reasonable hour for once. We only had a 3 hour drive to Goshen. I had some peanut butter toast when I woke up and then a turkey sandwich about 3 hours before the race. I was winging it!

We got to the gym at Goshen College where the race was being held and saw the track. 204 laps around this thing??? I was nervous about the air quality. There was also a pool in the gym so the building was humid and dry at the same time. The morning marathon was just finishing and it looked like the final runners were struggling, but not too bad, so I figured I could handle it.

There were only 8 runners in the afternoon race. We started going round and round. I had met my lap counter before the race. His name was Tim and I think he was 12. I swear the first few laps he never saw me go by. I was freaking out. Also I got a terrible side stitch at Mile 2. Must have been that turkey sandwich! It was really hard to run and I was already considering pulling out. Dave had left to go get lunch and explore the town. I decided to keep going. I had already been lapped several times by the other runners. There was one other guy who was at my pace and we would stay together pretty much the whole race. Thankfully the stitch lessened but it was a nagging thing the whole race. Dave returned and I was about 10 miles in at that point and feeling ok, but knew this was going to be tough. We would switch directions every half hour, which helped with the monotony but man what a mental challenge.

The winner finished in 3:30 and the others were done by 4:05. Then there was me and Mike the other runner. I would lap him and then he would lap me and then I was done and he lapped me again. He ended up finishing a couple laps ahead of me. Dave walked a couple laps with me, and that helped. I was just not feeling well. Finally got to 5 laps to go and was so excited and then as I completed that lap they said sorry we miscounted NOW you have 5 laps to go. What the heck??!! The final lap was wonderful and they even put up tape for me to break through. I was never so happy to be done with a race. They were all very nice for sticking around while I finished. I’m glad Mike was there as well or I really would have felt bad. I finished under the course time limit of 6:00, 5:53:44. I grabbed a super quick shower and we got out of there. I had no voice at the end and was dehydrated.

My fascination with doing an indoor marathon is over and I never want to do another one of those again. It was very well organized and the volunteers were great, but the concrete track and the monotony really beat me up physically and mentally. Thanks to the race director for letting me in at the last minute. One more state completed!!






Dave's comments:

While Holly ran the first part of the race I had set a plan to explore a few local businesses. First I had lunch at the South Side Soda Shop which was featured on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives". Didn't think it was worth the hype. Next, I wanted to go to Olympia Candy (they made chocolates for several presidential inaugurations as I learned from the tourist guide), but they closed at 3pm on Saturday. After that I went to The Chalet Party Store to buy some local beer - real nice options. I had done some research online and found a local bar had excellent beers on tap, including a new release from Left Hand. I got there at 4:00 and they didn't open until 6:00 - which was the time I had to get back to the gym before it closed to the public. Disgusted, I went to a winery for a tasting, then a smoke-filled townie bar for a beer, and finally a coffee bar to provision up for heading back to the race. Snacking: the gym had an excellent vend machine and I stocked up on things Holly may have wanted after the race:  Zapp's Voodoo chips, Snyder's pretzels, and Sun Chips.  Earlier, I bought some Cracker Jacks at the CVS.

Here's the video: