There is Nothing "Mini" About 13.1 Miles

Although there has been virtually no blogging around here I think you all know I'm running the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis with my two cousins next weekend, right?  I could not be more proud of these two ladies who are running their first 13.1 next weekend. I provided them with a 12 week training plan that have been following like it's their bible.  Well actually they are overachievers, because I had them only running up to 10 miles and they both did 11.  Or to be technically correct Janel ran 11.1, she wanted to get that .1 over with, haha!

They have trained properly, fueled properly, rested properly and I am 100% confident they will both not only run the entire 13.1 miles, but that they will cross the finish line strong and with a smile on their face…and I can't wait to be there to experience that with them.  I'm anticipating there will be many "which 13.1 should we run next?" right after we finish ;).  May I suggest a fun destination race?

Since we are a week away I've been doing a little bit of homework on this race so I know what I'm getting into and one thing I know for sure is that I am slightly offended by the term "mini" being used to describe a race that takes most people over 2 hours to finish…what is so mini about that!?  Being the largest half marathon in the country I guess they can call it whatever they want but I'm still going to complain ok?

But in all seriousness, this course is flat as a pancake and after watching the course preview I think the only thing to look forward to is the fact that you get to run 2.5 miles on the Indianapolis 500 track (anyone else as surprised as I was to learn it is 2.5 miles around?…that is LONG!).  I'm used to running in pretty scenic places (Seattle, Monterey, Las Vegas, Sedona, Chicago!) so this will probably test my will power a bit with zero things to distract me along the way.  That being said I hope to be the one distracting my cousins from the miles ticking away and keep them on pace so hopefully that will make the time fly by.

If you want to spend your time watching the above, skip to 2:30…that is where the run on the race track begins.

And what about pace? Well my cousins have been doing their long runs in the 11-11:30 pace so my plan is to keep them to the 11:30 for at least the first 3-5 miles and then re-assess from there.  My goal is to stay with them the whole way or stay with whoever is slower because I know there might be some serious motivation being needed from miles 10-13 if I remember my first couple of half marathons correctly!  This race is not about "racing" or personal records for me, it's about experiencing something amazing with family and since we don't get to see each other that often the more time I can spend with them the better.

We will be cheered on by my uncle and cousins, including one excited 5 year old who will be watching his mom run!

Brady cheering me on at the 2011 Chicago Marathon! 

This is actually my first race of 2014 and I'm hoping it kicks me into gear and motivates me to sign up for some more and start piling on the mileage for Ragnar in July.

Those are my thoughts for now, I'm hoping to come back next week with some pre-race tips for my cousins and our plan for the fun weekend.  No promises :).

Question: Anyone else offended by the word "mini" being used in relation to 13.1 miles?