Indy Monumental Marathon race report (BQ & a fairly substantial PR for me on 11/9)
It’s very long, apologies in advance as this race was a lengthy process.
This was a goal race I had on my calendar for a while. I decided I wanted to take a shot at a BQ a couple years ago. Once I understood how the age groups worked, I targeted Fall 2019 as I’d be in the 55-59 category for Boston 2021 and I’d need to be under 3:40 (although that moved down to 3:35) and that seemed like a reasonable goal. From 2016-18, my go-to fall race was Chicago. Last fall I got a PR of 3:44 there and stayed with the 3:45 pace group most of the way. I knew they helped me, especially down the stretch. Weather was sorta okay there but drizzly humid air that felt heavy. I realized Chicago weather is just too unpredictable in early October, and I did not want my 2019 “A Race” to be so dependent on that. Also I was lucky (lottery) enough to run NYC four weeks later and had enjoyed following so many new friends running Indy virtually the day before. Seeing PRs and strong races from so many in Indy got me thinking hard about Monumental. So I decided that I would not return to Chicago in 2019.
Running Chicago and NYC towards the end of 2018 got me a little tired (physically, but even more mentally). I had promised all year to help train and pace my wife (Selinda) at the Disney Marathon (January 2019). It would be her first marathon... we were supposed to do it together Jan-18 but she got a mysterious ankle injury race week. The timing last year was perfect. I owed her big time for her support. I also needed a bit of a reset. So from mid-Nov until early January it was all about her. I still ran a couple/few days a week for me, but the majority of the focus was her running. It was awesome experiencing the newer runner feel and excitement through her eyes. Training with her during a very mild December and then running next to her for her first marathon was awesome. It is still my personal favorite race experience. I can understand the joy pacers get.
Last year at midnight New Year’s Eve I signed up for Indy. At that moment, this became my entire running focus of 2019... work my butt off all year and improve enough to BQ on 11/9 in Indy. I’d be surrounded by friends and could almost guarantee it would not be too warm for me. I started saying it out loud at the January 1 run at Pope Lick Park where so many (>60) of my extended runner friends showed up for a big group run to start the year. No turning back now because it was out on the table.
I decided I would train and push myself throughout the Triple Crown and KDF mini. I figured I better see some improvement early in the year or a BQ in the fall was gonna be impossible. I had spent so much time the last few years focusing on marathon pacing and strategy that I forgot how much you have to let yourself hurt in shorter races. Well I got reminded of that February-April but that really helped. I got fairly sizable PRs in each of the 4 local races. This was an obvious confidence boost. Then the plan was just to run a decent quantity of miles in May and June until my 18 week Hanson plan began on July 11. I made a slight adjustment. I ran another 5k in June and then one more on July 4th. These hurt a lot. But it reset my pain tolerance a bit and reminded me that the pain is part of the process.
The most influential person on my running is a friend named Lowery. He's very fast and has logged almost 80k miles in his life. He is the reason I got into running. Seeing his excitement when he talks about running, runners, races, etc. He coached my kids in XC, and I was around it enough that I knew I wanted in that “club” someday. He was supposed to be in Indy. He got a pretty serious injury 2 days before the Bourbon Chase (ragnar relay in October) and is off for a while. I called him on the way to Indy and we talked over an hour. His encouraging words were strong. He had zero doubts that I was ready. Anytime I needed to focus during the race Saturday, I just thought of him and knew that I was running that race for the both of us.
The highlight of the expo was hearing Deena Kastor. Before she spoke, I had her sign my bib. She asked me how I felt. I told her that I’d know tomorrow… lol. I said I was going to try and BQ. She wrote “Believe and Achieve” on my bib. That was another thing I leaned on during the race to just keep me going towards my goal. She’s so positive and does not let obstacles get in her way. I learned from her that negativity is so strong that it takes 3 positive thoughts to outweigh 1 negative. I knew doubt would hit me sometime during the race. So the morning of the race I remembered to write 3 positive things on my hand. Trust the plan, Hard Work, and Dig. Meaning that I had a good plan, so follow it. I worked hard for this, so I’m ready. And then “dig” when it’s time.
Dinner was great after we miraculously got seating for that many people. There were almost 20 of us (young and old) from the Louisville area just having a good time.
Before I went to bed I checked my earbuds and they would not turn on. Charging them didn’t help. They were broken. I could’ve freaked. I never train faster paces without them. But I thought back to Deena’s talk (and her book that I’ve read) and decided this was just going to allow me to experience the race better. I’d be more focused, could hear my feet more, and pay more attention to the runners around me in the pace group. Plus I wouldn’t be carrying my phone now… less weight. All is good.
Race morning was relaxing. I headed from Embassy Suites to the Marriott Lobby. A bunch of people from our running group were getting together to relax before the race. Got to the lobby and it was perfect. Any nerves I had were going away. Everyone was just sitting around, laughing and getting ready for the race. It was nice and entertaining.
I headed to the corral with my friends Jamie and David. We log a lot of easy miles together. Jamie commented that it wasn’t as cold as when we did our shakeout Friday morning. He was right. This was going to be perfect. We get to the corral and then David said a prayer for the 3 of us. Then I saw my wife Selinda and she just kept saying “you got this, this weather is perfect for you, you’ve got this”. I knew I was ready.
Jamie and I took off behind the 3:30 pace group. Jamie was doing the half, but said he was going to run with me until the split. This was awesome. I wasn’t going to be chatty like an easy run, but it was going to be comfortable running with a friend and training partner for 7-ish miles. We kept commenting about how the pacers were going a little fast, that it really wasn’t that cold, and that the course was crowded and curvy. I quickly realized that I wish I had peed one last time… at least it was taking my mind off anything else, but it was something negative. I knew if it didn’t go away that I’d end up skipping hydration at some point. I decided that when the course split I’d hit a port-a-potty and then work my way back to the pace group.
Right before the course split, I got to see another friend that was doing the half so that was cool. At the point the racers separated, we all fist bumped and then I was on my own (with probably 20-ish people surrounding the 3:30 pacers) for the marathon. I let myself get maybe 10-15 seconds ahead of the pacers because I started looking for a bathroom. The first ones I saw had 2 runners immediately take them. Next… I finally found an unoccupied one during mile 11. This helped a lot and now I could just focus on running and allow myself to take as much fluid as I really needed/wanted. I slowly reeled in the pace group and we were together by the halfway point.
I felt different in this race vs other marathons. The first 10-13 miles did not feel super easy. It didn’t feel hard, but there seemed to be more effort than normal. On the flip side, perceived effort really didn’t change much up through mile 20. Physically it never really got that difficult, although mentally I was having to stay focused on just keeping with the pace group. But my head was up and I certainly wasn’t in any physical pain. I could’ve tried to pick it up around mile 20, but my goal was not to run as fast as I could but to get under 3:30. There was no real gain from leaving them too early and plenty of risk. At this time I was feeling pretty confident about my chances, but I also knew that I needed to stay in the moment. I repeated “believe and achieve” a few times. Looked down at my hand and reminded myself about my plan, how much work I’d put in, and to just keep digging. And I also thought about Lowery not being able to run in Indy and used that to keep plugging away. I decided that when we got to Meridian, if I felt great, that I would leave the group and see how much under 3:29 I could get. Right around mile 23 I’m surprised to hear a VERY loud “F*&k Yeah, Craig Burnett!!!”. Not too wordy, straight to the point, and effective. I look over and it’s Matt from my running group. He had made the trip to Indy just to ride around on his bike and take pics of everyone. Everyone around me immediately knew that shout out was for me. Now there’s no way I’m not finishing strong.
We turn on Meridian Street towards downtown and there’s a lot of wind. Okay, no real reason to leave the group just yet, lol. Even though the pacers are little guys, they gotta be blocking some of this right? We run by a pancake house and that looks good. Okay finish this thing and get some nice crappy food in your system. Somehow I think I see Matt again… why’s he so fast? At mile 25 marker I decide I'm ready to leave the pacers and see how fast I can finish. I figured I’d see some familiar faces down the stretch. Wow this wind is strong… did I really need to leave the group and run hard to the finish? And then I see a whole row of KorfEdge running group people (they'd done the half). I hear my name and give some high fives. I’m close now, that was another boost, so we’re good. I get right by the last turn to the finish nad see David and Jamie cheering me on. They are yelling loud. I don’t have much left to do except pass a couple people on the last block. I cross the line, hopefully I’m smiling because I certainly was on the inside. I’m walking around looking for my wife. I did it! I’m freaking out inside. David finds me and tells me which side my wife's on and I finally see her. She’s yelling for me and telling me we are going to Boston.
Go back to hotel, clean up, and then head down towards the finish to get my medal engraved and find some food. Got me a big ol’ cheeseburger and just had a great time with my wife talking about the race and the whole weekend. I had a great time in Indy. Thanks to everyone that encouraged me, ran with me, tracked me, etc. I felt the support of a lot of people while I was running Saturday. I really appreciate it!
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