Training countdown; or, What have I gotten myself into?

Deep breath...

The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon happens on May 8th this year. That's about 120 days. And when you currently have about 5 miles as your base, that's too freakin' soon!

Locals call this race the Indy Mini. The coolest part is that 2.5 miles of the course are actually a lap around the Indianapolis Speedway. I and 35,000 of my closest friends will run around the Speedway about halfway through our 13.1 miles. Last year was my first Indy Mini. It took so long for my slowpoke stall to cross the START line that the winner - who finished in about an hour, and I'm sure he was so smug about it - was almost done by the time my chip activated.

I took a self-portrait while on the Speedway part of the run last year. Note the scrawny chick behind me mugging for the photo:

My 13yo ran her first Indy Mini last year as well. She tripped in mile one, ran the rest of the way with blood dripping down one leg and one arm, and still set a PR. Momma is proud! (Good thing she runs faster than I do, or there would have been a brawl in mile 1 when someone tripped my baby.) She always, ALWAYS has this epic sprint at the end of her runs, whether it's a cross country 5K or a half marathon. Spectators go nuts when she pulls her Speedy Gonzalez routine at the end of a half. It is really something to see!

Not to be outdone, I also set a PR at last year's Indy Mini with - go ahead and laugh - 2h 57m. Hey, not bad for a chub who loves me some donuts!

Now, I'm trying to decide this year's goal: do I play it safe and say "anything faster than 2:57:00?" Or, do I challenge myself? Is 2:45 a realistic goal? Only time and the miles will tell. I'm considering using a Runner's World training program this time around. My training is usually something along the lines of Whatever I Feel Like Doing Today, so this could be interesting.

My official training starts Jan 16th. Stay tuned...

Meanwhile, the Penguin - John Bingham - has quit writing his Runner's World column. Sometimes I felt like he was the only other slow runner out there who understood me. We'll miss you, John; waddle on!