Monumental Mile - Race Report

It seems a little crazy, perhaps, to drive an approximately 150 mile round trip in order to race one measly mile. Prior to the inaugural running of the Monumental Mile, I did some math and realized that when I traveled 8,500 round trip miles to run the Kona Marathon, that race was about a 1:324.4, race miles to travel miles, ratio. Therefore, I reasoned, 1:150 wasn't so insane. As it happened, The Monumental Mile was one of the more entertaining and educational running events I've attended.

Easy... Right?

The Monumental Mile was an ingenious idea on the part of the Monumental Marathon folks. "If you can run a mile in June, you can run a marathon in November!" they proclaimed. They also sought after experienced runners, encouraging them to run their fastest-ever miles. Sounded cool to me. I told Wendy, and she and Amelia registered to run it with me.

Here was my thought process:

• I like to run. 
• My maintenance runs are six miles, sometimes at 4:45 A.M.
• I run from Mitchell to Bedford, or Orleans to Bedford, or Bloomington to Bedford... for fun.
• ONE mile is EASY.
• ...and if by some slim chance it's not easy, it won't last very long.

My goal was to run the mile in under seven minutes, something I'd never done officially. Wendy made up a workout for me, and I breezed through it with her and Wes like no big deal. 

Race Day

Ready to run The Monumental Mile

The race was on a Thursday evening.  Wendy, Amelia, and I arrived in Indy early in order to get situated. The schedule for the evening was as follows:

• Open Female - 6:30 P.M. 
• Open Male - 6:40 P.M. 
• Master Female - 6:50 P.M. 
• Master Male - 7:00 P.M. 
• Youth Female - 7:10 P.M. 
• Youth Male - 7:20 P.M. 
• Elite Female - 7:30 P.M. 
• Elite Male - 7:40 P.M. 

Start Line

The course was a straight shot south on Meridian, starting near 12th Street and finishing at Monumental Circle. We warmed-up with a run from the finish to the start, and then did some strides.

Even though we were ready, we were all a bit nervous. Amelia wasn't feeling well (we learned later that she had a fever), I was beginning to have vestiges of an awareness that this run was really going to hurt, and Wendy didn't know why she was nervous.

(Thanks to Scott Breeden for the start pic; however, I think Scott Spitz took it.)

The Monumental Mile

All of the sudden, the race started, and I'm very serious when I say "all of the sudden." Everyone was talking, and out of nowhere, a woman said, "ThreetwooneGO!" So we went. 

In a marathon or half marathon, you have several miles where you feel good... like really great. Then it starts to get hard. Then at the end it's a little nightmarish. Running The Mile was all of that packed into a little less than seven minutes. All the physical stress, thought processes, and emotions of a distance race happened, but they happened quickly and intensely.

About 300 meters to go

I don't remember much except the fire. Amelia said later, "It was like I swallowed hell," and I can't think of a better way to put it. My lungs and throat burned with the effort to supply my body oxygen. I remember Wendy giving advice. I remember being able to see the finish the entire time. I remember looking at my watch at 800 meters, seeing 3:31, and thinking, "Not enough!" I remember passing a lot of people in the last half. I remember hearing my friend Julia scream, "JoAnna!" (She took the pic of Wendy and me... thanks!) I remember running as hard as my body systems would allow at the finish. And I remember seeing a big, bright 6 when I crossed the finish line.

I guess there is a lot I remember, after all.

Aftermath and Due Respect

Wendy and I finished in 6:57 (though our results said 6:58), and Amelia was right behind us in 7:04, (though her results said 7:07). I knew my face looked awful, but I couldn't stop making that face. Wendy couldn't stop laughing about my face. I couldn't even speak. I felt as spent as I've ever felt at a finish line. 

Amelia and I finished second in our respective age groups (among all but elite heats), and Wendy was fourth in hers (but we all know she would've won if she wasn't slumming it with me). Here are the official results and my stats 'n' such.

The rest of the night, we enjoyed watching all of the other waves. We plopped down right next to the finish line and cheered for all the finishers, my favorites of which were the youth finishers. We had a great vantage point because almost the whole course was visible. The elite male winner finished in 4:03, and the elite female crossed in 4:43.

I think I learned enough to come back next year and best my time. I've run mile repeats, but I had never actually experienced a mile race. My newfound experience can only help. However, I think the most important lesson I learned is that The Mile isn't the piddly little race I thought he was. Friends, know this: I officially respect The Mile.

(PS - To those who love Quantum Leap as I do, Julia's pic of Wendy and me running is reminiscent of the Pulitzer pic of Al in the episode "The Leap Home: Part 2 - Vietnam," no? It even made me want to cry a little.)