EZ Indy Reconnaissance Running [Entered 5/8/06]

Friday, after a fabulous pizza fest last night here in Indy, Alex, Jeff (my guitar- and running friend from Charlotte), and I went out for a little jog along the Mini Indy course. The weather was, in a word, spectacular. Sunny with temps in the low 50's. For us Texas residents, it was unbelievably great. We even broke out the long-sleeved running shirts for the occasion. After a short walk from the hotel, we ran the first mile and a half of the course and the last 1.1 or so. It's especially important on the finishing mile to know where you are at Indy because of some "false finish" indications. There's a couple of spots where you're sure the finish is right ahead, only to be tortured by that false mirage. Anyway, with that little 2.4 miles of running down at a nice little 9:35/mile pace, we checked out the big park where the post-race festivities will be tomorrow, and found the meeting place at the Indy Runners club tent for after the race. With 35,000 registered runners, it's nightmarish if you don't have a really solid spot picked out to meet your friends and/or family.

After a huge breakfast at the hotel's complimentary buffet, we visited the Expo again to pick up some stuff (I got another garishly colored running shirt with the Indy logo on it, as well as some running shorts). Alex decided he'd like to nap, so Jeff, Andy (Andy is Jeff's friend from Charlotte, who has become a friend of mine), and I went for some sight-seeing in the afternoon. Richard and Frank arrived in mid-afternoon, and the three Gazelles made their own pre-race pasta plans downtown. The Carolina boys and I did our carbo-loading in the 'burbs, and we were ready to go.

Once we got back to the hotel, I dropped off the groceries to the Austin Gazelles, and hung out for a while watching TV. After that, it was time to get to sleep. We all had a big day ahead on Saturday!