Zionsville Anti-Mini Marathon

The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon (the mini) wasn't on my race card for 2009, but I still wanted to get a long run in on May 2nd, so on Friday night I decided to get up and do the Zionsville Anti-Mini Marathon (ZAMM). The ZAMM is an informal race held in Zionsville on the same day as the mini. The race has been held for the last seven years and is held on a local 5k wooded trail. April was a very wet month, so the trail promised to be quite sloppy. In the past, the race has gotten up to about 300 runners, but turnout was down a little this year, possibly due to the wet weather.

I ran the first 5k with Anna, who was using the run to get her legs stretched out and get back on the trail. The trail is probably her favorite place to run, and she hasn't been on it since cross country season. The trail was in better condition than I expected, but we still encountered three water crossings. The first, and largest, had an alternative that would allow your shoes to stay dry. The second and third did not. And once your feet were soaked and your shoes covered with mud, it just didn't matter anymore. Anna and I enjoyed playing in the mud, but most of all, I enjoyed the run with her. It's been a quite a while since we had shared a run. 31:05.

On the second 5k I came up on Mike, a retiree from the company where I work. I hadn't seen him for a few years, and wasn't aware he lived in Z'ville. It was nice to spend the loop with him, catching up. 30:40.

For the third loop, I needed to pick it up. Will had a baseball game at 10:00, so I needed a little time to get home, clean-up, and change for the game. Nothing really eventful on this lap, although I did find that the creek crossings were getting sloppier on the exits. Where the first crossing took 1 step to find solid footing, it was now taking 3-4. As I came around to complete lap three, Jil and Will were there cheering. I really have a great family! Although this was not a meaningful race and I wasn't racing, it was still neat to see Will in his BB uniform and be able to give both of them five before heading back out for lap 4. 25:04.

The fourth loop was all about maintaining pace. I was right on at each of the kilometer markers on the course. But on this lap I was going to be different and go through, rather than around, the big creek. I was already soaked and muddy, so what did it matter? But as I approached the hazard, cowardice won out and went around again. Regardless, I pressed on, cruising through the rest of the course. 25:12.

Since the course is 5k, we were only at 12.4 (20k) after the 4 loops, so it was back down the trail to a turn around, then across the finish line. I had just passed someone before the end of the 4th lap, so I did pick it up and bit and finished strong. 1:55.30.

Not your normal long training run and not a great finishing time on the clock, but a very enjoyable time! I got to spend some quality time with my daughter, get caught up with an old friend, play in the mud, and get in a long run with my fellow runners.

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