Bob Mann: 2022 Carmel Marathon

Sat Apr 9, 2022

On Sat Apr 9, 2022, I completed the Carmel Marathon in Carmel, Indiana. Coming into this race, I had only completed one state for the second time, so I had most of the country to choose from. Like the previous race in Alabama, I chose this one because it was the quarterly group meeting spot for the 50 States Marathon Club. I figured that was a good enough reason to choose Indiana.

I flew into Chicago the day before and made the drive down to Carmel, just north of Indianapolis. Unlike the trip to Alabama, the trip in was uneventful. I got into town just in time to make it to the club meeting. Once again, it was an enjoyable time meeting with a bunch of like-minded weirdos. After the meeting, I checked into my hotel, found a bite to eat for dinner, and went to bed early.

On race morning, I caught the shuttle from my hotel to the start/finish area. It was cold, and there were some snowflakes in the air. I think the only time I had run a marathon with any snow was in Maryland in Feb 2018, but that was just snow on the ground, not actively falling. It wasn't heavy, but it was something. This also might have been the coldest temps I've faced in a marathon. But it wasn't bad. I was comfortable in shorts and a long-sleeve tech shirt. I started off with an old sweatshirt for extra warmth, but shed that before too long.

I started near the back of the pack for whatever reason, so it was slow going in the crowd at the start. I slowly worked my way past the slower runners. My first mile was done in just barely under 10 minutes. Once I got enough room, I sped up a bit. Mile 2 was my fastest mile of the day, at 9:24. I slowed a little around Mile 6. At this point, the snow got a little harder. It was still just a little too warm for it to stick. But the snow was certainly noticeable as it was falling.

I settled in to a pace around 10 minutes per mile for the second quarter of the race. The Half Marathon and Full Marathon ran together for just about the entire duration of the HM. We ran back past the start/finish area, and the Half Marathoners finished. And the running crowd thinned out quite a bit. I passed the halfway point in about 2:09, which is a couple of minutes slower than I had been recently. However, I was actually feeling quite good. I've certainly had races where I was not feeling good halfway through. But this time I was fine, and was actually enjoying myself. The snow had stopped and I was comfortable.

My pace did inevitably continue to slow. And that's fine, since that's pretty much my plan. By the time I reached the 3/4 point of the race, the wind had picked up. So now it was cold and windy. But I actually still continued to feel fine. I am actually amazed at how the conditions were *not* bothering me. Mile 18 was my last mile under 11 minutes. After Mile 15, I started to incorporate short walk breaks into the run. But they were less frequent than I expected. I felt like I still had a decent amount left in the tank. So while all the Miles from 19 on were over 11 minutes, none of them were over 12. It's been a while since I haven't had some really slow miles near the end. I am quite pleased to still be trudging along that "fast" at the end of the race. I made it back to the start/finish area again, and crossed the finish line in 4:37:02. That final time is right in line with the last few races, even though I didn't take the same route to get there. I started off slower, but finished faster. More importantly, I felt good. So overall, I am quite pleased with the race.

The Carmel Marathon was a nice race. With over 1000 runners in the Full Marathon, it's a larger race than one might expect for a relatively small town. But the race maintained a lot of the small town feel. Open areas, nice scenery, not a ton of crowd support. It was a efficient, well-managed race. I certainly give a thumb's up to the experience.

I went back to my hotel for a shower and nap, and then went out for the typical post-race beers and greasy food. The next morning I drove back to Chicago for my flight back home. I have no complaints about the weekend in Indiana. As of this writing, I don't know what the next race will be. Sooner or later I'll find something.

And now the photos. Click any image to enlarge.