State #9: Indiana

State #9 Indiana :  Santa Hustle Indy 5k and Half Marathon, Indianapolis, Indiana 

December 13, 2015 

Finished Time: 1:58:55 

Total Finishers: 2955. Total Half Finishers 1013. Overall 240 Female placed:  17/93 for 40-44/ 95/643 female total 

Highlights:

1. First time my dad and my Indianapolis cousins came to see me run. So happy and excited to have my family here for the last race of the year. 
2. Good money saver. I flew into Cincinnati and my dad drove and paid for the hotel and meals.
3. Spending some time with my cousins…priceless. Plus I got a tour of a city and the race route.
4. My cousin informed us that we had to go to Longs before we leave for the doughnuts.
5. There was a NASCAR expo or convention going on at the same time that weekend. Driving in downtown Indy was a super headache.  
6. Not only do you get your bib number but you also received a Santa hat and a beard. Do people run with this on? Yup. Not this woman
7. Met BGR Indianapolis ladies—who are awesome. They just brought me into their circle and pictures. I always wear my BGR headband every time I run. They wanted me to get on camera…Live TV. A local new station was airing live and the ladies told him that he had to interview me on camera….what?! 
8. We did go live and he interviewed me 5 minutes before the race started. I didn’t get to have my process time. I had to run in line before the race started. Not fully prepared.
9. We started at Lucas Oil field, home of the Colts and a band of reindeer. Clearly, they took this holiday theme and running to a new level.
10. This course was flat!!! Thanks to my cousin for driving me around I knew what to expect around each corner. Plus it was a 62 degrees on December 13th. Perfect weather, Perfect course. 
11. FINALLY under2 hours. My first PR 1:58:55. Best way to end this year of running, with family, meeting an awesome group of black women, and PR.