Race Fargo
The race began at 8 am and started at the Fargodome. There were shuttle buses to the start, but they were on the other end of town, so I just drove to the Fargodome. Bev, who is in my running club, called to see if I was there yet. She was running the half while her husband Patrick ran the marathon, and we planned to start the race together. She was calling from the Fargodome and I asked how crowded it was. I was worried about finding a parking space. She laughed, saying, "This is Fargo!" and assured me there was plenty of parking. I'm used to large races, but the Fargo marathon is only three years old so hasn't caught on yet.
We met at the appointed spot and then hooked up with Bev's neighbor, who is originally from Fargo, and some of her (the neighbor's) family who still live in Fargo. We emptied our bladders a couple of times, then went out to the starting line. It was cold! The day before, the temps were in the 80s, but on race morning it was low 50s. I had planned to wear shorts, but I brought leggings and my jacket as a backup and I'm glad I did because that's what I wore. I even had gloves, which I wore much of the time. It was very windy, as evidenced by the flag in the picture.
The marathoners (blue numbers) and half-marathoners (red numbers) started together and finished together. We hung around the starting line and then it was time to line up. We tried to get to the back, but it was too crowded, so we lined up with the 3.5 hour marathoners! While we were waiting, I spotted a certain green mutant and took his picture for YaYa.I was worried about going out too fast, and also about blocking the fast people, but I tried to stay out of their way. Bev's friends ran ahead, but she ran with me at the start. It was nice to have company and we chatted as we ran along. Bev ran this race before and had nothing but good things to say about it. Now I know why: it's well-organized, the hotels don't jack their rates up, and it has nice crowd support. Besides that, it's mostly flat which makes it fast. Keep that in mind if you're trying for a Boston qualification.
As we ran down Broadway through the downtown area, I pointed out my hotel. Bev said she saw what looked like a good coffee shop, so I had my eyes peeled for that. After all, I hadn't had my espresso yet, and planned to get one as soon as the race was over. We also passed the Fargo theatre, whose marquee I saw on the route map, but didn't understand what it was. It was built in 1926 and was recently restored. Next time I'll have to go to a movie there so I can see inside.
We ran along a beautiful Elm-lined street, um...it may have been called Elm Street, and there was plenty of live music and crowd support. Some of the "acts" were far from professional, but that added to the charm. The group I really got a kick out of was the square dancers. The "caller" was singing a song that was familiar although I can't remember now what it was. But it was a rock song and it was weird to be hearing it as a square dance. It worked though, and the dancers were in full western dress.
We ran along the Red River of the North and saw where it overflowed its bank. Ten years ago, it flooded and wreaked havoc on the town. Fortunately, it wasn't that bad this weekend. It was very pretty, then we crossed the bridge into Moorhead and ran a little bit in that town. As we were running across, I spotted a huge sign on an office building that read, "Find your happy pace."
I was not at my happy pace, and soon fell behind Bev. I could see her and surged to catch her, which I did, but I couldn't keep it up. She said she hoped I didn't mind, but she was in a zone and wanted to run ahead. I was actually relieved, because I was getting tired and still had several miles to run. I wished her luck and told her I'd see her at the finish.
Then I started to walk. I had been taking my customary 1 minute walk breaks every 9 minutes, but I continued walking to get my hear rate down. Then I picked it up again. I wished I had my iPod, but I left it in the car so that it wouldn't weigh me down. So I started singing to myself to get my feet moving. Sometimes I'd pick up a cadence from the local cheerleaders and run with that. "You can do it, you can do it...I can do it...I can do it."
At some point, the front-runner marathoners caught up. First was a wheeler, and I cheered him on. Next was runner 2; he was on the same road as me, but then his route turned off to the right. I actually stopped to watch him go past, PR or not. He turned out to be the marathon winner. His name is Chad Wallin and he finished in 2:31:20. That's kind of slow among the elites; the purse must not be big enough to attract the Kenyans.
There were plenty of aid stations and Gu was handed out at one of them. I took a packet, even though I had my own, and saved it for my next scheduled gel. It was vanilla bean; yum! I'm going to buy some of that. The gel helped me get through the rest of the race. At mile 11 I looked at my Garmin and saw that 2 hours and 6 minutes had elapsed. Holy buckets, if I run the next two miles in 12 minutes each, I'll finish in 2:30! I started moving, passing runners like they were cars on the freeway.
Finally, blessedly, I could see the Fargodome. I ran into the parking lot, towards the entrance. I could hear the finish line announcer, but I couldn't see the finish line, so I just kept running. "Where the hell is the finish line?" I yelled out to no one in particular. Oh there it is, inside the Fargodome. Cool. I ran into the stadium excitedly, feeling like Joan Benoit running into the LA Coliseum. Knowing I had successfully beat my goal of 2:30, I almost cried!
Bev was there and I gave her a sweaty hug. I think the early push helped get me in under 2:30 and I was grateful for her pacing. My Garmin read 2:29:13, but the chip time 2:28:57, an 11:23 pace. Yee haw! Bev came in at 2:23:36, and she had just run a half-marathon 2 weekends ago! We got some food, then went to the finish line to watch Patrick come in.Patrick came in at 3:08:25. He was a little disappointed, because he wanted to run sub 3 hours. He probably would have but for the wind. The wind blew many caps off; I know because I'd pass them on the street as I ran by. My own cap was blown off twice and I would have lost it if it hadn't gotten caught in my ponytail.
I asked Patrick what his Boston qualifying time was, thinking that might have contributed to his disappointment. "Oh, he always qualifies for Boston," Bev answered for him. He PRd at Boston! I think he did a sub 3-hours there. His BQ is around 3:15. Yesterday, as I was going through the pictures I took, I noticed how muscular his legs were. See for yourself, in this picture I took of Bev and Patrick before the start.I was pretty sure before the race that I would PR, but I wasn't sure I could do sub 2:30, since it would require an 11:30 pace. The fact that I did I attribute to the training class I'd been in, especially with the speed workouts. And of course, long runs with Gary. These are the splits:
Mile 1 10:24
Mile 2 10:43
Mile 3 10:39
Mile 4 11:02
Mile 5 11:02
Mile 6 11:12
Mile 7 11:36
Mile 8 11:10
Mile 9 12:23
Mile 10 11:56
Mile 11 12:10
Mile 12 11:35
Mile 13 10:52
Mile 13.23 10:27
Here are my past half-marathon times:
Big Sur Oct 2006- 2:52:04
Lake Minnetonka May 2006- 2:43:18
Urban Wildland August 2005- 2:47:53
Urban Wildland August 2004- 2:48:22
I've got a good start. Now I hope I can keep this momentum up so that I run a great race at the Nike Women's marathon this October!
posted by Dori @ 1:38 PM
13 Comments:
Nice race report. And lookit that wind! A 14 minute PR. Uhh, would you tell me your secret to stepping it up so much, please! I guess the wild partying the night before had a beneficial effect. (Oh, wait a minute, YOU weren't partying. Right?)
Wow, awesome splits! You are getting fast - look at those 10ish minute miles- and at mile 13! Way to go.
Look at you GO! Congrats on a tremendous PR Dori!
You are on fire, woman! It seems like each race you've been blogging about recently have all been PR's! I can only imagine how well you're going to do for your marathon in October! Way to go, Dori!
Wow! Great times. And in all that wind!?!? Congratulations on your PR. Way to pick it up at the end too.
Fargo is a wild town, I'm surprised the marathon hasn't caught on more quickly.
This isn't one of those races where you look up and see the finish 26.2 miles ahead of you? I like a race that is designed by the same people who plan the lines for the rides at Disneyland. A race that hides the fact that you are about to run a distance that would normally be a long drive in your car.
Congratulations on your new PR! Flat and fast baby! Flat and fast.
Eric
FARGO!! A friend of mine from Annapolis Striders ran this race with you! Did you meet her, her name is Kathleen? LOL!
But seriously, great half! Nike, here ya come! :-)
Congrats on the race. You just keep getting faster.
Oh Dori, Congratulations on running a good race and having a good weekend. You do run!
Two of us are doing Challenge Heart and Mind at Como Lake.
Appreciated your comment.
Awesome Job Dori, I love the turtle guy! I've actually published an entry after thinking about what you said. I know I need to get back to it! See you hopefully tomorrow.
Yes.. it was a 42 sec run, followed by a 78 sec walk, done 16 times. The runnng will increase gradually through the summer, with the hope that the walking portion disappears. If it doesn't, I'm going to have a lot of people running over me when I abruptly stop running.:) Thanks for the reference to the "Wanna Be" link.
Love the race report. I would give anything to break the 2:30 half barrier. Your splits are awesome . You should be so proud.
Thanks for the picture, Dori. I hope that you had a good time in this race.
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