Confessions of an Ex Non-Runner: Fargo Mini Marathon (1/2 marathon) race report!

I've been hearing this phrase a lot lately by other running bloggers:

"Leave it all on the course" The idea of coming across the finish line with your gas tank on empty.

And today, I think I did that... or at least almost did.

Remember when I was all like "oh yeah, just gonna run this for funsies. Just gonna run a nice relaxed pace"

And then, remember when I was like "oh, well, maybe I'll try for a PR... will see how my body feels."

My last PR was at the Women Rock MN 1/2 marathon on September 1st. A time of 2:18:51 (10:36 pace).

So, I had my doubts today. At the Women Rock race, I was in prime cardio condition as I had been doing a ton of biking and running. I also ran that race with a pace group, which made it easy to just settle in and let them do all the hard math.

Trying to PR is a lot harder if you're only going to PR by a tiny bit (had no faith that I would get a monster PR even IF I was able to beat my last time). There is also the variability when you're running a race because the Garmin isn't usually right on with the mile markers (due to weaving around people, etc). So the average pace on my Garmin might not be a true indication.

So, I printed off handy dandy little pace bands to wear that would also help me out. I of course forgot them.

Anyway, so I was just not feeling super confident that I could make that PR goal. I made the plan to run with my friend Diane who had a similar previous PR time and was wanting to beat that. I was glad to have someone to push me and keep me a little accountable today since I didn't have the luxury of a pace group.

I woke up this morning feeling pretty nervous actually! I had my usual breakfast of 2 slices of peanut butter toast and a cup of coffee. I was feeling a little barfy, but I think it was just nerves. I haven't had this long a break from running since last December! It's been 13 days since the marathon and I had NO idea how my legs would hold up.

Got to Scheels Arena around 7am, even though the race wasn't set to begin till 8:45. Always like to be nice and early for races. Hung out with friends, took some pictures, and nervously awaited the start.

The weather was... meh. Okay I suppose. I was hoping for some sunshine, but it was overcast. The temp was around 44 degrees and the wind was... kind of ugly. South wind, maybe 10 mph, but the course we ran had us running into the wind quite a bit.

The 1/2 marathon was a pretty small race- maybe 800 runners? Much smaller than the Fargo Marathon events that I'm used to running. The course was.... interesting. No, not really interesting. More like... pretty boring. We basically ran through neighborhoods. Some nicer developments, so we got to see some nice homes... but still. We ran through cul-de-sacs and on bike paths. We twisted and turned A LOT.

Jay and my kiddos and a few friends were out at mile 5. Was so excited to see them! This was the first time that Max and Bea have been able to come out for a race. They made me signs. It was awesome. Other than that, not a ton of people were out on the course. It was kind of lonely at times out there in the 'hood.

My body felt great though. A little foot crampage for the first couple of miles and my knee bothered me for a mile or so around mile 6 (I think because of all the turns).

Had some breathing room with our pacing as we ran mile 1 in 10 minutes. We slowed down into a pretty even pace of around 10:25 or so and walked through the water stations.
And I'm not sure what kicked in for me, but I started picking up the pace around mile 5 or 6. I think what it was was that I was sick of looking at my watch all.the.time. So I found this couple that was running together and seemed to be running the pace I wanted to run... and then I just kind of ran right behind them for most of the rest of the race. Sometimes I looked down and saw that I was running 9:45 pace, sometimes we were running 10:30... but slowly my average pace was creeping down and down.

And I was scared. I was pretty scared that I would burn myself out and not have anything left for the last miles. But I got to mile 10 and was still feeling like I had gas in the tank. And then mile 11.. still good! Mile 11 1/2 or so... I felt a little sluggish. Took one more GU (a chocolate one). BAD move. I NEVER do 3 GU's on a 1/2 marathon- usually 2 is sufficient. But I thought I'd give it a shot and it made me feel pretty pukey for a few minutes!

The last mile was pretty tough. Not gonna lie. I kept telling myself- go. go. go. Leave it all out on the course. Leave it all on the course. you're not gonna die. yes you are. no you're not. leave it out there.

I had to walk twice in the last mile for 30 seconds or so, but by this time I KNEW I had my PR, so I felt okay with the quick little walks. And then I powered through that last 1/3 mile or so.

And then I finished. And then I saw my finish time: 2:14:10!!!!!! A pace of 10:15!!!!

A PR of 4:41!

And then my medal.

And then my bottle of water.

And then my.... beef stick? what a weird thing to have handed to you after running a half marathon.

And then some hugs and some photos and some noodle soup. Oh and potato chips. Why do potato chips taste SOOOOO amazing after a long run?

Pretty proud of this race because I really pushed myself. I wasn't sure I had this pace in me. Especially since my body is still technically recovering from Twin Cities Marathon.

No more big races now for awhile, and that's a good thing. May will be the next race- probably the 1/2 marathon. Until then, some small, fun races and trying to PR shorter distances.

Could I have pushed any harder? Maybe.... but I think I came close to "leaving it all on the course" today.