So, time to dust off the ol blog again for a recap of today's race!
This year I decided to step back into my comfort zone and run the half marathon at the Fargo Marathon events. My training went pretty well, but I didn't have a strong feeling either way whether I would PR or not. For a PR, my time would have to be Sub 2:14. My secret goal for the race was 2:10, but I never really said that out loud, as that would have required me to run a 9:55 pace for the entire 13.1, and I didn't REALLY think I could pull that off unless I had a pretty perfect day of running.
So the location changed this year, and we ALL lined up on the bridge between Fargo and Moorhead, kind of a throwback to the first Fargo Marathon 10 years ago. It was a GORGEOUS, sunny morning. Crisp, cool air, bright blue sky, and so much excitement in the air.
There was a group of us who met beforehand and stood together before the start. We started the race with the 2:10 pace group, but again, I didn't think I'd be running 9:55 pace for very long.
So, mile 1 felt glorious! And then, I realized that my long sleeve shirt was going to be waaaay too warm (it was 35 degrees at 7am... but the sun warmed things up quickly). I did not have a tank underneath, so I was going to have to suck it up with the warm shirt.
And then, something strange happened. At mile 1.5 I realized I already had to pee. I figured if I ran a bit more, that feeling would go away as it usually does. It.did.not.
In spite of this, my pace was clicking along quite nicely- somewhere in the 9:46 range for each of the first 4 miles. My body was feeling GREAT, but my mind was already distracted.... by my giant, pee-filled bladder.
Side note: there was NOT a porta potty to be found during those first 4 miles. Perhaps that accounts for my fast pace as I was trying to get to a can as quickly as possible.
Guys... this is the moment where I'm gonna start dropping some major truth on you. What I haven't mentioned till now, is during that 4 mile quest for a porta potty... I was peeing in my pants. And I'm not even talking a tiny dribble here and there. I'm talking about a significant amount of pee.
THIS HAS NEVER EVER HAPPENED BEFORE. I have never even had to step foot inside a porta potty during a half marathon, let alone peeing my pants. And then peeing my pants some more. And then some more. And then when I was just 20 feet away from the porta potty.
Thank GOD for the decision to wear black capris. This would have been an incredibly public display of pants pissery had I worn shorts or something not of the color black.
I lost a couple of minutes off my time due to my brief pee-tour at the porta-potty. I got back out there, hoping the worst was behind me. My pace slowed to somewhere in the 10:20 range for the next couple of miles, but I was still feeling okay.
Water stop somewhere around mile 6- I grabbed a cup of water, started to drink and PEED again. I'm going to spare you a broken record, but this happened several other times during water stops later in the race. Luckily, there was less...uh... volume, than the 4 mile pants pissing.
I know I'm not the first to pee myself during a race, but this was so out of the ordinary for me and SO distracting. It took me out of my game big time. I stopped enjoying a large part of the race, and really, after mile 6 I was feeling hot, pissy (ha!), and super thirsty.
My thirst was out of control today! Again, this is something out of the ordinary. Usually I take one cup at a water station and am good to go. Today I double fisted each water stop and still felt like I was parched. I took a 20 oz bottle of water that a spectator was handing out and I drank that gone too.
So now, I was hot and thirsty, but had like a gallon of liquid sloshing around in my stomach. I took my time and walked through every water stop and I took a couple of other walk breaks as well. I think the last 5 miles all fell into the 11:00-11:30 range because of my breaks. At this point, I saw the 2:20 pace group and felt totally defeated, knowing I lost 10 minutes off my goal.
But the end was near and I did my best to finish strong.
Final time: 2:21:11. 10:47 overall pace.
Not every race will be a PR, and I'm just happy I got to run today. It really was a fun race when I wasn't peeing myself or melting in my long sleeved shirt! The crowds were amazing as always and the weather was perfect.
So, there's my embarrassing race recap. Let's hope for dry pants for future endeavors, okay?
