Race Report: Fargo FM Half Marathon

We started our Saturday morning at 6:45am (yay late start and starting line literally outside our door).  Instead of jumping out of bed, I wanted to go back to sleep and not run.  Making matters worse, I had been having serious GI issues all night long, and the morning was even worse.  I tried to eat some toast and a luna bar, but they were making me gag.  This should be fun!  :)

We headed to the start and I continued to feel like crap.  TMI alert:  If there was an award for most bathroom visits in a 12 hour span, the award would've gone to me.  I laid down for awhile, rubbing my stomach, hoping it'd chill out.  I started to get worried..... there's NO WAY I could race with my stomach as upset as it was, and the clock was ticking.  I was concerned I was going to post my first DNS......

This is my "please don't poop yourself" smile.

Finally with about 10 minutes to the race start, I made my last bathroom visit, and the stomach cramps subsided.  Praise the Lord!  (is it wrong the praise the lord for pooping to stop?  that's a little weird, I must say....)  Megan and I lined up at the start line and discussed our race plans.  I decided I'd run "comfortably hard" for the first 8-10 miles, and then all out BTTW race the final 3-5 miles.  That's usually my best strategy for races.  Apparently we lined up WAY TOO FAR BACK because there was some massive dodging and weaving for most of the first mile.  I settled in to a comfortable pace, and at first glance, I realized that comfortable was 8:30.  Hell ya!  Maybe a PR would be a possibility!  I did some quick math and realized that if I could run 8:30s for the first 8 miles, and 8 for the last 5 I could have my sub 1:50.  Work time!

There were a TON OF TURNS on the course.  I knew it was going to be hard to not run WAAAAAAAY over 13.1, so I tried to run the best tangents that I could.  I was randomly getting side stitches very frequently for the first hour of the race.  I'd get one, control my breathing and get it to go away, run for another couple minutes and I'd have another.  Whenever I'm dehydrated running, I tend to get side stitches.  Given my dehydrated state, I knew I had to do some serious water gulping at the water stations.

1. 8:30
2. 8:29
3. 8:31 

Around mile 3 I realized I was starving.  I took my first GU a mile and a half early and was worried that I was going to screw myself over for the rest of the race, but since I had nothing in my stomach I was on the verge of E... at mile 3.  Oy.  Luckily for me, there was a surprise GU station at mile 5 to replenish my stash.  I've probably never thanked a volunteer as profusely as I did there.

4. 8:37
5. 8:27
6. 8:41 

About an hour in to the race, my side stitches subsided, but I started to lose some steam big time.  I took another GU at 6.5 hoping that'd help (I normally GU about every 5 or so miles, so I hoped it wouldn't mess with my stomach further).  I tried to just zone out and keeping on truckin'.

7. 8:45
8. 8:53
9. 9:00 

I continued on, counting down to the next GU break at mile 10, hoping that would give me the final boost I'd need to finish strong.  I knew that we'd be running right by the finish line at mile 11, and that'd be slightly disheartening.  I kept my brain busy calculating what I'd need to run the remaining miles in to get a skin-of-my-teeth-PR.  At mile 12 I did get a little surge and picked it up slightly (presumably from the GU).  I started calculating the minutes I had left of running (usually helps me mentally) and kept telling my body to "PLEASE START YOUR KICK NOW!"  Spoiler alert:  my body didn't listen.

10. 8:58
11. 9:13 

There was an out and back section around 11 and 12 miles were I looked for Megan.  I didn't see her, so I was worried she might be having some issues with her knee.  She was looking for me, and was afraid I was in a port a potty somewhere along the course.  We're worriers apparently.  Good news was that we weren't very far apart so that's why we weren't seeing each other.  The final mile was in to the wind, and that made me lose my will to live slightly.  Especially when I noticed there was a dude behind me using me as a wind block.  He passed me at the finish.  You're welcome for that dude.  My watch hit 13 and I still didn't see the finish line.  WTF?!?!?  I turned the corner and BAM!  There it was.  Oh.  Insert 15 seconds of hauling ass here.

12. 8:59
13. 9:21
.11 :46 (7:01 pace)

Yes, I posted my slowest mile of the day last.  Oops!

I ran 13.11 miles in 1:55:17.

Field Placement:	254 / 727 (34.9%)
Age group:	25 – 29
Group Placement:	14 / 76 (18.4%)
Gender Placement:	90 / 411 (21.9%)

Before too long Megan was in with her 2nd fastest half marathon time and grinning ear to ear.  Yayzies!  We both remarked about how nice it was to finish a race and not be limping with an injury.  WIN US!

Definitely not my best race, or my best effort, but I'm happy enough given how the previous 12 hours played out.  The race could've been a mess (quite literally).  I ran really well and just ran out of fuel way way early.  But I finished the race, and did so injury free, so that's good enough for now.  :)