The much longer version with all the details: Headed to Fargo on Friday with a couple of running friends, Laci and Karina. Enjoyed a pleasant 7 1/2 hour drive to the nice town of Fargo, ND, a new state for me. We stopped about every hour to stretch our legs and eat and drink. And we laughed a lot! Since I'm a meteorologist, I was fairly obsessed with the weather leading up to the race, and feared that they all might be thundered out. It rained half the way the way to Fargo, fairly certain the 5k race would be wet.
The First Race 5/20 - 5k - 26:55 - Met up with with a couple of other running friends before the race, and prepared to run, in the rain. It sprinkled as the National Anthem was sung, and then it stopped. Dry for the race, Yay, we got lucky. The race was really fun, just running, not racing, earned my medal, and enjoyed an awesome birthday dinner at a local Italian restaurant, even getting surprised with a free birthday dessert since Laci and Karina had whispered to the waitress. Thanks guys!
The Second Race - 5/21 - Marathon - 4:11:19 - It rained all night long, and again, was worried that the race would have been postponed because of thunder and lightning. The rain stopped about 30 minutes before the race, so again, we got lucky! Yay. Don't have a lot of details to say, other than it was a ton of fun! Laci and I ran together, and Karina lined up a few minutes behind us. We ran the first 2 miles, then did a 4:1 ratio for the rest of the race. Yes, we Gallowalked it. Big deal! Really, I'm training for a 24 hour event, and this crazy weekend was meant mostly as a training run for me. But we were passing people left and right, and continued to do so all the way to the end. In other words, Gallowalking works. Started to get a bad blister on the ball of my foot about about mile 15 though. After that, it got progressively worse. The last 5 miles it felt like I was stepping on a nail with every step. I was also worried that I was going to cramp really badly as I could feel it coming on. Even though I was in quite a bit of pain, we still managed to laugh a lot. Thank you Laci for making the race so fun. I kind of kept pace through the race, and Laci kept track of the 4:1, always letting us know when it was time to walk, or run/shuffle. Teamwork. I did cramp pretty bad, immediately as I crossed the finish line, so that was great timing. Also got a special medal for doing both the 5k and marathon. High quality medals, really classy. I can't recommend Fargo enough, a great overall event! Karina did have trouble in the race though, and after running 15 miles, decided to pull out. We were disappointed that her knee was really hurting badly, but it was a super smart decision on her part to not push it, to save her legs for the next one! After scoring a free lunch at Famous Daves (they took forever to deliver our food), the 7 1/2 hour car ride home was just as fun, all laughing, occasionally napping, stopping every hour to eat and stretch, and overall a breeze.
The Third Race - 5/22 - Half Marathon - 1:59:53 - After about 6 hours sleep, I got up to do it all over again, but only a half today. I duct taped the half dollar sized blister on the bottom of my foot and headed to the race. Since Laci had a much longer drive than me, I said I'd pick up her bib for her, and meet her immediately before the race started. Except we couldn't find each other. She was having me paged over the PA system, but I couldn't hear it. The race started, and I still had her race bib in my hands. Oops. I started anyhow, DFL, carrying her bib, hoping she'd be at the back looking for me. No luck. So, I ran the race with the intent of catching her to giver her the bib. Actually, everything felt really loose today, despite having run a marathon yesterday. That Gallowalking really does work, so I used the same strategy today, using 9:1 ratio instead of the 4:1 that I used yesterday. The race was on a really nice course, mix of streets, bike path, urban, and rural, and overall, a really fun morning and great race. Never did catch Laci, until several minutes after we both had finished. Come to find out, I was just 30 seconds behind her at the finish, ha, so I almost caught her. It worked out afterall.
So that's it. 42.4 miles to celebrate my 41st birthday. 3 races, over 40 hours, 4 medals, but memories that will last a lifetime. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Thank you to Karina and Laci for helping me to celebrate an awesome birthday weekend. You are both great running pals, and I appreciate being able to know you. Thanks again for helping make my 41st birthday one that I won't ever forget.
Here are a few pictures:
Me, after the Fargo Marathon during a goofy strongman pose.
After the Gambler Half Marathon, feeling fulfilled with a long weekend of running complete.
And the Bling, a 5k medal, a Fargo marathon medal, the Fargo Rocks medal, and the Gambler half marathon medal.
The moral of the story: Don't be afraid to take a chance and do something crazy and fun, and you don't have to "race" every race. There are so many ways to run, to be able to enjoy it. Do it your way. Yes, I love to race, but this weekend of running and some walking was one of the more enjoyable things I've done in awhile and I wouldn't change a thing.
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