Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
Fargo, ND
May 22, 2010
State # 17
Fargo, ND
May 22, 2010
State # 17
3:49:29
I am starting off this write-up with a post on my facebook wall from Rachel A. because I first thought I would try to write this in ‘Fargo talk’ but I think that would get too difficult. So here is my way of giving you the Fargo feel (which no, they don’t just talk like this in the movie. But also not everyone in Fargo talks like this):“ND language lessons: Start conversations talking about the weather; end all sentences with ‘ya know’, ‘you betchya’ or ‘okiedokie’; refer to hair as hairs; never confuse ‘yah’, ‘yep’, and ‘yah you betchya’; you bake with soda and drink pop; you mail a paggitch; refer to a snack as bunny lunch. And universally, run like the wind.”So how did Fargo, ND get in the marathon mix for 2010? Fargo is advertised in all the running magazines and is well known for getting your money’s worth. I knew when it came to North Dakota, I would run Fargo but like Ultra Jen, I thought it would be one of the last 50. However, in April 2009, I was visiting my Grandfather in California when I met one of his friends, John. John and Bess, are from Fargo, ND but also have a winter home in California. I would call John, my Grandfather’s best friend in California. Bess was already back in Fargo when I was visiting my Grandfather, but word got around that I run marathons and she started contacting me with information on the Fargo Marathon. She told me if I came out for it, I was welcome to stay with them. Well, with 50 marathons, it gets expensive (I once estimated this to put me at $35,000 over the course of 50 marathons, including hotel, flight/gas, registration, running gear, shoes, etc. Not including triathlons). I digress (shocker), how could I turn down an offer to have a place to stay? In my time in Fargo, John and Bess have been such gracious hosts and I would call them adopted grandparents (and they are Greek and it’s a Greek thing to be family with every other Greek in the world).My last race was in St. Petersburg for the triathlon, which was two weeks after the St. Louis Marathon. Since St. Petersburg, there was Alexis’ Bachelorette party at the Kentucky Derby where Alexis and I ran; I managed 15 miles in the heat. The following weekend I was actually in Chicago. I got sick just before this weekend, and my planned 22 mile run got cut to 20 miles. Anne ran with me for the first 8? miles. She just ran Boston for the first time this past year, and so she was extremely inspiring to talk with. The final weekend before the Fargo Marathon, I was in Milwaukee for Mandy’s Bachelorette party. Come Sunday morning, I realized I fell the night before, and my shin hurt pretty bad walking, not so much running, but this made me a little nervous.As I got to the airport Friday morning before the race, I quickly learned that just about everyone on my plane were on their way to Fargo for the marathon. Listening in on all their conversations, it was apparent, that if you were a runner and you were traveling to Fargo for a marathon, you were a serious runner. Meaning, you have some great goal, like the 50 states. For you runners, I haven’t had a chance to check it out that much yet, but go to www.marathontours.com this one girl who is averaging 2.5 marathons a month for the next 2 years was talking about it.The expo was a decent size. It was in the Fargo dome (a sports arena). I got in and out pretty quickly, the shirts were long sleeved with a zipper and I now have another runner’s bag. The evening before the race, I met Stephanie, John and Bess’ daughter and we got along well. She went over the marathon map with me and offered to take me around the course, but I didn’t want to see the course until I was on it.Something interesting to note about this marathon, there was a 5K which started at 6:30am, a 10K at 7:00 the half marathon at 7:30 and the marathon and relay teams at 8:00 and they were all pretty different courses. Usually I would think since the marathon is the furthest distance, it would start first. Who knows the method to the madness here.John took me to the dome at about 6:30am (which is about 2 miles away from their house and easy traffic!). It started to rain and when I looked at the Doppler, it looked as if we would have rain the whole time, though the weather man said overcast, humid and in the 70s with strong winds around noon.At the dome, I found the ‘secret’ bathrooms where there was no line. Now, if you have done a big race, you know this is a HUGE jackpot! I texted with Rachel A some, as I was trying to figure out if I should change my running wear since the Doppler showed rain for the entire run. I ended up not changing, and gear checked my bag about 20 minutes before the start. I lined up by the 3:40 sign, which I quickly confirmed what I was noticing at the airport: The runners at this race were the non-chatty competitive type, so I wasn’t lucking out with finding someone to run many miles with. The pace leader for 3:40 was extremely organized and you could tell she was set on keeping her pace consistent. BUT she had no personality whatsoever. And anytime I spoke, I felt like I got this look from her trying to tell me that this is her show (I’m sorry but I’m a natural born pace leader, I can’t help but be vocal in the running scene). Before the start, not only was the national anthem sang, but Oh Canada was too. There was also a prayer, which though the one-on-one vibe with people seemed so cold and not fun, the prayer just seemed to make the race feel more like a community. That was Fargo standing out. My conclusion here is Fargo is filled with wonderful people, but the marathon attracts all those competitive people who aren’t so wonderful or at least not really caring to enjoy everything around them but are just focused on the start and finish.When we started, I decided I didn’t want to run by the pace leader with no personality, and I decided to take the crash and burn gamble: Run at what feels comfortable even if it might be too fast. My splits started at 8:15, and went down to 8:00 around mile 3. It felt good so I figure I would stick with it which meant I could go slower later…or I could possibly rock it and finish at something even more amazing than 3:40.Around mile 1, there was a tree that fell on an electrical wire that came crashing down on the course (just to the front and left of me). Luckily nobody was hurt, but just kind of a freak thing that happened. Around mile 2, I realized maybe I didn’t need my hat, as the rain stopped and my head was hot. So I ended up taking it off and held onto it. We crossed over to Minnesota for a few miles, and crossed back over. I was noticing that the water stops weren’t all that great. The first was around mile 3, which they weren’t set up so it was either stop and wait for water, or keep going. I kept going. As my uncle says “drink fluids early and often” that wasn’t an option at Fargo, unless you carried your own. The next water stop was around mile 5 and it was warming up. I could feel the heat radiating out of my body. Miles 9-15 was when I started to already get a little tired. I managed to keep an 8-8:15 mile until the half where my energy level was slipping. I just thought how tired I was, and how I would like to just take a nap. Ummm, something is wrong with that picture, who wants to NAP mid marathon? I mean stopping and walking is one thing, but I just wanted to sleep. We ran through a lot of neighborhoods, twisting and turning through, I never really knew where I was and where was going, as the houses all looked the same. I just knew around mile 15 we were out of that neighborhood then it was some straight back and forth with the final turn heading back north around mile 20. Just before mile 15 we had some water, and then, shockingly, the next water wasn’t until sometime after mile 18! Luckily some of the people in the community were giving out water, so I had water from one of them. I significantly slowed down and knew what I was feeling was dehydration. When I finally got to the long waited for water, I walked and downed 2 cups of PowerAde and 2 cups of water.This is where my mind surrendered from a Boston Qualifying race, to just getting state #17 done as close to 3:40 as possible. Just after mile 19 we were turning a corner, and this relay girl was to the left of me, and it was the curb to the right of me and approaching a puddle. The girl kind of locked me in, so I had to leap over the puddle. Mid air both legs got the bubbly lactic acid cramps. I luckily landed that jump without falling, but had to stop until the limping went back to walking. Seriously? We weren’t even at mile 20 yet. I decided this race was going to go into the category of bad marathon. This doesn’t just mean bad time, but it means a struggle to keep going as strong as possible- whatever that may be. The goal now was to keep a positive attitude, remind myself everything would be alright because I would finish.Around mile 20 the 3:40 pace group passed me. Luckily also at mile 20 the water stops picked up to every mile, though, umm I’m pretty sure this far into the race, you can’t reverse your dehydration, you can just prevent it from getting worse. The sun was shining and with the humidity, I was beyond hot, where I was no longer caring whether or not I get tan.Then, another turn; My Garmin was reading greater distances than the mile marker (again), I was trying to be as efficient on the course as possible. The roads are also definitely ‘up north’ roads that are damaged by the cold, snow and salt, so they aren’t smooth. I twisted my ankle and went down but caught myself quickly. My ankle wasn’t really hurting and I somehow didn’t cramp up through this, but my breathing was off. I don’t know if I was just worked up or hyperventilating, but I felt like I had asthma and I couldn’t get enough air through my passage way. You could tell the spectators were a little nervous, I mean, yes it sucks as bad as it looked, but, marathoners manage to figure their way back to ‘normal’ enough to finish the race. I brought in some yoga breathing and tried to cough until it felt like the air passageway was better. (Around now that’s when the Shawn Mullin’s song played on my ipod and I decided that would be a good race write-up name) I decided I didn’t care if I was above 4 hours at this point but it didn’t mean I could fully give up. If my legs could run, they were going to run…so I ran until I got a cramp or hit a hill (yes there were actually a few hills in Fargo). The walking was short, maybe no more than 10 steps when I would do it, but still, I felt like it made a world of a difference. The wind also picked up which dirt and dust was then blowing all around and in my eyes, just another obstacle, but minimal compared to the cramps (the wind was so strong it was blowing down the “road closed” signs)I was walking around mile 25 when I saw Stephanie. She didn’t have to say much of anything, but seeing her, handing off my hat and having her walk a few steps with me, somehow let all the negative energy evaporate and take me to the finish. I did stop two more times, but I realized I could at least get a sub 3:50 marathon, so I gave it my all on the last .5 miles, somehow (don’t ask me how), kicking it to a 7:45. The last .05 miles was INTO the Dome, which was probably one of the coolest finishes you could have. Spectators not just on the sidelines but the seats were filled.So, everything was alright, and I did finish within 10 minutes of the Boston Qualifying time, so it’s just another marathon to make me stronger. Out of my sub 4 hour marathons, this one was the toughest one I pushed through. In Philly, I succumbed to my negative attitude, so I guess it’s just a great feat I didn’t let my negative attitude take over me on this race, because I knew, everything would be alright.***Note post writing this. My flight back from Fargo: I finally met some nice runners on the flight back. There were some guys that were with the female winner. She was on my flight back to Chicago and I realized she was also on my flight to Fargo. I find it interesting that she was over by the lady talking all about her 2.5 marathons averaged a month, but she never once said anything about how much of a rock star she is. Very modest, I’m a fan. I also made friends with another 50 stater, Jeff. Fargo was his 28th state, and we learned we have been at some of the same races at the same time. Jeff is speedy, he said he thought about re-doing all the states and try to have them all sub 3 hours, but he has started to plateau so they have been just above the 3 hour mark lately….we all have our own goals to push for as we complete the 50 states.
I am starting off this write-up with a post on my facebook wall from Rachel A. because I first thought I would try to write this in ‘Fargo talk’ but I think that would get too difficult. So here is my way of giving you the Fargo feel (which no, they don’t just talk like this in the movie. But also not everyone in Fargo talks like this):“ND language lessons: Start conversations talking about the weather; end all sentences with ‘ya know’, ‘you betchya’ or ‘okiedokie’; refer to hair as hairs; never confuse ‘yah’, ‘yep’, and ‘yah you betchya’; you bake with soda and drink pop; you mail a paggitch; refer to a snack as bunny lunch. And universally, run like the wind.”So how did Fargo, ND get in the marathon mix for 2010? Fargo is advertised in all the running magazines and is well known for getting your money’s worth. I knew when it came to North Dakota, I would run Fargo but like Ultra Jen, I thought it would be one of the last 50. However, in April 2009, I was visiting my Grandfather in California when I met one of his friends, John. John and Bess, are from Fargo, ND but also have a winter home in California. I would call John, my Grandfather’s best friend in California. Bess was already back in Fargo when I was visiting my Grandfather, but word got around that I run marathons and she started contacting me with information on the Fargo Marathon. She told me if I came out for it, I was welcome to stay with them. Well, with 50 marathons, it gets expensive (I once estimated this to put me at $35,000 over the course of 50 marathons, including hotel, flight/gas, registration, running gear, shoes, etc. Not including triathlons). I digress (shocker), how could I turn down an offer to have a place to stay? In my time in Fargo, John and Bess have been such gracious hosts and I would call them adopted grandparents (and they are Greek and it’s a Greek thing to be family with every other Greek in the world).My last race was in St. Petersburg for the triathlon, which was two weeks after the St. Louis Marathon. Since St. Petersburg, there was Alexis’ Bachelorette party at the Kentucky Derby where Alexis and I ran; I managed 15 miles in the heat. The following weekend I was actually in Chicago. I got sick just before this weekend, and my planned 22 mile run got cut to 20 miles. Anne ran with me for the first 8? miles. She just ran Boston for the first time this past year, and so she was extremely inspiring to talk with. The final weekend before the Fargo Marathon, I was in Milwaukee for Mandy’s Bachelorette party. Come Sunday morning, I realized I fell the night before, and my shin hurt pretty bad walking, not so much running, but this made me a little nervous.As I got to the airport Friday morning before the race, I quickly learned that just about everyone on my plane were on their way to Fargo for the marathon. Listening in on all their conversations, it was apparent, that if you were a runner and you were traveling to Fargo for a marathon, you were a serious runner. Meaning, you have some great goal, like the 50 states. For you runners, I haven’t had a chance to check it out that much yet, but go to www.marathontours.com this one girl who is averaging 2.5 marathons a month for the next 2 years was talking about it.The expo was a decent size. It was in the Fargo dome (a sports arena). I got in and out pretty quickly, the shirts were long sleeved with a zipper and I now have another runner’s bag. The evening before the race, I met Stephanie, John and Bess’ daughter and we got along well. She went over the marathon map with me and offered to take me around the course, but I didn’t want to see the course until I was on it.Something interesting to note about this marathon, there was a 5K which started at 6:30am, a 10K at 7:00 the half marathon at 7:30 and the marathon and relay teams at 8:00 and they were all pretty different courses. Usually I would think since the marathon is the furthest distance, it would start first. Who knows the method to the madness here.John took me to the dome at about 6:30am (which is about 2 miles away from their house and easy traffic!). It started to rain and when I looked at the Doppler, it looked as if we would have rain the whole time, though the weather man said overcast, humid and in the 70s with strong winds around noon.At the dome, I found the ‘secret’ bathrooms where there was no line. Now, if you have done a big race, you know this is a HUGE jackpot! I texted with Rachel A some, as I was trying to figure out if I should change my running wear since the Doppler showed rain for the entire run. I ended up not changing, and gear checked my bag about 20 minutes before the start. I lined up by the 3:40 sign, which I quickly confirmed what I was noticing at the airport: The runners at this race were the non-chatty competitive type, so I wasn’t lucking out with finding someone to run many miles with. The pace leader for 3:40 was extremely organized and you could tell she was set on keeping her pace consistent. BUT she had no personality whatsoever. And anytime I spoke, I felt like I got this look from her trying to tell me that this is her show (I’m sorry but I’m a natural born pace leader, I can’t help but be vocal in the running scene). Before the start, not only was the national anthem sang, but Oh Canada was too. There was also a prayer, which though the one-on-one vibe with people seemed so cold and not fun, the prayer just seemed to make the race feel more like a community. That was Fargo standing out. My conclusion here is Fargo is filled with wonderful people, but the marathon attracts all those competitive people who aren’t so wonderful or at least not really caring to enjoy everything around them but are just focused on the start and finish.When we started, I decided I didn’t want to run by the pace leader with no personality, and I decided to take the crash and burn gamble: Run at what feels comfortable even if it might be too fast. My splits started at 8:15, and went down to 8:00 around mile 3. It felt good so I figure I would stick with it which meant I could go slower later…or I could possibly rock it and finish at something even more amazing than 3:40.Around mile 1, there was a tree that fell on an electrical wire that came crashing down on the course (just to the front and left of me). Luckily nobody was hurt, but just kind of a freak thing that happened. Around mile 2, I realized maybe I didn’t need my hat, as the rain stopped and my head was hot. So I ended up taking it off and held onto it. We crossed over to Minnesota for a few miles, and crossed back over. I was noticing that the water stops weren’t all that great. The first was around mile 3, which they weren’t set up so it was either stop and wait for water, or keep going. I kept going. As my uncle says “drink fluids early and often” that wasn’t an option at Fargo, unless you carried your own. The next water stop was around mile 5 and it was warming up. I could feel the heat radiating out of my body. Miles 9-15 was when I started to already get a little tired. I managed to keep an 8-8:15 mile until the half where my energy level was slipping. I just thought how tired I was, and how I would like to just take a nap. Ummm, something is wrong with that picture, who wants to NAP mid marathon? I mean stopping and walking is one thing, but I just wanted to sleep. We ran through a lot of neighborhoods, twisting and turning through, I never really knew where I was and where was going, as the houses all looked the same. I just knew around mile 15 we were out of that neighborhood then it was some straight back and forth with the final turn heading back north around mile 20. Just before mile 15 we had some water, and then, shockingly, the next water wasn’t until sometime after mile 18! Luckily some of the people in the community were giving out water, so I had water from one of them. I significantly slowed down and knew what I was feeling was dehydration. When I finally got to the long waited for water, I walked and downed 2 cups of PowerAde and 2 cups of water.This is where my mind surrendered from a Boston Qualifying race, to just getting state #17 done as close to 3:40 as possible. Just after mile 19 we were turning a corner, and this relay girl was to the left of me, and it was the curb to the right of me and approaching a puddle. The girl kind of locked me in, so I had to leap over the puddle. Mid air both legs got the bubbly lactic acid cramps. I luckily landed that jump without falling, but had to stop until the limping went back to walking. Seriously? We weren’t even at mile 20 yet. I decided this race was going to go into the category of bad marathon. This doesn’t just mean bad time, but it means a struggle to keep going as strong as possible- whatever that may be. The goal now was to keep a positive attitude, remind myself everything would be alright because I would finish.Around mile 20 the 3:40 pace group passed me. Luckily also at mile 20 the water stops picked up to every mile, though, umm I’m pretty sure this far into the race, you can’t reverse your dehydration, you can just prevent it from getting worse. The sun was shining and with the humidity, I was beyond hot, where I was no longer caring whether or not I get tan.Then, another turn; My Garmin was reading greater distances than the mile marker (again), I was trying to be as efficient on the course as possible. The roads are also definitely ‘up north’ roads that are damaged by the cold, snow and salt, so they aren’t smooth. I twisted my ankle and went down but caught myself quickly. My ankle wasn’t really hurting and I somehow didn’t cramp up through this, but my breathing was off. I don’t know if I was just worked up or hyperventilating, but I felt like I had asthma and I couldn’t get enough air through my passage way. You could tell the spectators were a little nervous, I mean, yes it sucks as bad as it looked, but, marathoners manage to figure their way back to ‘normal’ enough to finish the race. I brought in some yoga breathing and tried to cough until it felt like the air passageway was better. (Around now that’s when the Shawn Mullin’s song played on my ipod and I decided that would be a good race write-up name) I decided I didn’t care if I was above 4 hours at this point but it didn’t mean I could fully give up. If my legs could run, they were going to run…so I ran until I got a cramp or hit a hill (yes there were actually a few hills in Fargo). The walking was short, maybe no more than 10 steps when I would do it, but still, I felt like it made a world of a difference. The wind also picked up which dirt and dust was then blowing all around and in my eyes, just another obstacle, but minimal compared to the cramps (the wind was so strong it was blowing down the “road closed” signs)I was walking around mile 25 when I saw Stephanie. She didn’t have to say much of anything, but seeing her, handing off my hat and having her walk a few steps with me, somehow let all the negative energy evaporate and take me to the finish. I did stop two more times, but I realized I could at least get a sub 3:50 marathon, so I gave it my all on the last .5 miles, somehow (don’t ask me how), kicking it to a 7:45. The last .05 miles was INTO the Dome, which was probably one of the coolest finishes you could have. Spectators not just on the sidelines but the seats were filled.So, everything was alright, and I did finish within 10 minutes of the Boston Qualifying time, so it’s just another marathon to make me stronger. Out of my sub 4 hour marathons, this one was the toughest one I pushed through. In Philly, I succumbed to my negative attitude, so I guess it’s just a great feat I didn’t let my negative attitude take over me on this race, because I knew, everything would be alright.***Note post writing this. My flight back from Fargo: I finally met some nice runners on the flight back. There were some guys that were with the female winner. She was on my flight back to Chicago and I realized she was also on my flight to Fargo. I find it interesting that she was over by the lady talking all about her 2.5 marathons averaged a month, but she never once said anything about how much of a rock star she is. Very modest, I’m a fan. I also made friends with another 50 stater, Jeff. Fargo was his 28th state, and we learned we have been at some of the same races at the same time. Jeff is speedy, he said he thought about re-doing all the states and try to have them all sub 3 hours, but he has started to plateau so they have been just above the 3 hour mark lately….we all have our own goals to push for as we complete the 50 states.
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