Fargo Marathon Race# 26

 

Fargo, North Dakota
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Time: 4:58:19
Overall Place: 1051/1494

The Fargo Marathon is really a home race for us only better because it is close to Winnipeg and we get to spend the weekend living the racing life.  This is our annual pilgrimage with our friends the Hart’s and we look forward to spending time in Fargo running with them.  This is actually our sixth run in Fargo and it is the longest running streak for an out of town race that we have going.  I have run the 5K and the 10K in the first year then followed by two years of Half Marathons and now three years running the Full Marathon.

Our plan was to leave on Friday around noon and we were taking Stephanie with us and then picking up our friend Marion since her husband Warren and son Christopher couldn’t come until the evening and we needed to get there much earlier to pick up the race kits.  We left as planned and made it to the border in plenty of time and it’s a good thing we did because I think the rest of Manitoba had the same idea.  When we arrived at the border we had to wait over an hour to cross.  This is the first time in six years of doing this race that we had to wait this long at the border.  I should mention that this race is very popular within our province and I checked the finishers and there were 453 runners that ran one of the five events offered by the Fargo Marathon.  I have heard that there are about a 1000 runners that make their way down from Canada.  It is a very well organized and popular race, not to mention it is one of the few offered in North Dakota and without a doubt the largest.  It is also a very popular race amongst the 50 Staters for those wishing to use this as their North Dakota race for the 50 States Club.  So this is what was in store for us as we made our way down to Fargo.  It was a nice drive and only took us about 4 ½ hours, a lot shorter than we were used to, another reason why we like Fargo so much.

We made it to the Fargo Dome for the Expo and there was already a lot of activity since the 5K race was to start in about two hours.  I didn’t want to run it this year because I thought I needed to conserve every ounce of energy that I had.  I have run it twice in the past and really enjoyed it but I was quite happy in just doing the marathon the next day.  The Expo seemed a little bit smaller this year, not sure why, but they didn’t have as many booths set up as they usually do.  However they did have their fair share of free giveaways so I couldn’t complain about that.  After picking up our race bibs we headed over to the hotel.  We have been staying pretty much exclusively at the same hotel now for about the last 11 years and really enjoy the location being across the street from West Acres Mall and many other shopping conveniences.  On this weekend you can walk through the parking lot and every second car is from Manitoba.  We felt quite at home.  Kind of funny, I’m sure that Fargo survives on Manitoba travelers.  It’s not just this event but on a lot of weekends it seems to be one of the travel destinations for Manitobans just to get a way.  We checked in and decided to go for dinner to Applebee’s.  That’s right, I am giving up the Mall for the second straight race.  It was a good choice as we all had a good pre-race meal.  We had a really good time and then it was time to take Marion to her hotel which was a short distance away.  In the evening we relaxed around the hotel and Stephanie and I went to the hot tub for a while.  The rest of the evening was spent preparing for the race the next day which included laying out flat Ed. 

Early to bed and early to rise makes for a good sleep, although I did wake up at 2:30 to go to the washroom and did some Facebooking, what a silly time to do that.  The morning came at 4:45 so we could begin the day.  The hotel opened up their breakfast area at 5:00 so that the runners could get some food before the race. 

There is one thing I have to say about Fargo.  Of all the marathons I have done, no other city throws itself behind an event like Fargo does.  If you don’t know there’s a marathon happening you must be living under a rock.  We wanted to leave the hotel by 5:45 so we could get there by 6:15 and be ready for the 7:30 start.  I also wanted to be around for the Maniacs picture at 7:00.

Maniac group shot

 

 

To me this day wasn’t about just running another race.  This day had way more significance to it and that was to get Stephanie across the finish line in a lot better time than her first attempt at running a marathon.  In 2013 Stephanie ran her first marathon in Winnipeg and did it in 5:21:22 and it was not a good experience.  This year we did a lot of training together and she followed the plan to a tee and was very well prepared unlike the first time.  I was going to pace Stephanie along for the first 15-18 miles for around a 4:15-4:30 finish and then she could take off on her own to finish off by herself.  That was the plan.  We were a little concerned about the weather because they were forecasting the temperatures to be in the mid-twenties by mid-day which is near the end of the race.

 

We were in the starting area and ran into a number of runners from Winnipeg so it was nice to see familiar faces.  The gun went off and I mean the gun, inside the Fargo Dome where the start line was and it was loud.  Off we went out the dome and onto the streets of Fargo.  First through the residential area and later along pathways beside the mighty Red River, not so mighty here in Fargo!  I knew within the first few miles that my recovery still wasn’t where it needed to be so I knew that I would send Stephanie off well before the 15-18 mile mark.  I couldn’t hold the pace that I needed to keep her at and by mile 7, I sent her on her way. I told Stephanie to let Heidi know that I was probably going to come in around the 5 hour mark so watch for me then.  I loaded Stephanie up with some extra salt pills and away she went.  I know how strong Stephanie was and the only question was, could she withstand the heat.  I guess I would have to wait until the finish to find out.

The going was tough for me because my legs felt very tired even this early in the race.  It wasn’t whether or not I could make it but how long it would take me to do it, so I settle into a comfortable rhythm and just went.  Running and walking at regular intervals.  I don’t know if it is just psychological or what, but I really am not comfortable in the first ten miles of the race.  I like between 10-20 miles which is where I feel the most comfortable.  By the time I hit around the 13-14 mile mark I ran into an iconic runner by the name of Larry Macon who holds a number of Guinness Book of world records for running marathons and is somewhere around the 1777 mark.  Before I knew it we had a group of about 10-12 Maniacs joining the group, leisurely strolling down the course having fun.  I stayed with them for about two miles and then caught up to the 4:45 pace bunny.  I thought if I could stay with this group I could finish in a very descent time.  I gave that up after a few miles too.  I was running along and all of a sudden I heard someone call out my name.  It was one of my running friends from Albany Georgia.  We ran together for a bit and chatted.  I haven’t seen Jennifer since February in Jackson Mississippi so it was nice to catch up before we parted ways. I knew we would see each other at the finish.

The last six miles were very difficult as I could see many people walking more than they were running. By now the temperatures were in the mid 20’s so the heat was taking its toll.  At one point there were about 5-6 kids with Super Soaker Water Cannons.  I raised my arms when I came to them and they unloaded on me empting their cannons.  That was refreshing.  With all of the people spectating many set their sprinklers to the side of the road and runners will get a bit of a cool down running through these sprinklers.  It took me quite a while to finish the last six miles but I think I was more excited to see what Stephanie’s time was going to be.  The last six miles were pretty much all in open sunlight and it was very warm out.  After the race most everyone remarked how difficult those last six mile were.  I finally made it to the Dome where the finish was and made my grand entrance just under the five hour mark, yeah I made it. 

What form



Christopher and friend Lorne

 



Did I mention that I got beat by Scooby Doo?

 

 

I found Stephanie and she came in at 4:24:19.  Success.  She did a great job.  Shaving almost an hour off of her previous time and not having any cramping issues.  The last 6 miles were tough but she fought through it.  When you finish a race and are already looking forward to doing more and knowing that you could have run faster if not for the heat, that is success.  Heidi had also run the half marathon and finished it being her 31^st race.  Wow, what a successful day.  More great news was that our friend Christopher Hart had finished his first ever marathon in a very good time as well.  Another great accomplishment.  With all of the great success stories one came that was not so happy.  One of the runners from Winnipeg received news that his mother just had a stroke and he needed to get home right away.  Sadly she passed away soon after.  This is life.

After the race I was able to hook up with many of the runners that I knew from Winnipeg and Maniacs from other parts of the US and Canada that I knew.  It was especially nice to get together with Jennifer and Ildiko from Albany and do a little catching up.  We finally wrapped the visiting up and Stephanie was very patient with me. 

Friends Ildiko and Jennifer with Stephanie and me.

 

 

Friends Warren and Marion

For our victory celebration we have a tradition of going to Texas Roadhouse so all the arrangements were made and we had a great time together celebrating our successes.   In the evening Heidi went with Stephanie to another store and I went to the Mall.  Yes, I still needed to get my Mall fix in and go to one of my favorite stores to pick up a sleeper for my new expectant grand baby.  I won’t say what it is because I’m the only one that knows it’s a little girl.  Not even the parents know, so we’ll keep that a secret.  I’m sure she will be happy in her new Blue Jays sleeper.  My daughter and her husband are big Blue Jays fans so I couldn’t resist.  Oh, and did I mention that the baby will be born any day now.  I can’t wait to see this little new bundle of joy.

The one thing I really like about this race is that we don’t have to drive home as soon as we cross the finish line.  We spent the night in Fargo and then got up the next morning to breakfast and some relaxing.  We just wanted to pop into Scheels which is one of the main sponsors of the race and pick up a finishers shirt.  The one thing I never do is pick up a finishers shirt at the Expo before we even run the race.  That would just be wrong.  We picked up our shirts and headed home.

Next week Heidi and I head to Calgary for Race# 27.  We will be staying with our daughter Wendy and her husband Paul who are the ones expecting the little Blue Jay.  These races are getting more and more difficult for me as I find that I am not recovering enough.  Oh, did I mention that I also ran a 10K and a Half Marathon earlier this month?  Okay, you don’t have to feel sorry for me because I’m having a great time and all the while raising support for Siloam Mission.

A little running humour

Wisconsin Marathon Race# 25

Kenosha, Wisconsin
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Time: 4:33:57
Overall Place: 419/674

 

We’re heading to cheese country.  Wisconsin is known for their cheese and we were going to be right in the middle of it for the Wisconsin Marathon.  This marathon is also known as the cheesiest marathon around and you can take that any way you want.

We left for Kenosha, Wisconsin on Thursday May 5 in the late morning and planned to drive about 11 out of the 13 hours that day.  Kenosha is right on the eastern end of Wisconsin, right on Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Chicago.  Yes it is a long drive but what better way to spend the weekend then with my favorite person in the world. You’re right if you said Heidi.  We pulled into Watertown, yes another Watertown Wisconsin quite late and found a nice hotel where we got the last room.  We went a little further than we planned, which meant less driving the next day and we could sleep in, so that worked out nice.

On Friday morning we got up to a beautiful sunshiny day, had some breakfast and left for the short 1 ½ hour drive to Kenosha.  I’m learning when you travel quite often you get what you pay for.  This night we opted for a Holiday Inn Express as opposed to a Super 8.  What a difference.  The breakfast was amazing and the room was nice.  We have taken a lot of rooms at the Super 8, and while they were nice in their day, not so nice any more but they are cheap.   

Leaving a short drive to Kenosha meant that we could do a little sight seeing on this day before we had to get ready for the race the next day.  Our first stop when we arrived in Kenosha was a place called Mars Cheese Castle.  What a neat place just on the outside of town.  I didn’t know there were so many different cheeses available.  They had samples to try and we went around testing all of the different cheeses they had out. 

 

 

From here we set our GPS to the Museum where they had the race kit pickup and Expo.  You can always tell if you are close to the race kit pickup location by just seeing the stream of people going in and out of the location where kits were being handed out, so it wasn’t hard to find.  When we went in we found that there were only about six exhibitors, maybe, and the race kit pick up area.  I wouldn’t call this an Expo; actually it was kind of cheesy.  I did however meet another runner and fellow Marathon Maniac from the Chicago area whom I had met at another race and we had become Facebook friends, so it was nice to talk to her and formally meet.

 

 

Race kit pickup done we decided to walk around the area which included a very nice marina and their downtown area.  The weather was something I had not been prepared for.  At this time of year the temperature can swing 10 degrees either direction depending on which direction it is coming from and in a matter of minutes.

 

 

This day the wind was light from the south which meant that right down by the lake it was a little cool.  When you move away from the lake where we went later that day the temperature was about 15 degrees warmer.  The wind coming off any part of the lake makes a huge difference and this would play a big part in the race the next day.
It was late in the afternoon and we decided to go for a pre-race meal and yes I could have had Panda Express again but decided instead to go to Olive Garden.  I wanted to see if it would help me to feel not so full before a race and it certainly worked.  We had a great meal and felt a lot better than having Panda Express.

We made a few more stops in the area and even drove the south part of the course which was being run by the marathoners and also runs along Lake Michigan. 

 

 

 

The course was nice and flat so I was looking forward to a nice fast course with little or no hills.  We went a little further south and ended up driving into Illinois, just to say that we were there. 

 

We only went about 10 miles so it wasn’t very far. After driving around a little more we headed back to the hotel and got ready for the next day.  We also had a little time to relax which was a nice way to wind down.

The next morning we got up at 4:30 so we could leave by 5:30 to get to the race sight for 5:45.  We were told if we wanted to get a good parking spot we needed to be there about 4:30 – 5:00.  Well, we got there at about 5:45 and there was lots of good parking so I’m glad we didn’t listen to the advice.  When we arrived at the parking lot we had about a half mile walk to the start line along a little inlet to Lake Michigan.  The temperature was a lovely plus 18 degrees Celsius and the gentle breeze was coming off shore so the temperature was very pleasant.  We had heard that the temperature was going to drop a bit so we knew it was going to be perfect for running. 

 

 

 

 

 

The sunrise was absolutely beautiful over Lake Michigan and I had everything going for a perfect race.  We met a number of Maniacs that were running in the race, many I had not met before but some that I knew and so it was good to meet them again.

 

 

The race started at 7:00 so we went to line up at the start around 6:45.  There were only about 3000 runners in the half and the full so there was lots of room to find a spot.  The national anthem was sung at about 6:55 and Heidi, being the musician, said the singer changed keys about a half a dozen times so it was pretty cheesy.  Me, I thought it was okay, but then I don’t run with my hearing aids in so I may not be the best person to ask. 

The gun went off and we all started out together and would run the same course for the first twelve miles.  Heidi and I ran together for the first bit then left her to pursue a faster pace than she was comfortable with.  I should mention here that it was while we were getting ready at the start line that the weather took a complete turn for the worse.  The winds switched to the north and was pretty much coming off the lake, so it turned cool within minutes.  The course ran basically north and south, so we started heading south first, which was really nice.  Then we headed north for about five miles and by this time the winds had picked up to about 70 KPH or about 40 MPH from the north.  At one point we ran along a beach and I got to experience sandblasting for the first time.  It was hard going north and I tried not to expend too much energy because we had a long stretch to go south.  We went about 6 miles south and dropped the half marathoners at the 12 mile mark and we had another 7 to go till the turnaround before heading north again.  I must admit going south was fun being blown the whole way, but the thing that was going through my mind was that I then needed to come back 7 miles against a 70 KPH wind.  Surprisingly, my legs felt quite strong this race and I found myself walking less then I normally would have, at least until the last mile.  I was even more surprised that I found the 7 miles back against the wind not to be as bad as I expected and I passed a lot of runners on that stretch.  Finally reaching the finish line I was glad to see Heidi as she took her traditional shots. 

 

 

 

 

I have mentioned this before and I’ll say it again.  When I get to the finish line I like it when they place the medal around my neck like I had just achieved something.  This race just handed you a cheesy medal with no fanfare and you keep going.   Running a marathon or half marathon, or any race for that matter is a big deal to runners and for many it is quite an accomplishment.  Anyway I went to the tent to get my food which included a brat and beer; of course I hate beer, so I just took the brat. It was all good though.

We didn’t have much time to spend at the race because we needed to get back to the hotel and get showered up and get on the road for the long trek back home.  I wanted to be out of Kenosha by 1:00 which is when we were able to extend our late checkout to.  It all worked out perfectly as we were able to do everything we needed and were on the road by 1:00.  Okay, so I normally wouldn’t do what I planned to do this trip.  I promised to have Heidi home Saturday night/ Sunday morning, and that would mean driving 13 hours after running a full and half marathon.  It was Heidi’s birthday and mother’s day on Sunday so I wanted to have her back for all the fun things we needed to do.  That was probably one of the hardest trips I have ever taken and hopefully will never do that again.  I won’t tell you what we all went through, but it was not easy, but we did make it home at 2:15 in the morning.  And yes, I did sing Happy Birthday to Heidi at midnight.

It was a good race for me and although it was kind of a low budget event it was still a really well run race.  I ran strong and left everything out on the course.  Some of you may be thinking that it must be getting easier to run these marathons and that I just take them for granted by now.  It is quite the opposite.  In some ways, yes it is easier but only because I know what to expect and I know what it takes to finish a full marathon.  I never take the full marathon for granted and it is important to respect the distance.  As soon as you don’t take it serious this is when injuries happen.  After running 25 marathons over the last 13 ½ months I have noticed that my body is getting more tired every race.   I have to work harder and the recovery is harder as well.  I don’t just have to recover physically, but I have to recover mentally and emotionally as well and it becomes a real grind.  It’s becomes a balancing act between running too much and too little and not fatiguing the mind as well.  It becomes an emotional roller coaster coming off one race and preparing for the next.  I only have five more to go and I am pushing myself beyond the limits I even thought were possible.  Through all of this I am enjoying myself and I feel fulfilled knowing that I am making a difference in raising support for Siloam Mission.

Next race up is Fargo which is in two weeks.  Oh, did I mention that I am running a 10K on the weekend in between?  Whose idea was this anyway?  Only five more to go when I finish 30 marathons in 15 months.