I wasn't going to do a recap becuase I was not 100% happy with how the weekend played out. But, I knew that if I didn't write something up, I would be kicking myself for it. So, here goes.
Fargo Marathon Weekend kicked off with the Youth Run Thursday evening. The weather couldn't have been better with 72 degrees or so, a slight breeze and partly sunny! We had approximately 2,000 little kiddos running either in the 1/2 mile race or 1 mile race. There were kids as little as 2 years old running. It was so exciting to be a part of something like this ... and watching kids fall in love with running!
The forecast for the rest of the weekend wasn't looking nearly as good as it was during the Youth Run. Storms were supposed to roll in Friday, leaving us with 70-80% chance of rain and thunderstorms. Lovely.
Friday evening was the 5K. The plan for me, my sisters, brother-in-law, parents, and another friend was to walk the 5K and then run the Half Marathon the next day as part of the Go-Far Challenge. Well, we walked the 5K and the weather was decent, in the low 60's, but extremely humid. I think it is honestly more painful to walk a 5K than it is to run. It seemed to take us FOREVER to finish.
After Friday night's 5K, I knew I didn't have the Half Marathon in me. I wanted to run it so bad. I knew that I probably could have finished the 13.1 miles even if I had to walk a good chunk of it. But, I knew that I didn't want to injure myself further for lack of quality training. It just wasn't there. So, I made the decision to not run it. I was kind of excited to be on the other side of the race, watching, cheering, and taking photos of family members coming to the finish line.
The weather held out. It was in the low 60's again for the morning events, with a few sprinkles from time to time. Over and over again, I heard so many people saying how the conditions were ideal for half marathoners and marathoners. Cool temps, flat route, tons of fans, music at every mile marker, etc.
The excitement of being a fan on the sidelines soon diminished as everyone took off running and I realized I had a good 2-3 hours of nothing to do. I took some more pictures, ran into people I knew who had finished the 10K, and spent a lot of time thinking about my running. I thought about my poor training, about my struggles with random "injuries" occuring just as things seem to be falling into place, I thought about what my goals are, whether or not I want to attempt the HM distance again... etc.
I have an awesome long-sleeved Half Marathon shirt in my closet that I will probably never wear and it bugs me a lot. I feel like I owe it to myself to redeem myself and get back out there. I want to do another half. Someday.
Overall, the weekend was nice and it was wonderful to spend it with family. My brother-in-law completed his first HM. My sister completed her first since being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and my parents completed there 12th or 13th HM! I am so proud of all of them!!
13 comments:
So sorry your HM didn't go as planned! I'm dealing with the same thing going into this bike race on June 4th - I don't know if we'll do it and it bugs the heck out of me bc we paid for it and will have the shirts for it.
I can understand your disappointment, but it really sounds like you made the right call - a half marathon is no joke and it's not worth risking injury when you don't feel ready. You will have another chance at it!
Sorry to hear you've been battling injuries again! I had a marathon shirt from a race I dropped out of... it bugged me to. But I kept it and wore it as a "discard" shirt for my next! So maybe hang onto it. :)
You made the right choice! :) Congrats to everyone for a great weekend though!
Missing a race sucks - even when you decide to cheer on the sidelines. But you made the right choice.
Your HM shirt can be your new painting or gardening shirt!
Hang in there! I'm struggling trying to marathon train again but I keep having troubles, so I feel your pain! I love watching kids race - they are so energetic!
As hard as it is to realize it, you made the right choice. Give the shirt away though.
Sometimes life doesn't go as planned (which is quite annoying). :P Use this to motivate you in the future - let something good come out of a crappy situation. :)
If you are having injuries, you made the right choice. Why risk another injury that may set you back even further? Set your sights on another HM and take it down!!! Good luck!
I know it sounds calloused, but let it go. Focus on your training and the distance and a new PR will be right around the corner. There is no reason to continue to beat yourself up on this!
Congrats to your sis! I found marathon day to be pretty darn humid as well.
I'm sorry you weren't able to do the half, but you definitely don't want to end up with an injury! I have a fleece from a race I had to drop out of because I was injured, I still wear it because it's nice and very warm, but sometimes I feel kind of weird about it.
Sorry you missed the race, but you were a good sport to go cheer! I think you picked the better of the two options for that particular weekend. Hope you're on the mend!
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