Fargo 5/18 Race recap:
Conditions: Rain, Wind 20mph, and UV Index 1
Start T+D: 45°F + 44°F
End T+D: 46°F + 43°F
Sleep 6:18, RHR 36, and VO2Max 67
What a day! I came up here on a mission, and I knew exactly what I needed to do. I’m tired... but I’m still elated! I’m elated because I nailed my goal despite all the obstacles. I’m elated because my legs took over down the stretch despite some negative thoughts. I’m elated because I felt how fit I am, and yet I still have a lot of meat on the bone for future improvement. Today was a good day!
As for the race it’s self, it was an event lol. Due to some nerves I decided to carb load the night before, rather than 2 days prior like originally planned. I will not do that again. Although after writing this I’m 99% sure it was a lack of water pre race that ultimately did me in. The early gel put too much carb in system with not enough water.
First 3-4 miles were great! I didn’t feel as strong as some other races, but I knew my legs would settle in just fine. I was chatting with several runners off and on and was chillin for a good stretch of the first 6-7 with a guy from Boston. For the first few miles I was completely blind, but he let me know around 4 I was cruising. I thought I was going to have a stupid good race, but after my first gel I knew there was some issues coming. It just didn’t hit right, maybe a little too early(Mile 4).Also during training my left hamstring was bothering me a little, and I knew it would prob get sore today. I was certainly a little rattled to feel it act up so early on. I kept my composure, and instead of getting up to pace, I just kept it easy. I ended up with 1:06:01 in zone 2 and kept a low HR throughout. Obviously, not ideal for max performance but absolutely proud of the adjustment I made because it saved me for the wind.
I lost Boston around 6-7, but around 8-9 I was joined by a guy from Quebec. We hung for a little bit and settled into a nice grove. We hit a turn about, but the course attendees weren’t paying attention and let us go the wrong way. Luckily it cost us less than 30 sec or so, but the French Canadian was not happy and let them know lol. Another group caught us due to that, and he latched on with them for good.
I should have stayed with them, but my stomach was really bad at this point, and my hands were too cold to unzip my pockets lmao. I really didn’t want the gel anyways, so I gave up. Finally around 14-15 I pulled over for a pit stop. Also unzipped my pocket and grabbed a gel. Runners brain got me, I didn’t open the gel until I was running again and I butchered the tear lol. I tossed the gel out of frustration and didn’t take my second gel until around 19. I decided to go with caffeine Sis instead because I needed a little pick up.
At this point I had been running alone for a bit, I was starting to get hit with blast of headwind with a steady breeze every time I turned east or north... plus my hamstring was singing and my a$$*a$$*a$$* was chaffed too... I was freaking cranky lmao. Luckily I started to rebound after getting some more water down. In hindsight, a lack of water was probably what caused the stomach issues. I was too worried about pit stops I barely had any water pre race with my carbs.
At around 21-22 I was grinding. I was hurting but I wasn’t laboring. My legs just kicked into autopilot. I just kept embracing the suck and grinding hard. I was able to get another gel in, and took a swish of Powerade around 23. I knew I was close to a BQ, but I wasn’t sure how close. I knew I hit around a 1:25 front half, but I didn’t feel like attempting math at that point. I settled on sub 7 would get me there. I hit my worse splits on 24 and 25, and I was annoyed because I knew I was being lazy. After a little pep talk and a grunt, my legs begrudgingly responded. I even threw a lil sumpin’ sumpin’ at the end with a sub 5 min pace on the final 200 m
I was tired but could have been worse, the kick at the end was the main reason lol. Still worth it, only I know what these legs had... so I have to live with my self when I loaf. Also, I may need to add more rest on my next taper... I just wasn’t 100% strong like I’ve felt on other races. Either way, I have plenty of time to analyze my results and improve, now is my time to celebrate!! Great day and great course!! So happy I made the trip and even more happy I BQed.... Boston 2020 here I come
Also special thanks to
@DopeyBadger for helping me achieve a goal that I thought was crazy! Thanks to Billy I achieved a BQ in less than 4 years(pre 34!!!). Thanks Billy!!
.
IMG_2832
IMG_2482
IMG_6813
IMG_6480
IMG_2802
IMG_2799
IMG_2481
