Resolution 1 - Run the Half Marathon - Progress Update

I swear I must have jinxed myself. Shortly after posting the last blog, I went and checked the forecast for Lisbon, ND (a small town near where the race was taking place). My how different the forecast changed. It went from a high in the mid 30s to a high of 20. And over the next couple of days the forecast kept getting worse and worse to the point of a race time starting temperature of 2 above, and only a 13 degree high that day.

To make it worse, the night before the race we got several inches of snow which led to horrible highway driving conditions. I kept checking in on the event's Facebook page for updates from other racers coming from Grand Forks and Winnipeg saying they were stuck at rest stops or decided to turn around and go back. My little 'ol Ford Ranger does not have four wheel drive and loves to fishtail in the slightest amounts of snow, so I knew there was no way I was going to be able to make that drive down there.

I hated to do it, but I sent an email out to one of the race coordinators notifying them of my withdrawal from the race. I still wanted to go out and do some kind of big run that day, because I bought way too much gear and spent a ton of time prepping up for it. So I went out to the Greenway bike path in town and convinced myself I was going to run an 8 mile loop four times over. Well, it sounded like a good idea until I realized none of the Greenway was plowed, which I was prepared for until I ran into some nasty drifts I had to run around. Also add in the fact it was barely above zero, with some nasty wind gusts to boot. After six miles, I came to the realization this was a stupid idea with no big race day vibe and fellow racer camaraderie and was not how I wanted my first big run to go down and so I despondently went back to my vehicle and drove home.

I was pretty upset about how the whole day went down, and tried to make it better by grabbing a bite with my brother and a few friends, but that did not really do the trick. They went out for drinks and some early St. Patty's celebrating while I went and slept the night away...literally. Sorry no happy ending to this blog, and the weather looks to be getting worse this next week so it looks like it will be back to running on the treadmill again for the foreseeable future. Will just have to train hard until the Fargo Marathon in two months.

If there is some upside to this, it is probably for the best I did not compete in that race. Out of the original 53 racer field, only 32 made it out there to race day. And out of the 32, only 19 finished. Some racers got frostbite and early stages of hypothermia. I imagined I would not have fared that well out there other. Blessing in disguise, I guess.