Fargo weekend recap part 1

So I decided that to try and put everything into one post would be way to hard, plus it would get crazy long.  So I'll just make you read two instead.  This past weekend was one of the best, and I'll probably be riding high all week.  I just cant help but smile when I think back on the race and when I think forward to the next.  Great things will happen, I just know it :)

So lets get on with it.  We took off Friday morning after bringing Stella to the kennel.  I swear she likes that place more than being at home - its like a vacation for her.  She gets all excited and squirmy when we pull up and practically jumps out of my arms to go play with the other dogs.  So after that we were off.  It's about a 5 hour drive from Red Wing to Fargo, and with a pit stop for lunch and some outlet shopping, we checked into our hotel at about 3pm. 


thank's for the good times Kelly Inn, and for your delicious continetal breakfast waffles ( rain was a theme for the weekend)



We dumped our stuff, changed into our running clothes and made our way to the expo and packet pickup.

We putzed around the expo for a bit, Jake bought a new tank that he wanted to wear for the race, and then we met up with Jake's Dad, step-mom, brother and sister.  His dad and bro were going to be running in the 5k race that evening.  This was the first race for both of them so it was really exciting that they were a part of the weekend's events.  Once the 5k started, Jake and I took off for a whopping 12 minutes of SLOW running.  We did 4 striders at the end too.  This helped a ton!  After being in the car all morning it felt great to move the legs.  My striders felt really good, I felt nice and light - promising for the next day :)

Once we were done with that we went back to the 5k finish to watch them come in.  There were SO many people who did the 5k, so it was awesome to see such a great turn out.  Jake's dad and brother did great, and I think they are hooked on running :)  It's always nice for other people to experience the energy of a race and how awesome it is. By the time they were done, it was going on 8:00pm and we still had to eat dinner before it got too late and line up our stuff for the morning.  We said our goodbyes to Jake's family and went back to the hotel. 

I wasnt sure what our plan was going to be for food the night before the race, and I didnt want to risk an upset stomach with eating something out of the norm, so I had brought up our usual pre-race/run food.  Grilled chicken breasts, whole wheat pasta, red sauce, and a baguette.  Except one small detail, we completely forgot any kind of paper/platic bowls and plates.  So with a quick stop to Target, and about 15 minutes in our room's microwave later, we had a delightful pasta dinner, and I could rest easy knowing my body is familiar with the food, and I didnt run the risk of dashing for a porta potty mid-race.  Although we did forget to grab one thing at Target...bandaids.....you'll find out why they were important later :)

I laid everything out that night. 


sadly no, the cupcakes were NOT my race fuel, but they sure were tasty post-race!

 Shoes, shorts, socks, tank with bib pinned on, 2 GU's, and a fully charged Garmin.  My drop bag was packed and the only thing left to do was to try and get some sleep.  That 5am wakeup call would come early...