Oh my gosh...we did it!

Getting ready to run!

Saturday morning 4:30 am I got out of bed to head to Fargo for my very first 10k run as part of the Fargo Marathon. My wonderful dad, sister, husband and Cooper were all along for the ride as we loaded the car in the dark for this new adventure.

My run buddy Mindi and her husband Scott met us at the dome were the parking lot was slowly starting to fill with runners of all sorts. There were the serious runners, the ones that you could spot a mile away- by looking at them you just knew they could kick your butt in any race. Then there were the fun runners, the ones that came clad in costumes. One guy came dressed in flannel pajamas, coffee mug and newspaper tucked under his arm. And then there was Mindi and me, we fell somewhere in between, we had trained as to not need to be pulled across the finish line, but there was no way we would be winning this. :)
We waited inside as the runners filed in and the rain started to fall down. Once it was time to line up for the start of the race, it was pretty cold. The rain and cold were my friend later in the morning. It felt much better being hit by drops of cool rain rather than soaking in sweat.
Mindi and I found our spot somewhere towards the first third of runners and before we knew it- we were off! (Mindi's husband decided he was not going to run with us because he was "actually going to try to do well.")
About two miles in Mindi and I drifted a part, I think when I saw the winner lap us my competitive spirit took over. The people all the route there were more cow bells, supportive signs, radios blasting and kids cheering then I anticipated- I was surprised by how strangers cheering me on really made me want to keep running and keep my goal and not walking during the race.
Before I knew it we were rounding our last corner and in the distance I spotted the FargoDome, where we would be running in for the big finish. As we got closer a woman on the sidelines shout "Only about a block and a half to go!" I picked up the pace! As we ran down the ramp to the finish I looked up to try to see the huge crowd gathered there. It was such an awesome feeling to run across the finish line. The volunteers handed us bottles of water and our participant medals; at the same time I was already thinking, "When can I do this again?" Soon Scott, Mindi and I met up, grabbed some of the free food and found my family who were waiting with big smiles and congratulations for us.

If you would have asked me a few years ago if I would be doing this I would have laughed. In high school my least favorite day of the year was running the mile. (My mom would put water and homemade bread in the mailbox for Mindi, Emily and I. We'd grab it as we ran by, our priorities were food not our run time.)
Last night Mindi and I commiserated about our sore legs and about how we would each do a search for our next run. Oh how things have changed!

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