Center of the Nation Series Day 2 - North Dakota

Center of the Nation Series Half Marathon – North Dakota
September 15, 2015
2:22:05

Temp: 57+ at the start, warm (82*) and sunny at the end

What I wore: hat, tank top, Skirt Sports Gym Girl Ultra(this is an affiliate link),
PROCompression socks, and Altra Running One^2 (affiliate link).

This course was much better than the previous day’s course! It was all on pavement with rolling hills. We did an out and back with half marathoners needing to complete 6 loops. I ran the first two loops with a new friend from the previous night’s group dinner. Those two laps FLEW by and then I kept going when she needed to take a pit stop. I quickly hooked up with another runner and continued chatting. Next thing I knew, I was halfway done and feeling good. The wind had picked up, so there was one awful into the wind, uphill part of the course, but that meant that there was also one awesome wind at your back downhill. I had gone into this race planning to run easy and just barely be faster than the previous day, but I ended up cutting off 5 minutes from my time.

The good:

I had company during a big chunk of my time.
The temperature was a great until near the very end.
One of the marathon runners offered to be my “rabbit” and helped me push hard at the end.
An amazing massage at the end of the race, as well as a kiddy pool full of ice.

Norm had some AMAZING quesadillas at the aid station that I gobbled up after I finished running.
I ran into another Skirt Sports ambassador while on the course. Considering the size of these races, that was pretty darn cool.

The bad:

My stomach was still less than thrilled with me, so I only ate about 4 bites of rice crispy treat the whole race.

The ugly:

The course location had pit toilets and Mainly Marathons had brought in portapotties. The pit toilets were so stinky that just walking into the bathroom made me gag. The portapotties were like a breath of fresh air compared to the pits.

This was a great course and I had a ton of fun! Unfortunately, it was also quite a ways from town, so I got to shower in a camp ground shower and dry myself with paper towels. Oh, well, still better than no shower.