The Cowtown - Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Fort Worth, Texas
United States
The Cowtown
48F / 9C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 55m 16s
Overall Rank = 304/3277
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 32/365
Pre-race routine:

Up at 3:30, normal bkfst, and headed out to get to the pre-race church service to get some perspective and encouragement. Chatted w/ a young man who was a bundle of nerves about going for a BQ, and then met up with Jennifer (gal from my diabetes exercise/sports group). She was doing her first full, and we had a chance to visit while waiting in the long indoor bathroom line. Also talked with a gal from my old church...she was doing her first ultra. Headed out to check my bag, and was delighted to see Marcy and Steve!
Event warmup:

Did the 5K with Kerry on Saturday, which turned out to be a good way to stretch my legs in addition to being lots of fun sharing the joy of running with him. No warmup on Sunday other than a little stretching while waiting in the corral. Shucked my long underwear type shirt, and we were off.
Run
  • 1h 55m 16s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 48s  min/mile
Comments:

I was in the 3rd corral, one back of where I probably should have been, so was a little worried about getting jammed up like I did at Carlsbad. But the waves were timed well, and the streets were wide, so no problem. Knew I was starting a little fast, but it was down hill, so decided it was OK to bank some time there. Felt really smooth and strong in the first 10K, which was a PR over my stand alone 10K. HR was in it's normal range and steady. Thanked God for the picture perfect weather and the ability to run healthy, and started to really believe it could be a PR day for me.

Loved arriving in the stockyards, complete with the smell of cow poop. Not so keen on the uneven brick streets, so really watched my step to preserve the ankle. A little uphill twisty turn after than and then on to the long Main Street section heading back to downtown. Love the view of downtown from there. Chatted briefly with a gal who saw my pump and then pointed to hers. Still feeling pretty even, and knew I had about 5 minutes in the bank for goal #1 of staying under 2 hours. So the push to hang in for a PR was definitely on.

Loved the energy downtown, not so much the wind, but it wasn't too bad. Tried to pick it up in the last few miles, but was pretty tired and knew I had my PR in the bag. So just held as steady as I could. Arrived at the finished feeling spent and happy!

Got my 4th in the series of 5 Cowtown half finisher medals, wooohoo! Also earned my first Cowtown challenge medal since I did the 5K with Kerry on Saturday.
I didn't rely on the pacers this time, and am pleased with having put forth a very even effort on my own. I also liked the runpix stat that in the last 2 miles I passed 65 people, and was only passed by 25.

Nutrition: 1 shot block waiting to start, 1 at about mile 4, and a couple sips of powerade at the later water stops.

What would you do differently?:

Not much. I felt really solid on pacing and effort. Blood sugar shot up pre-race as usual, and I bolused for 1/2, but still wound up high in the end. Proabaly didn't need the 2 shot blocks. CGM was nicely in sync and showing me where I was, but I just wanted a little insurance. Didn't have to lose time testing in the race, and no obvious signs that being high impacted performance, so I'll take it.
Post race
Warm down:

Picked up food bag, and had some awesome chicken noodle soup...the best post race thing ever. Picked up finisher shirt, and challenge medal. Had a hard time getting back to the bag drop, but some volunteers let me through a side hallway so I didn't have to walk all the way around the bldg again. Too cold and tired to hang out much, so headed on home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing really. I was healthy, and had a good round of training for this race. Hope to find more speed and perhaps go longer as I continue to train consistently. But for this day, it was as good as it gets.

Event comments:

Beautiful day, great course, and awesome volunteers! Can't ask for more than that.




Last updated: 2011-07-15 12:00 AM
Running
01:55:16 | 13.1 miles | 08m 48s  min/mile
Age Group: 32/365
Overall: 304/3277
Performance: Good
1st 10K = 53:05, 11 mi = 1:36:52 Per Garmin -- Overall 8:38/mile 176 avg HR and 186 max HR Laps: 1 8:10 165/186, 2 8:28 176/182, 3 8:29 178/181, 4 8:21 178/182, 5 8:37 177/182, 6 8:42 176/180, 7 8:31 177/181, 8 8:38 177/180, 9 9:03 178/180, 10 8:41 177/182, 11 9:03 176/180, 12 8:44 176/180, 13 8:39 178/181, last 0.37 8:37 180/182
Course: 1st part of the course was fast, with some nice downhill. Mid point in the stockyards area, long stretch on main street heading back to downtown with a nice view of the upcoming mile 9/10 hill. A few hills after that and back to Will Rogers. Garmin measured 13.37.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5