The Cowtown Ultra Marathon - RunUltra Marathon


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Fort Worth, Texas
United States
The Cowtown
69F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 26m 53s
Overall Rank = 308/420
Age Group = M 30- 34
Age Group Rank = 30/34
Pre-race routine:

We decided to stay in a hotel 1.5miles down the road to avoid the traffic in the morning.
Got up at 5am had two slices of bread with Nutella and a cup of coffee.
Took a shower got dressed and left the hotel.
Parked at the race and went into the Center to stay warm and use the restroom. I always have to go number 2 before a race (nerves?).
Event warmup:

None, since my wife and I have the pact that for a new distance we train and race together we had no need to warm-up beyond our 50k race.
Run
  • 6h 26m 53s
  • 31.07 miles
  • 12m 27s  min/mile
Comments:

My right hip started to bother me early in the run. Which was very dissapointing since I had previously run 27miles without any pain (with exactly the same shoes, socks, pants, etc..).
On top of that my right foot in the front ankle area (the muscle used to lift your toes/foot up from the ground in the front) was getting tired/ hurting.
Erin had some issues too. At mile 25 we had to mostly go to walking.
Luckily we had made good time and and at this point were in no dnager of not finsihing in time.
Actually we had been running on track to finish sub 6hr most of the time.
In the later part (past mile 28) my leg hurt so much that even walking hurt and was only a fast limping.
Some of the issue might have been that I went at Erin's pace which is not my natural stride.
On top of that my bladder was out of control. I had to pee at mile 4, 8, 14. Everytime I stood in line for 4minutes, costing me and overall of 12minutes. Everytime my urin was clear and plenty. So it must have been due to either too much liquid the day before, or that I took water at every 1.5mile station (though everytime was just one sip).
Afterwards I took water and gatorade (and beer) ad libitum which seemed to work well.
Also fueling every 5.5 miles with my Go Roctane worked out perfectly.
What would you do differently?:

The day before the race we run a 5k, I might have gone a bit too hard in the 5k with running around people and thereby overusing my ankle (had some ankle pain later that day).
Afterwards at home we relaxed and maybe relaxed too much as dinner happened later than I would like too.
Also I did not roll or stretch during the 2 weeks of taper, as I thought to leave the legs alone during taper was the way to go. I guess next time I should roll and stretch before taper and then plan the day before a big race accordingly.
Post race
Warm down:

Walking through the food-grab to get finsiher shirt and cowtown challenge medal.
Sat down to eat a ice cream (they give you a small blue bell) and then headed to Pappas Burger as it was 2:30 by now (LunchTime) and protein was a good way to go, especially with sweet potatoe fries!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Pain in my right ankle, hip/leg (ITBAND?)
Overactive bladder and long potty wait lines.

Event comments:

This was my nd cowtown.
Last year I did the half and loved it.
The spectators are fantastic! They put up tables and offered fruit, water and beer.




Last updated: 2013-02-24 12:00 AM
Running
06:26:53 | 31.07 miles | 12m 27s  min/mile
Age Group: 30/34
Overall: 3008/420
Performance: Below average
Course: The course had some Texas hills, but overall not too hilly. At the start in the morning temps where in the low 40's and it was quite cold. Over teh course of teh day/run it warmed up and we finished at temps in the high 60's.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %?
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
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] 4