The Cowtown - Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Fort Worth, Texas
United States
The Cowtown
35F / 2C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 1h 51m 34s
Overall Rank = 754/3678
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 95/262
Pre-race routine:

Woke up caught a quick shower and had some oatmeal. Ate a power-bar on the way to Fort Worth. It took us about 45 minutes to get there. We got to the remote parking and stepped out of the car to catch the shuttle bus..... It was so cold and windy that the thought crossed my mind to get back in the car and go home. But we thought better of it and stayed.
Event warmup:

No warm up. There was a HUGE crowd at the start and it was mixed with spectators and racers and people were packed in like sardines. Nobody would move. I happened to be right by the start line and someone opened the gate and let me in. All of a sudden I was at the very front, I was one of the first to hit the timing mat. :)
Run
  • 1h 51m 34s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 31s  min/mile
Comments:

For the first 2 miles I decided to get behind the biggest people I could find and just run behind them/draft them. By the time we turned out of the wind my face was frozen. The temp seemed alot better after we turned until we hit the last 2 or 3 miles. It got pretty cold and windy again. During the middle of the run I unzipped my windbreaker but I never felt like I was overdressed. I used my fuelbelt for the first time in a race and I must say that I liked having my own fuel/drink available anytime I wanted it. It also helped avoid the crazy water stops. I never have been good at driking out of those tiny cups while running. Overall I felt good about my run. I probably could have pushed harder but I went into the run thinking of finishing around 2:10. So I was pleased with my time, especially with the conditions.
What would you do differently?:

Run faster, and train more.
Post race
Warm down:

After hitting the finish line I got some water and went straight to the car to change clothes. After I changed we walked the expo for 10 minutes and then went to get some food. I might have missed it but the only food I saw was some wholly guacamole..?.?.?

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Weather conditions & training.

Event comments:

The start was not very organized. There were so many people in the streets that alot of runners could not get to the start. I almost fell victim to this but got lucky. I would recommend for next year that you get to the start line early to avoid any problems.




Last updated: 2009-01-02 12:00 AM
Running
01:51:34 | 13.1 miles | 08m 31s  min/mile
Age Group: 95/262
Overall: 754/3678
Performance: Good
Course: The first 2 miles were absolutely brutal. We ran right into the wind. The course was not very scenic. There were no huge hills but alot of long steady uphill climbs.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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] 3