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The Cowtown Marathon - RunMarathon


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Ft Worth, Texas
United States
The Cowtown
Total Time = 4h 19m 55s
Overall Rank = 307/692
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 12/36
Pre-race routine:

I went out to dinner with some BT folks the night before. It was really great putting names with faces. I ate way too much for dinner though! By the time I got to bed my tummy was hurting. After not sleeping great, I woke up around 5:30. I got dressed, ate a waffle, drank some water and gatorade and waited for Texmom to pick me up at 6:30am to head downtown.
Event warmup:

We got downtown without any problems. We were able to find a great parking spot. We were meeting up with some friends, but never found them. I had a drop bag I needed to check in so I went and stood in a very long line. Then I needed to use the potty and stood in another very long line. While waiting for my turn, I heard someone say "There goes the 10K" What??? That means the marathon had started too! Needless to say, I never really got a warm up like I'd planned!
Run
  • 4h 19m 55s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 55s  min/mile
Comments:

By the time I found Texmom, most runners had taken off. My chip time was about 6 minutes behind the gun time. We found the start mat and began the race. We started off really fast because everyone was gone! People were running in the opposite direction looking for the start mat...a little crazy! We finally slowed down to an easy pace which was a bit slower than I wanted to go. After about the first 1 1/2 miles, I needed to pick my pace up if I was going to finish in my goal range. So I said my goodbyes to Texmom, dblack and Ben. I felt great on the run. Around mile 3, I saw my husband on the side of the road yelling for me. It was great to see him so early on...Somewhere around mile 6, I accidently turned off my garmin. When I passed mile 7, I thought, "Wow, Cowtown is WAY OFF on the mile markers." Then I realized it was me! I figured my garmin was stopped for about 5 minutes or so. I had to gage my run by pace to finish within my goal. I kept a very steady pace throughout the run. Mile 18, my knees began to ache. I never hit a wall or thought "How much longer?" It was just my knees. I saw 2 of my kids, my brother and parents at mile 20. It was good to get a little encouragement. Then I saw my husband at mile 22. (he was the time keeper) By mile 24, I was in pain. The roads were so uneven and bumpy. I think running on an uneven surface really played a role with my knees hurting. I was still on target to finish my goal though. At mile 25, I said, suck it up and run girl! So, I put the knee pain out of my mind and finished strong. It was a great race.
What would you do differently?:

I think I planned well. The beginning of the race was a little frantic trying to figure out how, why we missed the gun. All in all, I would have done the same thing. Also, the weather was perfect! A little chilly starting out, but it warmed up just enough to make for a great run.

I actually finished the race with 5 seconds to spare...my goal was between 4:15 and 4:20...my chip time was 4:19:55!!! WooHoo!
Post race
Warm down:

I went into the food tent to get some goodies and soup. I received my long sleeved finisher's shirt...which is really nice...then found my daughter and brother. I made my way back to the finish line to cheer on Texmom. I didn't really stretch as well as I should have, but I wasn't hurting. I did ice my knees when I got home. It helped.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I think I did the best I could. I do know that I want to pay more attention to the way I train for races...especially trying to do more sprints, tempo runs, etc. I want to increase my pace time for the next marathon.

Event comments:

Although the start was so disorganized and many runners were still getting there chips and packets, the race was good. I can't imagine trying to pull off such a large event. I saw several 10K runners on the marathon course. The 10K started at the same time as the 1/2, marathon and ultra, but went out in the opposite direction. I think first time runners just got confused on where to start.

I do love this event and plan on running the marathon again next year. It's a great course!






Last updated: 2008-02-18 12:00 AM
Running
04:19:55 | 26.2 miles | 09m 55s  min/mile
Age Group: 12/36
Overall: 307/692
Performance: Good
Course: downtown, city streets, tree-lined neighborhoods, parks, a few hills...
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
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

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2008-02-24 2:47 PM

Regular
213
100100
Fort Worth, Texas
Subject: The Cowtown Marathon


2008-02-25 4:23 PM
in reply to: #1232199

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Expert
853
5001001001002525
Fort Worth, Texas
Subject: RE: The Cowtown Marathon
You did AWESOME! I want to be like you when I grow up! Seriously, your planning has helped me realize that I have to have a bit more thought into all this running stuff. I, too, want to work on speeding up my pace and doing intervals and speed work. I know Shawna goes to the TCU track and does that so maybe we can tag along. I am really proud of your time, and to think it was just a year and a half ago that I talked you into doing the Cowtown half. I still remember one of those first runs where we met at the track at Arlington Heights and we all could barely do a lap without stopping!
2008-02-26 7:05 AM
in reply to: #1232199

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Elite
2998
2000500100100100100252525
Fishers, Indiana
Subject: RE: The Cowtown Marathon
Great run and way to meet the goal with time to spare! What a crazy start....hopefully the fix that for next year, but it didn't seem to phase you! Nice RR and great job!
2008-02-27 2:26 AM
in reply to: #1232199

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Plano, Tx
Subject: RE: The Cowtown Marathon

Way to meet that goal!!
it was awesome meeting you the night before!

and I totalllly know what you mean about the uneven roads :- /

2008-02-27 9:52 PM
in reply to: #1232199

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Master
1292
1000100100252525
McKinney, TX
Subject: RE: The Cowtown Marathon
Great job. That was a tough course and you bested it.
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