“The Cowtown” now has a race for everyone – marathon, marathon relay, half marathon, 10K and 5K. So pick your poison! Well, several of us did, and here is my story….
Since
Cowtown was my first-ever race, I always participate one of the events, usually
the 10K. This time I thought I’d try
the marathon. I ran it last year as a
“training run”, and this time I thought I’d get more serious and try to break
three hours.
The
day dawned well – temperature at about 50 degrees, cloudy and calm. Our little group made our way to the
starting area and relaxed, hydrated and stretched in a nearby hotel. The relay team and half marathoners were
loose, confident and ready to go; I, though, was more than a bit nervous. This was due to the paucity of training I
had done for this marathon – only 6 weeks.
My goal was to break 3 hours but I felt a little shaky.
Soon
enough, it was time to head to the starting line. Sonia had the first leg of her relay, so she and I headed out to
warm up. The weather was favorable –
now it was time to perform. BANG went
the gun and off we went. I had the
pleasure of Sonia’s company for the first half mile, at which point she decided
to run her own pace. Smart girl! Mile 1
clicked by quickly due to the big downhill, then we settled into the long
journey. The Cowtown marathon course
has a steady diet of hills and over 50 turns, so settling into a steady pace is
challenging. At least, that’s my
excuse and I’m sticking to it!
My splits
in the first half were a little ahead of schedule, and this mistake started to
manifest itself by mile 17, as my pace started slipping. Then a competitor went by, and I had a
decision to make: let him go, or go get
him! I passed him shortly thereafter,
then three more at the 18-mile marker.
Thus inspired, I picked up the pace for the next five miles, which took
me to mile 23, at which point I hit the wall.
Decision time again! “Pain Is
Temporary, Pride Is Forever”, I said to myself. The next mile went by in a blur, although I do remember being
very irritated at some ducks who were in my way and almost got stepped on. Stress can produce some strange thoughts!
Anyway,
I hammered the last two miles and passed four more guys, including one in the last
quarter mile. Afterwards, my legs were
so sore I could barely walk, but I had achieved my goal – 2:58:49. The pain will fade soon, but the pride
remains. J