The End of a Five Year Journey: The Cowtown Half

The guiding minds behind the Cowtown Marathon, Ultra Marathon, and Half Marathon were creative geniuses when they came up with the five year medal series.  For the years 2009-2013, each race medal is a triangle shaped piece--a point of a star.  Complete a race all five years and you have earned all the pieces of a full star.  The star is quite stunning and the race officials certainly spared no detail on the medal design.  Each medal alone is beautiful and certainly something one would be proud of, but the detail really shines when they are all together. 

It just so happens that I started running in 2008 so I was just "in time" to start the medal series in February 2009.  That was my third half marathon and I was not entirely sure that I would finish that day.  I was fighting with some hip pain and it seemed to peak at that race.  I proudly accepted my medal that day and knew that I would be back for four more years to complete my star.  Sometimes we forget how far we have come, and this occasion provided the perfect opportunity to look back.  That 2009 race was my 3rd half marathon and I finished it in 2:17, fast forward to 2013 and it is my 39th half marathon and I finished in a course record of 1:55:13.  There are plenty of stories in those middle years too, Mr K ran the marathon in the 3 middle years--you know that those always come with a good story or two.

I really love Cowtown weekend, it is a great chance to spend time with our friends who live on the west side of the vast Metroplex.  Marci and her husband Fred were nice enough to put us up Saturday night so that we didn't have to get up quite as early to make the 7:00 race start.  We enjoyed a great carb-filled dinner with a table full of frunners before heading off to an early bedtime.  I had some big goals for the race and needed all the sleep I could get!

Drum and I share a traditional A-Frame Hug

We have had some truly horrendous running weather at times (see Dallas Marathon for a recent memory), but the race weather gods were very giving for the Cowtown.  There isn't anything much more perfect for running than 36 degrees and no wind with beautiful sunshine.  It did get a little bit warm for the marathoners and ultra runners, but was perfect for 13.1 miles.  An super early arrival allowed us to beat the traffic and meet up with everyone in our group.  I had planned to meet up with Byron as he was pacing some others to a time that was near my PR and I had also talked about running with Gretchen, but alas I could not find any of them in the busy start corral.  This was not my plan, but I race alone 99% of the time, so I wasn't worried.  I set out alone and focused on setting a nice, fairly conservative pace for myself.

Cowtown Half is one of the more difficult half marathons in the area and I was familiar with the terrain as it was the third year they had used this course.  The first substantial hill comes between miles four and five and I could hear some guys talking about what a huge hill it was.  I am guessing it was their first time, because everyone knows that the REAL hill takes almost the entire mile from 9-10.  Sometime around mile 6 I heard a familiar voice behind me and was thrilled to see Felix.  I got a hug-on-the-run and watched him disappear into the distance.  He was looking so strong and, turns out, just barely missed a PR!  Paces splits so far: 8:34, 8:37, 8:48, 8:36, 9:00, and 8:39.

I was feeling good, knowing that I was running the best race that I had to give on that day.  Cowtown has become my favorite "big" local half marathon and miles 6.5-10.5 is a big reason why.  The course takes you through some of the best that Fort Worth has to offer--down Exchange Street through the famous Stockyards, then up the dreaded Main Street Bridge with the great view of the courthouse, then downtown and by Sundance Square.  I love it when a city puts its best scenes on display for race day!  The Main Street Bridge is a real doozy, but I have some secret weapons to help me deal with it.  One is counting the light posts as I pass them (there are 9 of them), the goal is just to get to the next post.  The other secret weapon is my favorite part of the whole race---a whole gang of frunners clad in visible-from-space FIGJAM shirts.  It is amazing how powerful it is, knowing that they would be at the top of that monster climb. 

 

The Wild West Y'all--Scene at the Stockyards





That hill takes alot out of any runner and I tried to use the downtown section as a recovery period as I knew that there was one more substatial hill to go before the downhill-ish finish.  I was starting to feel that it was taking more effort to hold the pace, but by now there were just 3 miles to go.  I tried to push them tempo a little bit faster with each mile, but I'm not sure that my efforts were working.  This is the part of the race that I wish I could "practice" during training--the part at the end where you are tired but have to keep on keeping on.

I finally made it back to the Will Rodgers Center grounds and was trying to gather my mental fortitude for a strong finish.  I had about a quarter mile to go when I spotted Byron waiting on the corner.  He jumped in just in front of me and started hollering at me in Cajun--I'm not sure what he was saying--I just knew that I was trying like heck to keep up with him.  I was fairly certain that I might die if I didn't reach the finish line soon!  Serious thanks go to Byron--that little burst at the end might have made the difference in the course record.  Splits for miles 7-13 (8:32, 8:57, 8:48, 9:17, 8:33, 8:30, 8:32, 7:24--last quarter mile).

Post Race with Felix

I was somewhat disappointed, at first, but hindsight has helped me put things into perspective.  Cowtown is a tough race and I ran it the best that I could on that day.  What else could I expect from myself? 

After the race I found Mr K and Felix and we gathered our finisher's shirts (it is pink!) and some recovery snacks and visited while we waited for the rest of our crew.  Celebratory burgers and beers were enjoyed by all on the patio Magnolia Motor Lounge--it was great to thank our cheerleaders in person for helping to get everyone up that big ole hill.

Mama C and Marci--these girls ROCK!

And just like that, five years of racing Cowtown have gone by.  When I got that first medal in 2009 I just hoped that I was still running in 2013.  I had no idea that not only would I still be running, I would be running faster, and (even better) be surrounded by an incredible group of peers that support me every step of the way.  I can't help but to wonder what the next five years will bring.

Best Photobomb Evah....Seriously, we don't know that guy....

 

(Thanks ALWAYS to Mama C for the pictures!!)