Cowtown Half: The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

I have had some interesting adventures in Cowtown over the seven times that I've run the half marathon: 25 mph wind and freezing temperatures, hip pain, the worst traffic jam ever during which I kicked Mr K out of the car while we were still on the freeway, and a few years of warm temperatures and high humidity.  All that being said, this one might have been the most interesting one to date.  On Friday morning the snow started coming down and it didn't stop until the late afternoon.  The Cowtown folks were quick to announce that Saturday's 5K and 10K races would be cancelled.  The temperatures were supposed to get into the 40s on Saturday and I assumed that the half marathon, marathon, and ultra would be no problem.  However, the forecast was wrong and temperatures hovered around freezing all day on Saturday.  We received word on Saturday evening that the marathon and ultra were cancelled, but everyone was welcome to run the half marathon.  I can't imagine how devastating this decision must have been for the Cowtown staff and I'm so grateful that they still gave us the chance to run the half marathon.  I know that some extra hours were put in on Saturday night to insure that we had a safe course on Sunday morning.

Special race, special shirt (Pic: Stude)

I was especially looking forward to this race as it was my 50th half marathon.  Mr K made a special race shirt for me and I was looking forward to wearing it with lots of pride. We spent the night at Marci and Fred's in Fort Worth and arrived super early to the race.  There was a good crowd for the half marathon and we saw lots of friendly faces before and after the race.  It was a cold as we waited for the race to start and I was glad to finally get moving.  I wasn't sure what the day would hold and I decided to cover up my watch and just run.  Mr K slipped away during the first couple of miles and went on to have a super strong race.

Happy To Be Moving! (Pic: Jesse)

I've never raced with snow on the ground before and it was pretty surreal to pass through the park where we run El Scorcho each July.  I have never seen it that way and I thought about all of the sweat I have spent in that park. What a sight!  The spectators were few in number but their spirits were super high.  No doubt they had the hardest job as standing still in the freezing temperatures is way colder than running in freezing temperatures.  I made an effort to thank all of the police officers along the way as they were standing out in the cold to keep all of us safe.

Post Race w Andy, John, Mama C, Mr K, Stude, & Mark O (Pic: Andy)

Every year I'm reminded of how much I love the Cowtown Half course.  They really do a great job showcasing the best parts of Fort Worth.  Running down the cobble streets of the historic Stockyards is a highlight of my running year.  By mile 5 I knew by now that I was not on pace for any records and I tried to enjoy the experience.  I got lots of great comments on my special "50th Half" shirt - sure kept a smile on my face.  Imagine my surprise when I heard a train whistle just before the famous hill at mile 9.  A quick glance to my left and I saw that a train would be crossing the race course very soon!  I sprinted over the tracks before the arms came down and in plenty of time to beat the train.  Yet another thing I have never seen in all of my 50 half marathons!  I was glad that I made it over the tracks in time because I could not imagine standing still to wait for the train to cross.  Too cold to stop moving!

Mr K rocks some post race hair (Pic: Stude)

After climbing the Main Street hill at mile 9 the course winds around through downtown Fort Worth - another favorite of mine.  I felt a little bit sad when we passed mile 10 as that is where the marathon would have split off from the half.  I can't imagine how I would feel if my marathon was cancelled.  I was starting to feel tired and ready to be done by this part and focused making the most of the downhill near mile 11.  I never really felt cold during the race, except during the long stretch of the Lancaster Avenue bridge.  While I love this course, the last mile is a tough one mentally.  The buildings around the finish line are visible from here, but you still have to run around a long block in order to get to the finish line.  My legs felt so heavy and dead and I felt like I was crawling by this point.  The finish line is the best sight!

While it was far from my strongest race, I was happy to see the consistency in my splits especially considering that I ran this one totally by feel: 5K - 9:15, 10K - 9:15, 15K - 9:17, 20K - 9:19, finish - 9:16 for a final time of 2:01:30.

Smiles all around! (Pic: Mama C)

Post race brought dry clothes, plenty of friends, the most delicious burger ever, and some terrific live music.  We were all thankful for the opportunity to run and be together on such a cold and dreary day.  Running fifty half marathons has given me many things: medals, race shirts, PRs, strong days, struggle days, and many adventures....but the post race feeling of satisfaction and sharing it all with Mr K and my friends is what will keep me coming back for fifty more.

Happy Blogger-Versary!!

Can you believe that it has been a year already? Well, almost a year anyway. This blog was born during the wee hours of the morning on February 11, 2010. That date stands out in my memory because it is my dad's birthday and it was also the day that Dallas, Texas got 12 1/2 inches of snow. I sat at home that day, drank coffee, and watch fat flakes fall, and fall, and fall....all morning, afternoon, and into the night. I had been thinking of starting a blog about running, and being stuck at home in the snow provided the perfect opportunity. I wasn't sure who would read the blog, but it seemed like a good place to tell about my adventures, frustrations, joys, and friendships all found through running. It has turned into a great accountability tool and has lead me to even more friendships. I want to take this opportunity to THANK YOU for reading. I have thoroughly enjoyed the year of writing and look forward to more stories and plans shared here. I expect 2011 to be even better than 2010.

I find myself here on another weather day, make that number 5 out of 8 school days! Last week was pretty nice and I am surprised that I didn't experience any major bouts of cabin fever. I am thinking that this was a great sign that I needed to slow down a little bit and rest. I was really hoping that we had left those days behind us with last week, but today brought more snow and ice. Are we in North Texas or North Dakota? The winds are cranking and the wind chill is currently -1. I have much to do at work, but am a little bit glad that I don't have to travel between schools on a day that is so cold. Tonight promises a record low temperature of 12 and the weather reports all say that this is one of the coldest stretches ever! I am just glad that these instances are rare and that it is supposed to be in the 60s again next week. Texas weather--always interesting.



Friday was the best day of last week when we woke up to 6 inches of snow on the ground! That much snow is a rare thing here in Dallas and I still find myself acting like a kid when we get that much snow on the ground. I took some time to walk around the neighborhood (much like I talked about in the 2nd entry of this blog last year) and enjoy the scenes. I am always amazed at how quiet snow makes the world--it is almost like a mute button. Our neighborhood park was filled with kids snowboarding and sledding down the very small incline. Despite all of the interesting weather, the best moment of the week had to be on Friday night when Erik busted me out of this house and took me to Angelina's for chips and salsa, tortillas, and enchiladas! Tex Mex is a serious addiction around here!


There was no running here!!

I am thankful for a strong month of running in January. I participated in 4 races: 2 half marathons, a 10K, and a 15K. I set a new 10K PR and only missed my 15K PR by 11 seconds. I also recorded my longest run to date--15.5 miles and it was my highest mileage month ever--104.2 miles. I attribute part of the higher mileage to my new Garmin GPS watch as I found that some of my usual routes were up to .25 miles longer than I thought they were. February has started out really slow with only approximately 15 miles run to date, but it will pick up later with the Cowtown Half Marathon at the end of the month. Early March will also be busy because I am participating in the Texas Independence Relay. March 4-6...200 miles, 40 relay legs, 12 girl team members, 2 vans, LOTS of fun....you won't want to miss this!



In other news...the great snowday of 2010 gave me the opportunity to start this blog and now the great weather events of 2011 have given me the opportunity to start Twittering. My Twitter name is Rnrgrltx I must admit that it is all Greek to me right now with all of the @ and # and re-tweets and "following", etc. I am feeling a bit old, but know that I will be up to speed soon. Feel free to send me any tips that you might have and let me know your Twitter name so that I can follow you.

I hope that you are warm today!

Snow Day Part 2

I am still amazed at the massive amounts of snow we got yesterday! I have heard 12.5 inches, officially. It is so amazingly perfect too--soft wet snow, no sleet or ice, and most importantly--no wind! Read this blog long enough, and you will learn that the wind is my enemy. This was a magical two days and I am not sure that we will ever see it again. Even cooler, yesterday was my Dad's 60th birthday. What a cool birthday! He has had a good run of holidays this time-a white Christmas and a white birthday too.

We are on our second snow day in a row and today I was not screaming about wanting to go to school. I stayed up late, slept in, and took life at an easy pace. This has suddenly turned into a five day weekend as we have Monday off for President's Day. Perfect timing for a break, the students needed it and so did the staff. Just a good chance for everyone to say "Ahh..." and enjoy a little bit of magic.

Today Runner Girl took it a little bit slower...a more appropriate title would be "Strolling Girl." I put on Erik's boots (probably made for fishing), a coat, a warm hat, grabbed my camera, and hit the streets. The neighborhood was stunningly beautiful today. I saw so many families out building snowmen and having snowball fights and I just wandered...meandered really...for almost an hour. It didn't feel cold at all, just calm--and with the quiet that only snow can bring. I love the quiet and peace that snow brings. I was trying to take it all in because I know that this is something I might not see again.

Next on the running schedule: The Austin Half Marathon on Valentine's Day. I am really excited about this one, it is the 1st one that we have traveled for. Before this weekend the farthest that we had gone for a race would be Ft Worth. A big reason that I wanted to get up to the half marathon distance was so that we could travel and really see different cities. Goals for this race....I would like to continue my streak of sub 2 hour finishes (I am at 2 in a row now, almost 3 with one coming in at 2:00:26). I just ran a half 2 weeks ago and I have another coming up in 2 weeks, so it will be interesting to see how I do. Most importantly, I want to have a good time and see Austin from a whole new angle.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Snow Day Part 1

Wow! So here I am with a brand new blog. This is pretty cool! I had been considering starting a blog for a while, just to have another way to document what is going on in my quickly passing life. I also wanted another way to work through all my thoughts and issues with running. This blog will be a great way to organize and share my thoughts. It will also keep me honest with my training.

Today was a pretty special day, in terms of weather. When I awoke at 6:00 the yard was already blanketed in beautiful, white snow. Soon after I awoke I got the word that school had been cancelled for the day. I still don't really understand why as the roads were perfectly clear today, but who am I to question the wisdom of the school administrators. Upon hearing the news, I stook in the kitchen and yelled "but I want to go to schhhoooollll!". (Yep, I was always THAT kid growing up too). I am happy now that there was no school because I was able to sit on my sofa and watch some fat snowflakes fall amd drink coffee. It was pretty amazing. Turns out, it is the most snowfall ever recorded in one day in Dallas--somewhere around 10 inches officially!

I also appreciate this weather because it forced me to take a rest day. I really needed one, I could tell because my bones were starting to feel tired. I am terrible at resting, however, and might not have done it if left to my own devices. I went to a pilates class today, but nothing high impact or intense. I can tell that I already feel more rested. School is cancelled for tomorrow too, so it looks like I will be good and rested for Sunday's half marathon. The only bad thing is that my massage therapy appointment was cancelled due to the weather. Dang, I could have used it today.

So next up--the Austin Half Marathon! It is on Valentine's Day and Erik and I consider it our gift to each other.