Cowtown 2008

Cowtown Marathon 2008!! Dowtown Ft Worth, Texas. Febuary....COLD!!!! It was right around freezing when we started this race. I decided to try my hand, ok my legs, at the half marathon. Deb was doing the 10K with Hollee. Several of my SORT guys were running the 5K. Did I mention it was right around freezing when we started??? This is a huge event in Ft Worth. You have a 5K, 10K, half marathon, full marathon, and the ultramarathon. So, there were three different starting points. I had to leave Deb in Hollee's care so I could make it over to my starting point. You know, you stretch, you move around, you stretch some more but, you can't really get warm until they fire that gun and get you all started. At the starting line, you could look either way and see nothing but runners. And right in the middle of it all, you see the guy holding the American flag, and he is going to run his entire race carrying it. Now that gets you motivated!!! They fired the gun and we were off. It seemed to take forever to finally hit the starting line. Once across, I jockied for position. Making my way around some of the slower runners and walkers, not to mention the transit bus that got caught in the middle of all the runners, I settled into a nice pace. This course takes you through some of the most interesting areas. And there were people coming out of their houses, in all classes of neighborhoods, just to cheer you on. There were a ton of local law enforcement helping control traffic. High fived one of them around mile 9. Told him thanks for stopping the cars so I didn't get run over. Drank water for the most part, grabbed a gatorade around mile 10. That was a mistake. Started cramping pretty bad. Lesson learned. Carry my own electrolytes on these runs and grab water at the aid stations. There were quite a few hills on this run. More than I expected. The last one was coupled with some high winds that almost brought you to a stand still. But, pushing through it, made a nice sprint to the finish line. Deb met me there with a nice hug and a kiss. She and Hollee completed their first 10K together and did great in doing so. Met up with the rest of the team at the beer truck. Oh, didn't I mention this one was sponsored by Miller Lite as well. FREE BEER!!! Gotta replace those carbs and calories I burnt off. My finish time for my first half marathon was 1hr 42mins. This was a great motivational run for me and has only inspired me to push my race distance to the next level. I think I have been bitten by the running bug.