I forgot to post this earlier in the week. I ran the Heart Mini Marathon on March 12. They offer a 15k and half marathon. I always seem to go with the longer distance if there is a choice. I thought about bailing on this one: it was going to be cold (20-22 degrees), we had a formal event to go to the night before and would be out late, and it we lost that precious hour of sleep because of daylight savings time. I have been battling Achilles issues since January also, so wasn't sure it would hold up for 13.1 hard miles.

Anyway, I finished in 1:26:56, which earned me 3rd overall female. I got close to 1st/2nd in the middle miles, but they had a faster gear that I didn't. Not even close. I was happy with how I did. I typically suck in really cold temps.

Completed the 50km New Forest running festival race on Saturday. Finish time of 6:07:23. Had a few issues with an my knee giving out on my after 20 miles. So the last 10 were a real slog!

In the gym today and I'm starting a proper training plan tomorrow!

Cowtown Marathon Race Report (Feb 26th)
(Sorry so long...this was my 1st marathon)

A 1st race for a particular distance is always exciting, and the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth was my 1st marathon. In Texas, you never know what kind of weather you’re going to get in February...it could be in the 70’s, or it could be cold with snow and ice. Fortunately, the weather was just about perfect with temps in the low 40s to start, warming up to the 50’s by the time I finished.

The one thing I really liked was that there was an indoor waiting area for the runners. This made it so much more comfortable. I had my throw away hoodie and gloves I bought at Goodwill, but I totally could have survived without them. It was nice to have them when I was warming up outside before the start of the race.

The elite runners were in Corral 1. I was in Corral 2. It moved very quickly once we got into the race area, and I didn’t even have time to snap a picture. I ran with the 3:45:00 pace group. The pace leader said he would start slow for the 1st 2 miles since it’s so crowded and after that, he’d make a push to increase the pace. He was great and would point out the best tangents to run.

It really was fun running in the town that’s been my home for the past 20 years. There was a lot of community support. My 1st big excitement was running through the Historic Stockyards in the 6th mile. This is a tourist area where all the country bars are. My husband and son would be in this area, and when I saw them, I got to shout out a big Happy Birthday to my kiddo. It was fun seeing them even though it was just a few seconds. My son had a soccer game so they had to see me early on in the race.

From there, we ran down Main Street, into the wind. I ran behind the tallest guy in our pace group. He sure helped block the wind. Me and another guy in our group were jockeying for the best position behind him. Lol! It was kind of funny because whenever we’d hit a windy area, the group would make a smaller ball of people, getting closer together to avoid the wind. Then, we’d spread out again when not faced with the wind.

At the end of Main St. lies the biggest hill of the race. I actually enjoyed it because the courthouse and the tall buildings of downtown were in view. Running through downtown was a lot of fun too. This is around the 10 mile mark, and I was holding onto the pace group strong.

After the half-way point, we got into the TCU area. There is a really pretty area in a neighborhood where there is a tunnel of trees. I loved it! Still holding on and gradually heading south and west, south and west. Somewhere around miles 16 to 17, I just started drifting back farther and farther. I just couldn't keep up at that pace anymore. I was still running though and knew 3:45:00 would be a stretch for me. Therefore, I didn't let it get me down. From that point forward, I was just running as fast as I could where it was fast without being too painful.

One thing I noticed was that I never felt out of breath. As I got farther and farther, my legs just got more and more tired. I was able to keep my pace under a 9 minute mile through mile 21. Starting at mile 22, I slipped to a 9 to 9:30 min/mi pace. On a good note, almost everyone I saw was walking. I was happy with the fact that I was still running.

I finally approached the last mile. My legs were burning, but they were still going. I checked my watch, and was pretty ecstatic to see that I had less than a mile to go. It looked like I should finish between 3:50:00 to 3:51:00. However, the unthinkable happened. I tripped on some railroad tracks and hit the pavement with the left side of my face. I shouted a cuss word that rhymes with duck. Someone came running to help. I'm just thinking how can this happen?? I have less than a mile to go. I've got to finish this race! I know my face is scraped up and bleeding. I stand up...I feel ok. I decide I'm not in too much pain. My knee hurts a bit but not bad. My face hurts a bit, but running won't make it hurt worse. I decide I'm going to go for it. I start walking to see how I do. So far, so good. Once I started walking, some medics caught up with me. They told me where to apply gauze, understood I wanted to finish and told me to see medic once I crossed the finish line.

From there, I ran it into the finish line. I felt a little weird having a bloody face, but I also felt a little like Xena the Warrior Princess running across the finish line of my 1st marathon in under 4 hours with a bloody face!! 3:54:06 was my official chip time!!

From there the medics got me and took me to the area for the injured. I did get to stop and get my medal en route! They checked me for a concussion, made sure my knee was ok, and bandaged me up. After being released, I went and got my food, finishers shirt, and told my story about 10 to 15 times.
I wasn't sure if I'd like running so long, but I really did enjoy the marathon, and I hope to run the Cowtown again next year but will do some high stepping over all railroad tracks!