What a great experience this morning! In retrospect, I think I turned a 10k run into a marathon of a story, but here goes...........
The Executive Summary:
Saw the start of the Cowtown Marathon. Ran the 10k. Watched thousands of elementary kids run 5k relays with parents and teachers. Watched the first few marathoners cross the finish line. Everyone had a great time. It was humbling, inspiring, and gratifying all at once.
BTW the fastest marathon time was by a 41 year young man. The starting "gun" is a rifle fired by the sheriff. No joke! Is this the case in all areas, or just in Texas?
The Drama:
In the 10k, one lady had a sign on her back to let us all know that this was her 15th consecutive Cowtown 10k. There were several families running together (priceless). One guy traversed the course in his wheelchair. He had no legs. Some of the 10k finishers perservered for over 2 hours. There were some real stories of life, courage, and perserverence out there. The volunteers were incredible.
The Setting:
For those of you familiar with the "Cowtown", they changed all the courses to begin and end in downtown Fort Worth. With staggered start times, there was always something going on. The town was alive ~13,000 runners plus volunteers and spectators. It was a great way to showcase the "Sundance Square" entertainment district. Brick streets, shops, hotels, restaurants, bars, Bass (orchestra) Hall. Great destination spot!
The Personal Challenge:
I had been a bit disallusioned all week when I found that my training runs were shorter than I thought. I discovered that my car's odometer is a little "off" ~8-10%. It meant that my goal of a 9 minute pace was not realistic. Ouch! A bit humbling. Glad I found out before the run. I would have burned out.
So I had to adjust my goal (and pace). I considered a 10 minute pace, but didn't think that would be challenging enough. I "split the difference" and simply tried to finish in twice the time of December's 5k - 29 minutes. Twice the distance. Twice the time. Same pace. Worthy goal. 58 minutes. I'd be happy with 60.
The 10k Race:
I got pretty excited before the start standing there among 3000 runners. Temp ~45F and with occassional wind, some gusts. I positioned myself somewhere near the middle of the pack. People were very friendly, wishing each other well, and reminding each other to have fun.
The course is a little cruel in that the first half is mostly down hill, only to have to get back up the hill later. I was glad that I scoped it out ahead of time. My split times at 1 and 3 miles were on target. I knew that the uphill miles 5 and 6 would be tough to keep up the pace. Frankly, my training was paying off. I was able to stay strong where others were faltering, and some were passing me as well.
As I hit the brick streets indicating re-entrance to the Sundance Square area, I got a bit weepy realizing that a goal was in sight. I thanked God for the new life that I have. Thankful that an overweight, out of shape, 49 year old "valver" could begin again ...... and dream again.
As I made the final turn with a few blocks to go, I felt a burst of energy seeing the finish line and a band of well-wishers. I was spent at the finish line, so I figure I gave it my all. Cannot ask for anything more. What a feeling!
The Results:
Official times get posted Monday. We didn't use chip timers. We had a bar-code on our bib instead. That meant that everyone's official time will be the "gun time". After subracting the 40 seconds it took to get to the start line, I finished with an "unofficial chip time" of about 58:15, well within my "happy zone", and also somewhere in the middle of the field. Not too shabby!
Epilogue:
At the last minute I realized that I qualified as a "big person" 200+ lbs, So I changed my registration before the run. Some venues refer to that classification as "Clydesdales". I'm guessing that Miller (a Cowtown sponsor) would object to a running commerical for Budweiser. It is my intent that this will be the last time I am able to join that classification. In the meantime, I'm kinda curious to see how my time compares with the others in the weight class.
This is not my last run! My dream is to "Run the Rock", the Dallas White Rock Marathon in December. It is far enough away that I have plenty of time to train without cutting corners.
The Executive Summary:
Saw the start of the Cowtown Marathon. Ran the 10k. Watched thousands of elementary kids run 5k relays with parents and teachers. Watched the first few marathoners cross the finish line. Everyone had a great time. It was humbling, inspiring, and gratifying all at once.
BTW the fastest marathon time was by a 41 year young man. The starting "gun" is a rifle fired by the sheriff. No joke! Is this the case in all areas, or just in Texas?
The Drama:
In the 10k, one lady had a sign on her back to let us all know that this was her 15th consecutive Cowtown 10k. There were several families running together (priceless). One guy traversed the course in his wheelchair. He had no legs. Some of the 10k finishers perservered for over 2 hours. There were some real stories of life, courage, and perserverence out there. The volunteers were incredible.
The Setting:
For those of you familiar with the "Cowtown", they changed all the courses to begin and end in downtown Fort Worth. With staggered start times, there was always something going on. The town was alive ~13,000 runners plus volunteers and spectators. It was a great way to showcase the "Sundance Square" entertainment district. Brick streets, shops, hotels, restaurants, bars, Bass (orchestra) Hall. Great destination spot!
The Personal Challenge:
I had been a bit disallusioned all week when I found that my training runs were shorter than I thought. I discovered that my car's odometer is a little "off" ~8-10%. It meant that my goal of a 9 minute pace was not realistic. Ouch! A bit humbling. Glad I found out before the run. I would have burned out.
So I had to adjust my goal (and pace). I considered a 10 minute pace, but didn't think that would be challenging enough. I "split the difference" and simply tried to finish in twice the time of December's 5k - 29 minutes. Twice the distance. Twice the time. Same pace. Worthy goal. 58 minutes. I'd be happy with 60.
The 10k Race:
I got pretty excited before the start standing there among 3000 runners. Temp ~45F and with occassional wind, some gusts. I positioned myself somewhere near the middle of the pack. People were very friendly, wishing each other well, and reminding each other to have fun.
The course is a little cruel in that the first half is mostly down hill, only to have to get back up the hill later. I was glad that I scoped it out ahead of time. My split times at 1 and 3 miles were on target. I knew that the uphill miles 5 and 6 would be tough to keep up the pace. Frankly, my training was paying off. I was able to stay strong where others were faltering, and some were passing me as well.
As I hit the brick streets indicating re-entrance to the Sundance Square area, I got a bit weepy realizing that a goal was in sight. I thanked God for the new life that I have. Thankful that an overweight, out of shape, 49 year old "valver" could begin again ...... and dream again.
As I made the final turn with a few blocks to go, I felt a burst of energy seeing the finish line and a band of well-wishers. I was spent at the finish line, so I figure I gave it my all. Cannot ask for anything more. What a feeling!
The Results:
Official times get posted Monday. We didn't use chip timers. We had a bar-code on our bib instead. That meant that everyone's official time will be the "gun time". After subracting the 40 seconds it took to get to the start line, I finished with an "unofficial chip time" of about 58:15, well within my "happy zone", and also somewhere in the middle of the field. Not too shabby!
Epilogue:
At the last minute I realized that I qualified as a "big person" 200+ lbs, So I changed my registration before the run. Some venues refer to that classification as "Clydesdales". I'm guessing that Miller (a Cowtown sponsor) would object to a running commerical for Budweiser. It is my intent that this will be the last time I am able to join that classification. In the meantime, I'm kinda curious to see how my time compares with the others in the weight class.
This is not my last run! My dream is to "Run the Rock", the Dallas White Rock Marathon in December. It is far enough away that I have plenty of time to train without cutting corners.
) than when I started. I was SOB, but the heart was just ticking away.
