My First Texas Half Marathon – BUT Definitely not My Last!

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COWTOWNSTART
Cow Town Half Marathon Windy Start

Just a little over two weeks ago, my husband and I ventured down to Texas to visit our three grandchildren, one of which was only 6 weeks old and we were meeting for the first time.  Needless to say, we were both very excited.  I think the kiddos were just as anxious to see us and we were to see them.  They also moved into their brand new home and my step-daughter and her hubby were really looking forward to having me cook for them in their brand new kitchen! Emily, my step-daughter was especially excited for my guacamole?.  I have no idea how my guac became so famous, but I am so thankful for my fans!  It’s been such fun writing and sharing a little about what makes me happy in life…..cooking for my friends and family!  I am one lucky blogger! 

Over Half Way! Big Smiles!
Over Half Way! Big Smiles!

You know what else puts a smile on my face?”  Yes, you’re right!  RUNNING!  What is even cooler, some of you like hearing what I have been up to lately and I am about to tell you what happened down in Texas a couple weeks ago?.

Once my husband and I nailed down our dates for Texas, I immediately googled half marathon’s near Emily’s.  “Why?”   Because, you all know how much I love to combine travel and running right!”  Besides, running a half marathon in the 50’s and 60’s sounded like a lot more fun than running one in the teens, back here in Minnesota!

It wasn’t too difficult locating a race in Texas….in fact, just like MN, you could probably run a race almost every weekend if you wanted too.  Fort Worth happened to be about 35 minutes from Emily’s house so it was perfect.  It was also on a Sunday which was even better since we arrived in Texas Friday morning.  What I wasn’t counting on was catching a bad cold which hung on for days and than, unfortunately the dreaded 48 hour stomach bug just a couple days before we left.  I was a bit concerned I’d even make the flight but thankfully God was on my side and I felt better the morning of our flight.  YEAH!

CowTownClimbing Hill
I Did it!  Survived another HILL!

I did loose a couple weeks or more of good training which was a bit disappointing but I am thankful to have it behind me!  I am getting so excited to run the Rome Marathon, healthy this time.  Since my training did get interrupted due to a couple viruses, I’ll have to scale back on my original goal, but heck, I am one lucky gal to have the opportunity to run around Rome for 26.2 miles!

CowTownALmostthere

But back to my half marathon in Texas.  It was such fun!  (Although, this picture may not look like I am having fun).  I wasn’t exactly recovered since I missed a couple days of good hydration and calories leading up to the run, but I had a blast!  I haven’t run in this big of a race in a long time.  In fact, I had no idea when I registered it was such a big deal.  This was their 38th year and I believe  all together there were over 20,000 runners who ran either the full marathon, half marathon, 10K , 5K and, or Ultra.

Overall my experience was GREAT!  The start was so well organized.  Since there were so many of us, they separated us into Corals…7 deep!

Lining up at Corral 2
Lining up at Corral 2

It was a bit chilly at the start due to the WIND.  Yes there was no escaping the wind, even in Texas.  It was a gusty 25 to 30 mile an hour wind out of the south.  It never stopped blowing.  And to make matters worse, because it was out of the South, it also warmed up quickly so I am really glad I wasn’t out there running the full marathon.  By the time those folks finished it was warm, sunny and almost 70 degrees.

The finish was just a fun as the start….oh I forgot to mention, Jeff Galloway started off with the lead runners.  My husband saw them take off….cool huh!  (That is, if you follow Jeff Galloway).  Anyhow, I made it to the finish line…there was a tough mile long hill towards the end which I didn’t think was ever going to end.  Geez…….and to make matters worse, once I reached the top, there was another one to climb.  The last few miles were definitely more challenging than the first half.

CowTownFinishLINE

Anyhow, I tried my best to finish strong with a smile on my face!  Not easy to do after just climbing a two big hills and with the wind blowing in your face.  I finished with a 1:55 which is a bit slower than I normal but I was just happy to be in Texas running and enjoying my grandkids too rather than back home in MN.  It was also a nice surprise to see I finished in the top 10% of my age group too.  (18th out of 385 female runners).

CowTown DONE!

And there was plenty of water at the finish……

Water Water and more Water!
Water Water and more Water!

CowTownWaterat FINISH

Plus two shirts…and they even fit me!

Collecting my second shirt!
Collecting my second shirt!

And the COOLEST Medal ever!

Possibly My Coolest Medal Ever!
Possibly My Coolest Medal Ever!

This definitely won’t be my last race in Texas because I all ready miss those kiddos.  The bonus is that we also get away from our Minnesota winters?.



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4 responses to “My First Texas Half Marathon – BUT Definitely not My Last!”
  1. Beth Avatar
    Beth

    Great story Karen. Your right that is one cool medal.

    1. Karen Avatar
      Karen

      Thank You Beth! I know…right! Never had a cow=belt for a medal before. It was such a fun race….so much energy and people everywhere. Thanks for reading!
      Hope you had a GREAT birthday. Looks like you had fun! See you tonight
      Karen

  2. Tina@GottaRunNow Avatar

    Welcome to Texas! It’s always a good thing when the race shirt fits and to receive two shirts is a bonus. Congrats on the great finishing time!

    1. Karen Avatar

      Thanks!!!!! I’ll be back and really hope we can connect?

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