2020 Cowtown Half Marathon

Distance: 13.1 miles
Chip Time: 2:01:21
Watch Time: 2:01:25
Pace: 9:15 min/mi

Comments: Once again, back to Fort Worth for The Cowtown. This is my sixth time to do this race so I guess it's my base event now.

Conditions this year were pretty nice. The weather wasn't overly cold to start and didn't get too hot by the end. The humidity made the warmth noticeable toward the end but that was when the wind started picking up so I had bigger issues to deal with.

My plan for this race was to start slow and take it easy the first 5K or so. Then push it a little bit over the middle portion but nothing crazy. The hill at Mile Nine was the target. I wanted enough energy to handle it without getting burnt out completely. After that, just push through the final 5K with whatever was left.

For the most part I stuck to the strategy although I probably should have done the first portion 30 seconds to a minute per mile slower. I handled the hill well enough but there wasn't as much in the tank after that as I had hoped. The last mile-and-a-half were rather unpleasant; something I had hoped to avoid.

Finishing just a hair over two hours was significantly better than I expected (pre-race I was thinking this would be a 2:15-2:20 effort or so). Sub-two hours wasn't my goal but it would have been nice to have picked up that minute-and-a-half somewhere on the course. Oh well.

Now this one is in the books I can start focusing on my next race... a mid-year marathon.

The Cowtown Half Marathon

Race: The Cowtown Half-Marathon
Watch Time: 1:57:52
Official Time: 1:57:48
Pace: 8:56 min/mi

Comments: I really wasn't looking forward to this race, if I am being completely honest. I have been running much more regularly since the Walt Disney World races last month but I certainly haven't been training for anything specifically. The promise of a chilly start didn't stoke my enthusiasm much either.

But it's the fifth time for me on this course so I felt a little obligated to put in the effort. So I was up early and (sorta) ready to go with the starter gun at 7:00 a.m. this morning.

The plan was to tackle it pretty much how I did the Dallas Half Marathon, keep it slow over the first half and up the pace on the second half depending on how my legs felt. The complicating factor being the big-ass hill on mile nine and the other, smaller, climbs through the end of the course.

As usual, I found myself wanting to surge forward at the start and needed to make a conscious effort to hold it slow and steady as we got going. I might have overdone it on mile two but, for the most part, I kept it above the 9-minute-mile mark through the halfway point. Mostly I ignored the Garmin and focused on cadence; short, shallow steps with high rate of turnover.

After the Stockyards I let myself start to pass folks some but still didn't open it up for real. I noted that I hit the 10K mark at just over one hour (1:00:38) so I knew a sub-two-hour effort was in the cards.

Then it was time for the hill on mile nine and I was in no mood to brook any sass from it today. I really focused on beating its ass today. I turned in the fastest mile to that point in the race, so I consider my effort pretty successful.

From there on out, I tried to stride the downhills and focus on reeling people in on the flats and elevations. At the end I felt I had run a strong race but didn't feel totally wiped out and exhausted like in years past. Could I have done it faster? Possibly. But running it in control like this was really what I hoped to accomplish.

Walt Disney World Half Marathon

Distance: 13.1 miles
Chip Time: 3:29:24
Gun Time: 3:51:25
Pace: 15:58 min/mi

Comments: I certainly had the best of intentions when I signed up for the Goofy Challenge last summer. A back-to-back half marathon and marathon made some sort of sense as I trained for my first full in a few years. The languid training I did after that event was much less smart on my part.

The plan was to run the half with my girlfriend who was doing her first one. My hope was the reduced pace would help me control the fatigue and conserve energy for the full marathon the next day. That was the plan, anyway.

One thing we expected but really weren't ready for was the sheer size of the event. The sheer number of runners along with the logistics of running things on the WDW property was intimidating to experience. Pretty much from the 2:30 a.m. wakeup, you are in a confusing mass of humanity trying to figure out what is going on.

Eventually we got to the correct corral and waited. It took about an hour to get things into place and the race to begin. Then it was 20 minutes of staged starts before we could cross the starting line at about 6 a.m.

From there it was just keeping a steady pace and trying to enjoy the experience. After a few miles the race went through the main toll plaza and there were plenty of distractions to keep one occupied. A couple miles later was the portion down Main Street U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom -- a portion of the course that very much lives up to the hype.

After the Magic Kingdom, the course follows access roads to get back to Epcot. These are a little on the mundane side and the distance started taking a toll on my girlfriend. Her conditioning held but a nagging ankle issue decided to make itself known.

The result were some walking as we approached Epcot, particularly on the inclines from the overpasses. The Epcot portion was disappointingly short and almost entirely in backstage areas. Not the most magical miles of the race.

My girlfriend hit a full run the last section but I held back knowing I had a lot of work ahead of me in 24 hours. Overall, the race went well and I felt pretty positive going into the full.

Dallas Half Marathon

Distance: 13.1 miles
Chip Time: 1:59:50
Gun Time: 2:30:38
Pace: 9:09 min/mi

Comments: I signed onto this one mostly as a barometer for my training for the races in January. I have been spotty to negligent in getting out there and getting runs in since Hartford and this was a chance to see how much trouble I am in for when I get to Walt Disney World.

The expectations for the race were, understandably, low. I planned to run this overslow and without any real time or pace goal. Just take what the course gave me and see how my legs felt. And if things went well, maybe put a little mustard on the last few miles.

To start, it was cold. Right above freezing. I did what I could to stay in warm areas until the start and then screwed up by getting cut off from my corral when they actually did start. I tried to loop back around but was told I'd have to get into the last corral instead. Wonderful.

So I ended up running this whole race in a crowd. It was a mess to get started but never really thinned out like I am used to. I guess that's fine. It helped me keep the pace down at the start. But it's not what I am used to.

The first 10K was almost entirely uphill. I just tried to roll along and keep up the cadence while not overdoing it on exertion. It took a good three miles to warm up where it wasn't uncomfortable and at the halfway point I took off the hat and gloves. I took a bathroom break after that which took awhile due to the lines but though it would be no big deal.

Since I was going downhill after that, I started upping the pace a little. Mostly trying to ride the descents somewhat. They had speakers set up along the course at spots and when I hit the long straight shot at Gaston Avenue, Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" came on. Time to crush some fools.

I really opened it up and was just cruising along. It felt good to just run for once. I had to slow down for the turns in the course but on the last couple miles into downtown, I decided to keep the effort up and see how it felt.

I passed one dude and, moments later heading past the final turn, he passed me back. Not today, son. I opened it completely up for the last 200 meters or so and hit the finish line full speed. It was really nice to have that kind of juice at the end of a race for once.

The 2018 Dallas Rock n' Roll Half Marathon

Race: Dallas Rock n' Roll Half Marathon
Watch Time: 2:01:22
Official Time: 2:04:10
Pace: 9:29 min/mi

Comments: This did not go at all as I hoped. After the Cowtown Half Marathon last month I felt I could get a sub-two-hour race if I added a bit of distance. That wasn't the case. At all.

I got a 15 miler in two weeks ago and had been doing regular runs under the target pace I would need to hit for my time. I knew this course threw a few ugly hills into the mix but I hoped I could get ahead of the clock enough while mitigating the slowdown to make it. For the most part, I held to that strategy for the first half of the race.

The problem was the humidity. Temps got into the 70s during the race but the 90+ percent humidity made it a nightmare. I had sweat through my shirt by the first 5K and it didn't get better from there. The humidity zapped my energy as I tried to battle through the two big uphills and, like last month, I got to the final four miles with nothing in the tank.

Once again, I was just hanging on for the very end of this one. The battle was in not stopping and walking the end of it. So not only did I not reach my race goal, I finished a half minute slower than last race. Wonderful.

The 2018 Cowtown Half Marathon

Race: The Cowtown Half Marathon
Watch Time: 2:03:41
Official Time: 2:03:37
Pace: 9:26 min/mi

Comments: Ah, yes. The Cowtown. We meet again. This was my fourth time to run Fort Worth's premier running event. I planned on finally taking the leap and doing the full marathon last year but work intervened.

I've been back running for a good two months now, so I figured I should be ready to handle a half-marathon. I haven't done anything further than nine miles recently but I felt the overall mileage had me ready to go. Still, not putting in the distance had me concerned so I planned to keep my pace down as much as possible for the first half.

Of course I ignored that and blasted out some stupidly fast splits up to mile eight. In my defense, I really didn't feel like I was going over fast since my breathing never got labored or anything like that. And I took advantage of every downhill to grab up a few more seconds on my pace.

The problem, and I knew it from past experience, was mile nine. This is a long incline where the road goes over the  Paddock Viaduct and approaches the courthouse in downtown. The overall incline runs about a mile but the steep part is a quarter mile where the elevation increases about 100 feet. It sucks.

And it beat my ass again. I tried to keep is slow and conserve my energy but it just sucked the energy out of my legs. At that point I though a sub-two-hour time was possible and I worked to make up some time on the next stretch which is pretty level. But the hill on Lancaster Ave. approaching Summit Ave. finished me.

From that point on I was just gritting through the pain and trying to finish in a respectable manner. My pace slipped a full minute in the last mile (to about what I did on the mile up the hill) but I found enough in the tank to run it in at the end.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the effort. The time is really not that far off of my last effort here and gives me plenty of room for improvement. One thing is for certain, I'll have to really think hard about trying a full later this spring though.

Despite the devil hill, I do love this race. It's a nice course (mostly), the organization is top notch and folks are always friendly. Hopefully I can take a stab at the full next year.

The Cowtown Half-Marathon

Race: The Cowtown Half-Marathon
Watch Time: 1:58:29
Official Time: 1:57:03
Pace: 8:56 min/mi

Comments: It has been two years since the last time I ran the Cowtown Half Marathon. That was my last race until the 5K I did last week. Work had a lot to do with that as well as finances. But it's way past time to get back in the saddle and this was probably the best race to do it.

I went into this one way undertrained and I knew it. I did put in a few long runs over the past two months that gave me confidence I could finish but how fast and in what condition was anybody's guess.The one thing that I was sure of was that I had to start slow or I had no chance to survive.

It turned out a reasonably slow start was 9 min/mi pace. I initially thought that was way too fast but, in fact, the only miles I did slower were the dreaded bridge into downtown and the last mile -- both boasting brutal uphills. I hit a pretty solid pace at about mile two and really only wavered from it on those inclines and when I rode the downhills to slightly faster times.

So instead of a brutal slog, most of the race went very well. I didn't push it too much but still had better pace times than I expected. But you can't dodge lack of conditioning forever and, just like the last time I did this race, the big hill into downtown sapped my reserves.

After that I had to work for it. I did alright on the descent back to the river but the uphills on the last mile were brutal. There was nothing in the tank. I even had to fend off the idea of walking it in.

But I really wanted that sub-two-hour race and at that point walking would put that out of reach. So I sucked it up and kept plugging at it. And it paid off. I surged across the finish just with almost three minutes to spare. A great effort for a return to distance racing.

2014 Cowtown Half Marathon

Race: The Cowtown Half Marathon
Watch Time:
Official Time: 1:54:29
Pace: 8:44 min/mi

Comments:

2013 Cowtown Half Marathon

Race: The Cowtown Half Marathon
Watch Time:
Official Time: 1:51:54
Pace: 8:32 min/mi

Comments:

2012 Metro PCS Dallas Half Marathon

Race: The Metro PCS Dallas Half Marathon
Watch Time:
Official Time: 1:59:54
Pace: 9:09 min/mi

Comments:

P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Half Marathon

Race: P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Half Marathon
Official Time: 1:38:53
Gun Time:

Comments:

Phoenix YMCA Half Marathon

Race: Phoenix YMCA Half Marathon
Official Time: 1:37:24
Gun Time:

Comments:

Valley of the Sun Half Marathon

Race: Valley of the Sun Half Marathon
Official Time: 1:32:08
Gun Time:

Comments:

Lost Dutchman Half Marathon

Race: Lost Dutchman Half Marathon
Official Time: 1:37:09
Gun Time:

Comments:

P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Half Marathon

Race: P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Half Marathon
Official Time: 1:41:53
Gun Time:

Comments:

2006 Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon

Race: Runner's Den/Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon
Official Time: 1:37:56
Actual Time: 1:37:38

After going back and forth all week on whether or not to run this thing I finally decided to do it on Friday.

The plan was to head out and take it easy - putting in an 8 minute mile pace or more. And that's how it started. But at about halfway I felt pretty good about the effort and tried to turn in a strong reverse split. And that's pretty much how it turned out.

There was no chip timing so the time on my watch is what I'm relying on. Doing the math, it looks like I averaged 7:27 for each mile over the whole race. My first mile was at just more than 8:30 and my last one around 7:00 even. Extending that time out to a marathon would put me at right at a 3:30 race.

My official time was good enough to place me 71st place overall and 11th in my age group.

This one started out brisk to damn chilly. I arrived about 40 minutes before race time and it was still dark. I had my $3 Albertsons long sleeve shirt on over my running shirt and it was enough to keep the cutting edge off.

About ten minutes to racetime I draped the shirt over the lip of a dumpster and headed to the start line. Gotta say, without even that minimal amount of protection, every time that breeze hit it was not pleasant.

There were only about 700 folks in the race so the start wasn't overly crowded and the atmosphere was pretty laid-back.

I was expecting the panjandrums to bloviate before the start like in the New Times 10K but they just hit the horn and it was on. Most of us were a bit surprised when we heard it, to be honest.

I kept it casual for the first few miles. I was real wary of the calf and didn't really see the need to surge out ahead of things. I did do some passing but nothing agressive.

The route was essentially one long loop with a five-mile or so straight shot on the long sides. They had us in the inside lane with traffic moving on the two outside lanes. A few bozos in a hurry cut across our route to get into side streets but, for the most part, traffic was light and folks were understanding.

There were occasional folks on the route urging us on, mostly families waiting for someone to come by ("Come on kids! Lets go see Daddy suffer in agonizing pain!)

Since I wasn't running this one all out I never had that 'Oh God' moment but there were a few stretches I felt lagging. One biker stopped on the route gave me a high five on the way by. It helped a lot.

To avoid the major intersections at the end of the route, they had us follow a butterfly access to a bike trail underneath the road. These inclines, although not overly steep or long, were a pain. They really threw you off your pace at that stretch of the end of the race you wanted to keep the ball rolling.

My biggest worry, my left calf, performed better than expected. It was clearly still there but in the background and not overly painful. I wore the Asics and hoped the support would help keep the problem at bay.

And it seemed to... up till about mile 8 when I started to really feel it come to the fore. At about mile 10 it was pretty bad but not at the level of last Thursday when I cut my run short. I was going to give the race up if it got worse but from there on it kind of stayed the same so I gritted through it.

The other problem that emerged was the blisters on the ball of my feet that the Asics have become notorious for.

Overall I am glad I ran it. I got a much better sense of what I will be dealing with come Jan. 14 and a clearer idea on what needs to be worked on before then:

• Water stations: Walk through them. Spilling all over myself ain't a pleasant option with the chilly morning air. I don't lose really that much time so why bother?
• Fluids: I am probably going to have to carry a bottle to drink from for the first section of the marathon. The water stations are pretty far between and keeping the hydration levels up matter. Also, it's nice to have it there to help wash down the gels right after you choke them down.
• Pacing: Starting slow works. Having more in the tank later makes it a lot easier to pick up the pace when it matters. But, it is clear I have got to run the beginning at a good pace or it will give me too big a time difference to make up.
• Clothing: Gloves and chullo will be handy if the temperature is at all like this one was. 

Conditions:

Start: 7:30 a.m..
Surface: concrete/asphalt
Weather: sunny
Temperature: 51 degrees
Humidity: 13 percent
Wind: 11 mph
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
Shoes: Asics Gel Kayano XII