wanderedhome
New member
Race information
- What? Cowtown Half Marathon
- When? February 24, 2019
- How far? 13.1 miles
- Where? Fort Worth, Texas
- Finish time: 2:49
Goals
| A | Finish | Yes |
| B | Finish < 3 hours | Yes |
Goal
Description
Completed?
Splits
| 1 | 11:49 |
| 2 | 11:58 |
| 3 | 12:05 |
| 4 | 12:08 |
| 5 | 12:29 |
| 6 | 12:22 |
| 7 | 12:50 |
| 8 | 13:13 |
| 9 | 13:13 |
| 10 | 15:04 |
| 11 | 14:07 |
| 12 | 13:13 |
| 13 | 13:50 |
Mile
Time
Blood Warning
This post talks about periods and blood. Nothing terrible, just embarrassing.
(I posted here rather than on r/running as I figure more people here have periods.)
Training
I used the Train Like a Mother run/walk program, which is four days of running a week. I cross trained two days a week doing yoga. I was terrible at following the program. I mixed up the scheduled days according to my weekly needs and regularly skipped the strength exercises and a few runs. Still, I felt prepared when race day came.
Note that while the program is marketed to mothers, it’s open to anyone. There were several father runners, dog moms, cat ladies, and just plain busy people who needed a flexible training plan in my group.
Miles [1] to [8]
This was the biggest race I’ve done to date, and I was very surprised with the amount of community support around the race. There were bands along the race course every few miles, and some of the churches along the course threw all their doors open and blasted music. LOTS of water stops. Every other mile at least.
I started fast, planning on banking time early so I could walk later in the race. I was psyched when I saw the 2:40 pacer behind me, since my plan was to beat the 3:00 pacer. I also passed a guy dressed as Batman
At mile three I knew something was Wrong. I’d started my period the day before, and was wearing my Lena cup to hopefully catch the flow. I guess it wasn’t flexible enough, because I could feel blood escaping and soaking through. Nothing to do about it though, not like you can change pants in the middle of a race.
My family was cheering at mile 6, in the stockyards. I kissed the kids and handed my gloves and headband to my husband. I didn’t much like running through the stockyards as they regularly do a cattle run for tourists... and avoiding the residue adds an extra challenge. Plus running across the cobblestones. Ugh.
Mile seven was a water stop - and a gu stop! I was very hungry at this point as I’d lost my gummies somewhere in the race. They were handing out chocolate gu, which tastes like chocolate frosting.
Mile [9]
Fuck mile nine. There’s a giant hill at mile nine. And it’s in the middle of an abandoned industrial area with nothing around it. No spectators, no cheer squads, nothing. There was a guy in a cow costume who was yelling at everyone to embrace the suck and run the hill. Everyone around me ignored him, we walked the stupid hill.
Everyone said to count the light posts going up the hill so you have something to focus on. There are nine. I counted them so you don’t have to. (Fuck mile nine)
Miles [10] to [13]
It’s just a 5k, right? And a downhill 5k at that. Oh, and people passing out alcohol. Fireball shots, Jell-O shots, whole glasses of beer?!? The spectators in this part of the race wanted a party. I didn’t take any, but they were very amusing and had some of the more entertaining signs.
At mile 10 I finally turned on my music, and the first song to pop up was I’m Still Standing - an excellent power ballad for the final push.
At mile 11 I was surprised at how many people were still around me. The runners in my local area are fast! I’m always the last person to finish local races. But here I was at mile 11 with lots and lots of people - run/walking people like me!
I managed to run the final mile when most everyone else was walking. Someone had a sign at mile 12 that said “pain is temporary, quitting is forever”. And they were right. My feet were on fire and my knee felt like someone was hitting it with a hammer, but dammit I was going to beat my goal.
When I went through the chute and stopped my watch - 2:49. I did it.
After Race, and Notes
After the race you’re herded through a barn (literally) where you get your medal, water, shirt, and food. One lady was giving out ICE CREAM so I called her my favorite person ever and she gave me TWO!
I found my friend who had driven me to the race and we went back to her house so I could change. Sure enough I bled through my cup and my pants were a mess. I don’t know what the answer is for heavy flow runners, but the Lena cup is not it (neither are OB heavy flow tampons).
Honestly, I’m not sure I’ll do another half. It’s such an ordeal. Takes most of a day between the running and the parking and the waiting and the recovery. I prefer 10/15ks, as they seem a more manageable challenge. Still - never say never again?
This post was generated using the new race reportr, a tool built by /@kaywishon for making organized, easy-to-read, and beautiful race reports.
