Cowtown Marathon Teaches RunDoc to respect the Distance!

Cowtown Marathon kicked my butt! I'll admit it. I have again been humbled. It happens to all of us from time to time. I thought I was in good enough shape even though I had been lazy in my training lately. Too many things to do, not enough time. I was taught again to respect the distance. Yesterday's Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, TX was typical of the marathons I have run in the last two years: Freezing (25 degree wind chill factor), 30 mph wind in your face half the time, and added killer, rolling hills to the mix. I have not had good race karma. I thought White Rock Marathon in December was bad, but this was much worse and very hilly. For the record, I HATE COWTOWN! The last time I had run this race was in 1999. My peeps talked me into running it again because the Austin Marathon weekend timing didn't fit the schedule and this was closer to home. Never again....But truly it was not all the race's fault. It was poorly organized with random water stops and almost no spectators, but that's not why I had a bad day. I've been traveling too much, hadn't run enough (only one 20) and was mentally and physically tired. My absolutely wonderful running peep, Dr Steve Buksh, ran the whole way with me and should get a huge reward for not killing me when I started whining then ultimately crying (yes, that bad of a day). My hamstrings went into a seizure at about mile 16 from all the hills and we walked a good 2 or 3 miles. By 23 miles, I could barely run and looked like an epileptic. Definately not my day...but the lesson learned is to respect the distance. No matter how many times you have run 26.2 miles, it is still a formidable task and not for the weak or unprepared. The marathon humbled me yesterday and I learned my lesson....always respect the distance.

Now we can talk about delayed onset muscle soreness tomorrow when I can barely walk :)

Run Happy ....and respect the marathon or she will beat you into submission!