Cowtown Race Report

Hello everyone!

The race this morning got off to a chilly start. I wore my long-sleeved "Runnin' for Rhett" shirt (a couple of people asked me about it, Randy and Beth!) (so I got to tell them about your darling boy!), which in hindsight was probably a mistake. By mile 7 or 8, it was pretty warm, so I might have been better off to suffer for a couple of miles at the beginning. But I guess you just have to pick and choose your suffering. Be miserable in the cold, or a little too warm at the end???

I was pleased to run into the fabulous doctor who delivered our daughter before the race. She is training for the CIM in December, so this was a training race for her. She says I look more fit than I was before :-)

Once things got started, it took us a solid 2:30 just to pass the start line. Then of course things thinned out as the fast people got moving and the rest of us chugged along. The volunteers were relentlessly cheery, which was great! And - drumroll please - for like the first time ever, I passed some people! Not a lot - maybe seven altogether, but hey - I passed some folks! I was faster than somebody! Who knew!

I started to develop a blister on the sole of my right foot at about mile 8. Ouch. I thought I had done all I could to prevent it, but apparently I had not.

The middle part of the race sort of mushed together - pretty scenery along the river, neighborhoods I'll never be able to afford to live in, more nice volunteers and the like. I was thrilled to see a police officer friend of mine at mile 10. He gave me a hug even though I was all hot and sweaty (bless him), and then I had to keep going.

By the last two miles, the blister was really hurting and I had to slow down. I was also experiencing some dizziness, but mostly it was the foot thing. When there was one mile to go, we were back in Land Park, so it was literally a walk in the park (though a slow one) to get to the finish. I was very happy to see some of my training partners there to cheer us on as we approached the finish! It made my day complete to see them all.

We actually sort of jogged to the finish, but once I got over the finish line, I was feeling very nauseated and dizzy, so after walking around for a little while slowly, I had a seat and then the medics came over and had a look at me. After lying down for a little while and having some fluids and salty snacks, I was feeling much better. It was good not to need so much medical assistance this time around! Maybe by the next race, I won't need any at all...

Thanks very much to all of you who helped, supported, cheered, encouraged, and made this happen for me. You are awesome!