Medal Monday: The Cowtown Half Marathon!

Happy Medal Monday!

Every medal tells a story and this one represents a morning I will never forget.

Pre-race excitement!

The Cowtown Half Marathon yesterday was my first time running this iconic Dallas/Fort Worth race. The weather was PERFECT, I ran strong overall, and most importantly had fun! Another sub-1:40 in the books!!!

It wouldn’t be “Cowtown” without a giant cowbell, right?

Not long ago I wondered if I’d ever break that barrier and now I’m eyeing a 1:35!!! I truly think I had it in me yesterday but HOLY HILLS. I had heard some say “THE hill” was at mile 8.5, some said mile 9, some mile 10. I just knew it was going to get harder.

So, I hit the halfway point feeling strong… hitting sub-7:20’s (settling into and feeling surprisingly comfy at a 7:12-ish) then my mind wanders.

It’s going to get harder…

You’re going to hit that wall…

Will you have gas for the last few miles? A negative split?

Psh, with these hills coming up… can I keep this up???

Then, THE hill came.

Ok. This is THE hill. Get past this and you’re golden… right?

I’m dying…

People are passing me! Get it together, JENNA. WHAT IS HAPPENING.

An 8 minute mile? We don’t have time for this.

Then I did anything and everything possible for the next 4+ miles to convince myself to go just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep the rhythm. Make it to mile 10, then 11, then 12. Then you’ll be on your last mile…

I just ignored the watch and went.

Looking back at my mile splits, it’s clear that THE (FREAKING) hill did slow down my groove BUT. I am beyond proud of my effort and determination in this one. I’d be lying if I said I never wanted to give up. But I didn’t.

My Garmin funked out and added a mile @ mile 13 – totals are inaccurate but you can see mile splits and where THE hill was (see mile 10-13) ACTUAL finish: 13.15 miles, 1:38:28

I am just so glad we had nice weather and will definitely be back for another Cowtown! Thank you so much to the race directors and 4,000+ volunteers (YES! This is a huge race!!!)

Check out my full race review on BibRave.com here!

“Let’s do this!”

 

“Hi, random stranger, will you take a picture of me before I do this thing?”

MOST OF ALL: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, to my Coach over at Lifelong Endurance (check em out!!) for helping me become a runner I never thought would happen. And, as always, thank YOU for your encouragement!!! You are amazing.