2023 Cowtown Full Marathon Recap

It’s been 2 years since I’ve written a race report (2021 The Woodlands Marathon, reddit link), but there’s a lot to unpack and share. This is about as good of a race as I could’ve hoped for (the longest run since the ankle sprain was 16 miles). I’ll follow the same format as my last race report, but I’m always looking to improve. Send any feedback or suggestions if you have any!

Race Information

• Name: Cowtown Marathon
• Date: February 26, 2023
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Fort Worth, TX
• Strava Link
• Time: 3:15:05 (7:27/mile | 4:38/km)

Goals

Training

Not much to discuss here thanks to an ankle sprain from the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships (November 2022). I started PT in late December and went to PT 2-3 times a week at first. Then it decreased to 1-2 times over the last few weeks of the program, which concluded after I returned from Cambodia (beginning of February). My confidence built back up towards the end of the PT sessions. I was showing good progress even if I wasn’t “100%.” I’m far from where I need to be for the Paris marathon but this was a step in the right direction.

I averaged 20-25 miles while I was doing PT, but I took 2 weeks off while I was in Cambodia for a family emergency. I had one 40-mile week going into the race, which was promising but not enough to be in marathon shape. Completing the marathon would push me to a 50-mile week. So I made the mental bargain that a DNF would likely mean a 45-50 mile week. Despite accepting the chance of not finishing, several friends assured me I would finish. They had more faith in me than I did – I guess that’s what good friends are for!

Pre-race

I left Dallas around 4:55 am, 25 minutes later than I expected of course. I managed to get everything (or so I thought – finished the race with a bloody nipple). There were no issues with traffic at that hour, fortunately. I met up with Fonz to get the pacer bib and lined up about 30 minutes before the start.

The race started 15 minutes later than usual due to the USATF Half Marathon Championships starting at 7 am. I caught the highlights of the race after Cowtown, but it was a crowded start and finish area!

Race

The first 3 miles and 5km felt longer at the time but it was a blur looking back at the splits. I was focused on trying to get into a rhythm and maybe I was overthinking too much at the start.

We were ahead of schedule Through 9 miles. There is a long climb over the Main St. bridge during miles 9-10. We wanted to bank some time before we attacked the hill. Most of the pack knew this was coming and they were okay with this strategy.

The mile 10 split felt slower than noted below (the split was 4 seconds slower than the 7:03/mile target pace). I took the next couple of miles to collect my breath. It was awesome seeing some familiar faces at this point. The group was able to rejoin but we could several packs starting to spread out after mile 10. We said goodbye to the half marathoners at mile 12 and it got really quiet over the next 4 miles. Our other pacer dropped at mile 16.

This is the furthest I have run since 2023 started. I wanted to push for 2 hours of running, which was around mile 18. I could feel the pace getting quicker but I knew Fonz had a strategy for pacing, but I was on the edge of how much further I could go. I decided at mile 18 to take the pacer bib and pull the pace back to finish. I could’ve pushed for another mile but 20 miles at sub-7:03 was asking a lot.

The next goal was to run sub 8:00/mile and hold the pace through the finish. I was in a good mood and tried to pull a few of the runners who fell off the 3:05 group. The section of the course was flat and slightly downhill, which helps explain why I was feeling better than expected. I took a quick bathroom break at 20 but got back into stride quickly. The 3:10 pace group passed at some point in this stretch, but I knew this would happen eventually.

This is where I was humbled. My body was not prepared for the marathon wall. The rolling hills snuck up on me. I slowly and painfully relieved every marathon wall: Dallas 2017, OKC 2018, Last Chance BQ 2018, and the Woodlands 2019. My lower quads locked up and I stopped to walk at 23-25. I gave myself 1-2 minutes to breathe and assure myself it will be okay. I made one last push through the final uphill but narrowly missed sub-3:15.

Post-race

You get the race you train for and I am no exception to this. I didn’t walk into Cowtown thinking this was going to be pain-free, but I severely underestimated how painful the wall was. I’m not surprised since my last marathon was almost a year ago (Boston 2022). Despite the pain, I was very happy. Happy to see my ankle could handle the stress (maybe not the smartest idea but I’ll take it). And happy to join everyone in the post-race celebrations as a marathon finisher.

As I thought about the words for this recap, I thought about the conversation I had after the race with Carolina. On Sunday, I was the one giving the words of encouragement. I was inspired by her training and results but also very proud of the confidence she had in her training. But as I think about our conversation more, I needed to hear those words for myself too.

I spent the last 3 months anxiously wanting to return to marathon training. While my focus was on PT and work, I let the little things get to me – I can’t do track workouts, I can’t hold certain paces, I can’t run as far, and so on. I couldn’t get over the “I can’t” statements. I might not have shown it, but running became a burden. I didn’t want to go to group runs and I certainly didn’t want to race. Eventually, I didn’t even want to run.

On Sunday, I decided to change that mindset. I needed to prove to myself that I can get back to routine. I found a way to say “I can” finish. None of that would’ve been possible if listened to me. My friends believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. And now I can say I proved myself right.