Running the Cowbell

The crew up and at it early!!

Happy Monday!! I hope yours started out just the way you wanted!! I woke up with some muscles talking to me! But, today, they weren't whining; they were cheering their jobs well done at the MO'Cowbell Half yesterday! There were lots of miles, so you know that means I have lots of words and pictures! Ready?

Let's do this!

The Setting: We began and ended in Frontier Park in St. Charles which is not just a lovely setting, but it's where my very first Half took place! There was something of a coming home again feeling to it, and that felt peaceful!

Also peaceful was giving in to my many, many you need to go to the bathroom directives my body gave me before heading to the starting line. While it was annoying, adrenaline and the fear of having to stand in line for a pre-race porta potty will do that to a person. I certainly saw the reward of such a situation upon my arrival:

Yay!! I'm not in any of those lines!!

Traditions, Theirs and Mine: Until I read the pre-race information, I did not know why this run was called MO Cowbell. Then I read that part of the tradition was to ring our cowbells at the starting line while Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" played -- race name and tradition both inspired by the SNL skit, "More Cowbell." (Totally Google-able.) So, after watching the clip on the internet, it made a little more sense. Sort of! Frankly, I didn't really get it, but it didn't really matter! It was fun, it was different, and the event as a whole was so well done taking a lot of care of the racers and spectators! When treated so well, they could call it anything they wanted!

Most of the racers did not have their bells with them (even
though there was a bin to put them in at the starting line). But,
some were definitely in the spirit!

And, while the race crew pumped up their traditions, I focused in on some of mine like scoping the crowd for those who are totally in to the spirit of the occasion! Such as ...

Cow socks for the cowbell race!

Sweeeeeeeet !!

There's even a tail! I think the dude
should have had one, too.

As I hang and stretch in the starting corral, you know I like a good shot of the fun race shoes! That was not to be this time, though, because of the many, many, MANY late arrivals into the corrals! I was in a prime pass-through spot, so there wasn't a lot of standing around in the area. But, as I was stretching my back (which is why I'm down there anyway and is what could have gotten me trampled), I did see this awesome purple number go by ...

I have never seen so many people late, by the way. Many were kind of rude about it, too, literally working to move people aside so as to get to their per-minute mile starting points. Where was that Natalie Dee personal area pic when I needed it?

Here's what I saw from where I stood ...

... and, here's what the Crew saw:

Yup, that's a cow in front. And, as we went through the arch,
it stood there banging on its cow bell as we ran around it!

While I got closer to the starting line and got ready to run ...

... my biggest fans were ready to cheer!

It was a race of about 2,000 Half Marathoners, so we were over the start line pretty quickly! Off I go!

By the way, it was after going through the starting chute when I saw some people parking bikes and running back to the start to begin! That level of lateness was confirmed by the Pit Crew who said the announcer not only called them out, but he also gave them a second BLLAAAAAAPP! of the start signal.

The View From the Road (Miles 1-5): This course held some pretty ingrained memories for me, again, because part of it was the same as my first Half. The funny this is that almost all of the parts that overlapped from them were run in the opposite direction this time. Something about that was poetic, kind of like when we hit this incline at the end of the first mile ...

... which I remember coming down at the beginning of Mile 12 in 2010. And, I remember it because the sun was beating against those brick buildings and it was Mile 12 and I felt like I was going to die.

Now, I don't remember this particular moment from back then ...

... but, other familiar-but-backward sites included this ...

(hi me!)

... and, this ...

... both of which not only feature people I don't know but also very long stretches of fields. It was both peaceful and lonely all at the same time back then. Yesterday, it was just fun.

In the middle of it all was the designated "High Five" zone where family and friends could congregate to, literally, high five the runners.


It was a fun idea, but I am not a fan of the instability of large gravel, so I focused on my feet!

I didn't focus so much as to miss the band, though!

When the fear of a sudden ankle roll passed, there was more field to come ...

Pretty soon, I will be one of those far-away dots!

... before we hit a perfectly wonderful area I call The Loop!

Look what I saw on a guy's leg before
hitting the Loop! Yeah, I broke pace and
totally sped up to try and catch it in focus.
I'm cool like that.

The Loop and Rookie Mistakes (Miles 5-8): While I do look at pre-race info pretty closely, I tend to blow off the map. I remember seeing an out-and-back loop on the map of my first Half, but I didn't register its distance. So, when actually running it, and what I thought might be a mile or so turned out to be three, you just know the last mile and a half of that was nothing but mental torture. Since then, glance at the map without studying ... much like I've come to learn to not believe "flat" course until I run it and determine that myself!

So, when I saw a loop on this course map, I purposely ignored the mile notations. I also paid no real attention to the fact that the way in is also the way out, which means you will see other runners enter what you just ran as you are finishing it. Or, you won't because everyone's way ahead of you. I've known both ways, and neither matters unless I let it. I was glad to just focus on where I was because it was really fun scenery!

I don't know why, and I don't care! Fun!!

I was glad to have caught this horse watching us -- I saw it
as we passed and I'd already taken a picture not knowing he
was in it!

 

Just as I hit the point where runners came in to and out of the loop, I heard a runner heading in say, "I think we just go in and around here a little ways." I knew that tone, and the pained look gave her away. I knew it wasn't the "little ways" she meant or hoped. I have since looked, and that loop was three miles. I just wanted to hug her.

Speaking Of Wanting To Hug Random Strangers (Miles 9-11): This course was billed as one of the "flattest and fastest" in the area. By and large, the "flat" billing was true (even though that up hill in the first mile brought on all kinds of indignant rumblings around me!), but I did see on the course map that Mile 10 probably had something a little special in store for us! Aaaaaand ... it did: A nice, steady incline that appeared to go on for days if you looked ahead of yourself! Yeah, there's nothing like it! But, it took until then to see much incline, and I knew the last two miles lived up to the flat hype, so I just sucked it up and did what I could with it -- which was what almost every, single other person around me did: walked!

I was pretty determined not to walk, but I felt like I was really lagging. So, I made a deal with myself that if I could walk without losing distance between me and the person in front of me, then I was smarter to take the break. What ended up happening was that by walking, I totally blew past that person, so I knew it was a good decision.

I'd just resettled into my run when I passed a pair of women, one of whom was apologizing all over herself for walking while her race partner was trying to convince her it was okay. I was about 10 feet in front of them, and I could still hear the one saying how sorry she was. I stopped, turned around and gave the one struggling a high five before telling her she had nothing to apologize for and that she was doing awesome! Through tears she thanked me while her running partner thanked me before showering her friend with, "SEE? I TOLD YOU!!"

Look, the way I see it is this running thing isn't inherently fun enough to be getting all down on yourself. It's a lot of work, and we'd just gotten to Mile 10 in under 2 hours. I kept thinking about her, and, by Mile 11, I wished I'd told her the following: "Here's the deal: You and I are in the same place right now which means if you're doing something wrong, then so am I. But, I know I'm not because I rock entirely, so get on board." As she was a stranger, she was probably better served with the high five than my barking awesomeness at her!

For entirely different reasons, I kind of wanted to hug this lady, too:


Now, THAT'S some spirit and a really fun way to break up the monotony of the end of our incline (that just. kept. going.!)!

That's a Wrap! (Miles 12-13.1): Once we cleared Mile 11, you could hear the buzzing of all of the runners with the technology to know that it was all down hill from there! I admit, it was kind of music to my ears. And, seeing the crew was a site for sore eyes!

They are so awesome cheering on their mom!

After the race, Pit Crew #2 said, "So, did you like this one? I
couldn't really tell by the look on your face at the finish." HA!
The girl has a point.

There was a great spread to enjoy after the run, too, in natural scenery ...

... event scenery ...

... and, my favorite peeps!

I love sharing the post-race indulgences with the Crew!

There was nothing more I could have asked for yesterday. Perfect weather. A fun event. Being mentally ready. Being physically ready. Being proud of the race I ran on every aspect of it. And having the best fans ever.


This running gig is an all-inclusive journey for me and so much more than the actual steps across the miles! Thank you for coming along another journey with me! And, tomorrow? We Expo!! See you then!