I ran the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, TX, on Feb 26, 2005. This was my first marathon. I modified some advice I had received from a Trifueler and did a run walk combo. I ran to each mile marker and then walked for 1 minute then ran to the next mile marker. This worked great. At mile 23, I started getting tired, so I ran without walking to the end, afraid that if I walked, I would not be able to start running again.

The course was very good. It was about 45 or 50 degrees outside and when we started running. There were only about 650 people who ran, so it was not near as crowded as I thought it would be. There were lots of restrooms (which I was worried about).

At mile 17, it started raining very hard and got at least 10 degrees colder. So, I went from sweaty to soaked and freezing my behind off. Also, I had the added joy of soaking wet feet. This just made it more fun, though. It gave me something to think about as I ran. I tried to dodge puddles. It kind of became a game. Anything to keep the mind occupied.

A lot of people talked about how hilly the course was, but I didn't think it was that bad. I train in a very, very hilly area, so it didn't really bother me. The only real problem was that miles 24 and 25 were almost completely uphill. This was not very nice!

The newspaper said I finished in 5:03, but the official certificate I got said 5:02. I guess it really doesn't matter. My main goal was to finish and still be able to walk, no matter how long it took. I was able to achieve this goal. My "If all the planets line up and everything goes perfectly" goal was to break 5:00. I could have achieved this, but I had an 8 minute bathroom break at the 3 mile rest stop. There was only 1 bathroom and a pretty substantial line. I had to go, so I decided to wait it out, not knowing exactly when the next bathroom would be. It took 8 minutes to get through the line and use the bathroom. The real kicker is that when I got to mile 4, there was a bathroom with no one there. Oh well, these are the types of mistakes you make during a first marathon. Had not been for that bathroom break, I could have broke 5:00.

As far as hydration goes, I tried to drink 24 ounces of Gatorade every 3-4 miles. I carried a 24 ounce Gatorade bottle (you know, the really cool plastic ones with the twist green tops that don't leak). I would fill it at rest stops when it got low. This worked great, other than having to make a bunch of bathroom breaks. I figured it was better to have to go then to get dehydrated and the wall.

The coolest part of all was getting to run through the finish with my 3 daughters!