This is the official race recap of the Mo’ Cowbell Half Marathon that I spent the past 16 weeks training for! Don’t want to read it all? I went into the race with a bum knee, it was extremely hot, but all in all, I still ran a 2:04 which was only 5 minutes slower than I ran in April. I’ll take it. I loved this race and will do it again.
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Week 15 and 16 of training
Now for the deeper race recap, which we first need to recap week 15 and 16 of training. Don’t worry, this will be quick because it didn’t quite exist, which is why you have not heard much from me. So I mentioned that my knee started to bother me. I tried to continue with my training and ran Tuesday and Wednesday during week 15. Just 3 miles each day. Then I completely took off to see if it helped my knee. Attempted another little run on the Monday of Week 16 of 3 miles and it was already bothering me from the start. I thought I would see if it worked itself out and it did not. So I took the rest of the time off until race day. Hoping by some miracle, it would be at least good to start!
ExMo’
The ExMo’ was at the St. Charles Community Center and for those coming from out of town, it is a bit of an odd location because you have to go out of your way from where the race is. This wasn’t a problem for me because it was on the way to my parent’s house where I was staying for the race. It was set up nicely and easy to get your swag and bib. Easy to find and make your way to.
Night Before the Race
Flat Sam was ready to go and I was able to video call little miss and Zach. Ate a good dinner to round out a solid 3 day carb load.
Morning of the Race
I don’t think Garmin is the holy grail of my body, but I do always check to see what it says about my training status, and body battery, sleep etc. Week 15 I was peaking and then Week 16 I was in recovery. Oh well, I wasn’t too worried about that, but what I did not love was that my body battery was a 60 the morning of race day. I typically am at least high 90’s or 100, unless I had a really tough workout the day before. I had all the typical nightmares you have the night before a race. Still, I was optimistic it was still going to be a good race.
I did all my “business” before I left the house, but still get race jitters, so I thought I would pee again. The porta potty lines were INSANE. Literally there was no way that the line would be through before the race started, so I didn’t even bother. Things to note for if I do this race next year: bring toilet paper and go in the bushes like a lot of people were doing, or stop at the gas station prior to parking, or pay for the VIP status. We also did not find parking in the typical lots we had headed to and so my mom just told me she would find parking and so I got out by the trail and headed to the start.
It was already hot. I knew it would be hot. This isn’t really an excuse because I trained in hot. I know I can I run in hot….do I love the idea of racing in the 80’s, nah, but do I know I am capable? Yes. But the moment we took off, I knew that what I could not control, was my aching knee already in the middle of mile one. I started with the 1:50 pace group since my goal was to go sub 1:50 for this race. The energy was great, the pacer was awesome. I never really have ran in a pace group, so I thought, yes, let’s do this. Well after mile 2 hit, I was dropped. I couldn’t hang. I was already trying to also ration my handheld fluids. I remember reading about all the aid stations, so I knew there would be a lot. If I did this race again and it was going to be hot like this, I would take my Drankful vest because I definitely went through at least 4 of my 18oz handheld.
The aid stations were awesome. I was able to toss water on myself and also fill up my handheld when needed to. I didn’t love all the turns in New Town and continued to wonder when we would be out of there because by this time my knee was killing me. I knew mile 8 was at the beginning of New Town and mile 7 felt SO long to me. Once mile 8 hit though, it was truly a battle for me. I was having to take a couple of walk breaks when it just felt too much for my knee. Mile 10 hit and the 2 hour pacer ran by me and that’s when I gave up on any hope of a sub 2. The hills in mile 10 were definitely hills, but I had expected worse. This made me feel better for when I do the race again with a healthy knee. It was not worth me running up with a bum knee though, so I alternated walking and jogging. Mile 11 gave me some mojo back as we got a downhill that helped knock my knee around a little bit to make it tolerable. However, the STEEP downhill we had, I walked down because your girl did not want to make anything worse.
I loved the artwork on the ground when you are in mile 1 and then again in mile 13 when you are nearing the finish. So pretty that I thought of stopping to take a photo. I saw my watch only allowed for 6 minutes for the last mile and there was no way I was cranking that out. All in all a 2:04 is not bad at all and I honestly surprised myself. I thought I would be like 2:10 or 2:15 with how bad I felt.
I battled through a lot of emotions and feelings during this race. I definitely want to do it again! Will it be next year? I’m not so sure. I think I need to see how my half marathon goes in April to know if I need to take a break from that distance or if I am able to continue training. I need to understand first what is going on with my knee to then be able to adjust my training for next time. If I am a betting woman, I would say it is tight hips that caused the knee pain. Planning to do some rehab on my own and if it doesn’t get better, I will get it checked out.
I didn’t even take my photo before or after the race. I think I was just so ready to get home to see my family, shower and eat pizza. HA!
Swag
The swag is so cool. I love the medal and I will be living in the hoodie!!! Literally best gear for the price you pay for the race. That is what also keeps you coming back for more! Here’s a photo taken from Mocowbellrun instagram!
Final Thoughts
I would 100000% recommend this race series. The atmosphere was great, the gear is awesome and the comradery is so fun. I will definitely sign up again for next year and just drop down to a shorter race if worst case scenario!
