The Cowtown Half...where the hills are alive!

For my 6th half marathon I returned to Fort Worth, TX for The Cowtown!  This is where J and I ran our first marathon.  That day was brutal, but also amazing!  The hills kicked our tail.  I have to say the half was no different! 

I had to hit the expo after work that Friday before.  I barely made it in time!  So we made a quick sweep through the expo, picked up some gu for race day then headed to eat some awesome steak in Fort Worth.  I'm sorry but Texas and Fort Worth know how to do steak!

I went into this race with no time goal.  I just wanted to run with L and have a great time!  This was her 2nd half marathon.  Neither of us really had a time goal.  We knew Cowtown was a tough course, and we just wanted to cross the finish line and own those spurs!

To give you an idea of the hills we faced....This is the hill we climb on mile 9.  The Main St. bridge....It's actually nearly an entire mile long.  Just when you think you've reached the top, you take a right turn and continue to climb!  We took it like a champ!

When you run because you enjoy running, then you can stop and say hi to dancing cows!  These guys from chick filet were getting down!   It's funny because I'm used to running Disney and enjoying the characters and taking selfies, but I think L and I were the only ones who stopped!  Who wouldn't stop for these cuties?! 

My favorite part of the race was running through the Stockyards!  The roads through there are brick, which makes it a little difficult, but there's much to see, and smell.  We saw a funnel cake stand, but they weren't cooking funnel cakes.  Would that not have been the perfect fuel to get us up mile 9?  My taste buds were disappointed as was my tummy!  The road was splattered with cow patties, yes cow poop.  They actually still run the cows through the stockyards.  We were dodging that!  The smell will remind you of a rodeo!  It was awesome!

L and I actually finished with a great time considering our photo breaks and drink stops!  What matters most is that we had a great time!  We earned our spurs and made those hills our...you know what!  We had 6 other friends running that day. Some of them had time goals, and all 6 of them did amazing! 

Then as I was leaving the finish line shirt pickup, I come face to face with none other than Jeff Galloway!  I knew he was running that day, but didn't really expect to see.  I stopped him and asked for a photo, and he was kind enough to smile and pose for a photo. :) Definitely made my day!

Oh and I can't forget the after meal!  I stopped in uptown and ate a Mexican buffet with endless mimosas!  The food was some of the best I've eaten!  Absolutely amazing!  Stuffed my face and enjoyed every single minute of it! 

I loved this course and plan to go back next year!  Not to mention the awesome medal!  This Texas girl can't turn down these spurs!!