No Cow This Year

9 easy miles this morning at 9:30.  The cooler weather has returned.  Hallelujah!

Tomorrow I am going to run the Great Cow Harbor 10k route with my personal trainer buddy, Nora, who will be running the race the following weekend.  It's a scenic, challenging course through the town of Northport.  The race is actually nationally recognized, hosting close to 5,500 runners.  Elites come from all across the country to run the course.

I ran Cow Harbor twice.  The first time was during Hurricane Ivan in 2004.  The rain waited until the moment the starting gun went off.  Perfect timing.  The finish line is at the bottom of a hill.  When I crossed it, the water was above my knees.  Cars were actually floating back and forth.  Running through the rain was actually refreshing, the crappy part of the morning was the mad rush to the shuttle buses.  You actually had to wade through the water to get to them.

My second Cow Harbor was last year.  Nora and I ran together.  It was her first road race ever.  Her estimated pace for the race at registration was like a 22 minute mile.  Because of this silliness (She is fitter than a fiddle, not to mention a bona fide gym rat.  And a personal trainer.), she started at the end of the pack.  Let's just say she hauled ass and wound up finishing not too far behind the 8 minute milers.  Damn.

I was tempted to sign up again this time around.  I do love a challenge, however, I don't want to overdo it so close to my marathon.  My half this Sunday will have to suffice.

The end.