THE 2009 COWTOWN MARATHON REPORT 2/28/2009

Let me post the results and I will give my report.... (Scroll down, I am BIB #131)

Bib

FName

LName

City

State

Country

Div

Age

Sex

ChipTime

ClockTime

Overall

SexPl

DivPl

Total Pace

1St Half Rank

1St Half Time

1St Half Pace

2Nd Half Rank

2Nd Half Time

2Nd Half Pace

827

Dwayne

Dixon

Southlake

TX

USA

M 0-99

44

M

3:33:53

3:33:53

101

94

1

8:05/M

183

1:47:54

8:05/M

76

1:45:57

8:05/M

201

Gaylon

Richter

Corinth

TX

M 0-99

42

M

3:54:57

3:54:57

235

204

1

8:53/M

320

1:55:29

8:38/M

205

1:59:27

9:07/M

1156

Vinny

Gonzalez

Burleson

TX

USA

M 0-99

25

M

3:56:51

3:56:51

256

218

1

8:57/M

345

1:56:55

8:46/M

216

1:59:55

9:09/M

362

Steven

Holston

Fort Worth

TX

USA

M 0-99

44

M

3:58:23

3:58:45

269

227

1

9:06/M

283

1:53:45

8:41/M

273

2:04:37

9:31/M

546

Sheldon

Reynolds

Lewisville

TX

USA

M 0-99

47

M

4:05:19

4:07:12

325

265

2

9:22/M

358

1:57:49

9:00/M

312

2:07:28

9:44/M

519

Josh

Chapman

Granbury

TX

USA

M 0-99

29

M

4:05:27

4:08:51

327

266

3

9:22/M

217

1:49:59

8:24/M

423

2:15:27

10:20/M

411

Ronny

Higgins

Waco

TX

USA

M 0-99

33

M

4:07:44

4:11:39

342

278

4

9:27/M

378

1:58:43

9:04/M

340

2:09:00

9:51/M

337

Doug

Berend

Wichita Falls

TX

USA

M 0-99

32

M

4:14:40

4:18:48

391

318

5

9:43/M

303

1:54:36

8:45/M

467

2:20:03

10:41/M

75

Bradford

Trietsch

Grandview

TX

USA

M 0-99

50

M

4:17:20

4:17:25

415

332

6

9:49/M

422

2:00:58

9:14/M

435

2:16:21

10:25/M

863

K.

Longenbaugh

Crowley

TX

USA

M 0-99

54

M

4:17:55

4:19:19

419

335

7

9:51/M

365

1:58:14

9:02/M

465

2:19:39

10:40/M

775

Howard

Burgess

Mansfield

TX

USA

M 0-99

49

M

4:20:17

4:22:32

430

343

8

9:56/M

418

2:00:43

9:13/M

464

2:19:32

10:39/M

12

Stephen

Pollock

Cedar Hill

TX

M 0-99

54

M

4:22:19

4:23:54

444

348

9

10:01/M

442

2:01:38

9:17/M

475

2:20:39

10:44/M

131

Dan

Benintendi

Saginaw

TX

USA

M 0-99

33

M

4:23:01

4:23:49

447

350

10

I came in 10th place out of 61 in Clydesdale division with a finishing time of 4:23:01 for 26.2 miles! So let me back up and tell you about the day:

I woke up at 4:45 am, did some lite stretching, pounded a 32 ounce bottle of Gatorade Focus, and followed that with a big bowl of oatmeal. I took a couple big bites of peanut butter, took a shower, got dressed, got my hydration / fuel belt loaded up, and waited for my friend to pick me up to head out to the race. When I walked out to get into his car, I immediately felt like I was getting stabbed by the cold air and 22mph winds that were blowing. I went in to the house, grabbed my jacket and we were off. The race started promptly at 7:30, and we arrived at 6:30. We hung out in the car to keep warm until about 6:50, then we headed to the "John" I chugged another thing of Gatorade, ate a banana and was ready to go. They had a 5k 10k half marathon, full marathon, and Ultra marathon.  The half, full, and ultra started together and the start line was packed! Over 17,000 people this year between all events!

I started off strong!! Maybe a little too strong, but I was feeling great, aside from 35 degree weather and 20+mph winds, and a course that had hardly and flat spots, it was all hills... the longest one being 2.5% for over a mile at mile 21 or so!!! My goal was to finish between 4:00:00 - 4:20:00, knowing that if all the stars aligned and we had optimal conditions, I could probably pull of a sub 4 hour run. The day actually went by pretty fast, and aside from the conditions, it was a great race. Yesterday I drank so much fluid and this morning I drank so much fluid to be completely hydrated, however, I ended up having to stop 5 times on the course to tinkle because I was not sweating out the fluids! (Probably 10 minutes of wasted time!) For nutrition, I took in Gatorade at most stations, I went through 4 bags of sports beans, and went through 1 pack of electrolyte tabs (Salt & loads of potassium). It really helped me to not hit the "Wall" this time around. Leading up to the race... Monday, Tuesday, and half of Wednesday were protein load, the rest of the week was carb load, it worked great!

As for my pace, my splits are below:

Dan Benintendi #131

Saginaw, TX, USA

Age: 33 Gender: M

Distance	MAR
Clock Time	4:23:49
Chip Time	4:23:01
Overall Place	447 / 920
Gender Place	350 / 622
Division Place	10 / 61
Total Pace	10:02/M
1St Half Rank	433
1St Half Time	2:01:27
1St Half Pace	9:16/M
2Nd Half Rank	484
2Nd Half Time	2:21:32
2Nd Half Pace	10:48/M

If I would have started out a little slower, I probably would have had a stronger 2nd half, but I will not complain with an overall average pace 10:02 p/ mile. It has been 13 months since my surgery and as long since I weighed 400 pounds. I am so grateful to be able to do what I now love to do... Endurance Sports!! My family was there to greet me at the finish line... I rode out with my buddy so they would not have to sit around freezing for 4+ hours waiting for me, so they got there about 45 minutes before I finished, and I was so happy to see them. Well, that's it, a great day, a great event, a great result, and a great start to 2009 that now has 2 sprint triathlons, 4 Half Ironmans, 1 Full Ironman, and another Full Marathon. Here's to marathon #2 under my belt with a 30+ minute improvement from my last one, in much more difficult conditions. Thank you all for your love, support, and encouragement, I could not have done this without you...

Congrats Dan!  Great report and awesome results.

Tom

Congratulations Dan!  You were flying through the 1st half and had a very respectable finish time, especially with the games the weather played with you.  You're going to have such a great year with your 2009 race schedule.

Cassie