Grimace and Bear It: 2019 Great Cow Harbor 10K Race Recap

Hooo boy it’s been twelve years since I ran this race I’m about to recap! Wait, no… hold on… it’s been eight weeks. That’s it? It feels like twelve years. Weird.

I’ve apologized for being behind on this blog. I hope everyone knows how sorry I am by now. The funny thing is, once I start writing I LOVE it and I’m like, why did I not want to write? I love to write! What’s my problem? Still trying to figure that one out but I’ll be sure to update everyone once I do!

Anyway, let’s get to this favorite race of mine: The Great Cow Harbor 10 Kilometer Run in my lovely childhood hometown of Northport, Long Island.

Make Yourself At Home: 2018 Great Cow Harbor 10K Race Recap

The Great Cow Harbor 10K is my favorite race that I completely ignored for 18 years.

I first ran the race in 1999 at the tender age of 25. I was a casual but dedicated runner, having run a handful of 5Ks, a copy of Runner’s World in my mailbox each month (yes, the print edition), and boasting a solidly middle-of-the-pack racing career. My 5K times were in the 8:45-9:45 pace range from what I recall, and I had never run a 10K before. Hell I don’t even know if I had run 6 miles. Maybe I had. If I had, it was my “long run.”

Cow Harbor is the nickname of my hometown of Northport, Long Island. Similar to calling New York City “The Big Apple,” it’s a fun moniker that no one actually uses in conversation. The backstory is that Northport used to be called Great Cow Harbor until I guess someone decided it was less of a mouthful to simply name the town for what it was: a village with a port on the north shore of Long Island.

Talkin’ ‘Bout My Motivation

After two days of strength training and sore hips (as I think I pushed it on Sunday given my lack of recent long runs), it was time to get back out there this morning.

I did not want to get back out there this morning.

Worse With Wear, Better With Age

It rained all morning so I just waited it out and ran a little after noon. So many cars on the road at that time! The nerve! I can’t believe people have to go places at the same time I’m running. So disrespectful.

I did the 6 mile run I’ve been wanting to do all week. I felt good and rested. I ate a lot more than I normally do before a run given the time, but it was mostly all carbs (cereal, a slice of bread, crackers, a fig) so I had a good amount of energy.

Coming Out of the Dark

Is every post title going to be a song title? Ugh, probably! I also need a new title for this blog. I hastily wrote “Run to You” only because I very lazily thought “uh what’s a song with the word run in it” so I thought of Bryan Adams’ Run to You because it’s one of my favorite songs of all time (and when I first saw the video, I immediately knew I was heterosexual. That’s why I know it’s not a choice!!!) But yeah, there’s no double meaning there. It’s just… a song title. It’s dumb and I will change it.