Time of Day: 7:00 AM

Weather Conditions: Temps. in 40s/50s, sunny

Distance: 26.2 miles

Chip Time: 3:08:30 (new PR!)

Average Mile Pace: 7:11/mile (All stats based on official time.  Garmin was different)

Finish Place: Overall-197/6670; Females-25/2549; Age group-7/420

My computer is still down with a virus and it’s just been killing me not to blog about yesterday, but it’s hard to find a good chunk of time to use someone else’s computer.  Just realized I don’t have my Garmin with me to give you splits either.  Oh well, blogging needs to happen anyway!  Picture credit goes to MSB, a wonderful spectator.

I got up at 4:30 AM and left my apartment at 5:00.  I was at the convention center/start area by 5:09.  I got amazing parking.  The convention center was great and everything went quickly and smoothly, me being one of the first ones there and all.  There was an entire hall of port-a-potties and I used them twice. 

We were warned to head to the start by 6:30, so I left at 6:20 to avoid any traffic.  I headed straight to the front and actually jogged a little because I was so cold.  I wore a throw-away jacket of my dad’s, knowing that I couldn’t wear long sleeves while racing or I would get to hot.  I threw it over the corral fence 5 minutes before the gun.

We started just as the sun began to rise.  I ran with the 3:10 pack, but the start was so crowded that I often fell behind or got ahead.  I wasn’t the only person who got ahead–the 3:10 pacer was going too fast.  I saw my parents before they saw me at mile 3.

Downtown Houston

The combination of being cold and trying to get around people made me go out quickly.  I kept looking at my Garmin splits and thinking, “Wow, I’m going to regret this later,”…and then kept going at the same pace.  I hit the 10k mark at 44:11.

I think it was about mile 9 that I realized I needed to slow down.  I started hitting a slump and my right knee started feeling a little tight.  However, around mile 10 the marathon route ran right through my daily running site.  It was so great to be on familiar territory in a race!  Kind of like being the home team, I guess.  I ran by my church and my priest sprinkled me with holy water.  I kept looking for MSB and was so happy when I finally saw him! 

I run here every day!

I ran the first half in 1:33:49 and then started to feel bad around mile 14.  Another female passed me as we were going up a huge hill (an intersection on-ramp).  My legs were really tight already–especially that right knee–and I still had so far to go.  But, I ran down the hill and immediately saw my parents, followed by MSB a few seconds later.  A pickup right when I needed it.

We ran through some gorgeous neighborhoods with people lined up to cheer for us.  I would have felt bad for them since they obviously couldn’t leave their driveways, but…they had really nice houses so I didn’t.  I kept feeling terrible and tight, then having a burst of confidence, then feeling awful again.  The 3:10 pack caught up with me and I kept pushing to stay ahead of them.

Around mile 20 a man, Mike, started to run next to me and told me that he had been pacing off me the entire time because I looked so steady.  He told me that his strategy for this marathon was to find someone like me to latch onto and follow.  Then he told me that I needed to keep going.  I really needed this conversation and probably owe him my PR. 

I picked it up around mile 22, with Mike encouraging me through several miles.  I started to pass people and the 3:10 pack fell well behind me.  We got to an area of rolling hills (yes, I guess Houston does have some), my knee started to hurt, and my entire leg felt tight.  Luckily, the crowd support in this area was amazing.

Too fast for MSB's camera!

The last few miles were a blur of fatigue and pain, just like most marathon endings.  Mike caught up to me again and told me I had to bring him in.  Fine, I went faster.  I saw another female about my age just ahead and gunned it, passing her in the last 1/2 mile. 

And just like that, marathon #4 was done.  For the first time, I didn’t cry after crossing the finish.  I limped and got my medal, then 2 cups of water, then my checked bag and my finisher’s shirt and mug.  The finish area was quick and easy and I found my parents within minutes, before MSB could even park his car.  Time for pancakes!

House of Pies!

Finally, good weather for a marathon.  Couldn’t have been better, actually.  I only sweat a little, but I also wasn’t cold after the first 2 miles.  I only noticed the wind on one little street.  It was sunny and pretty and put the spectators in good moods.  The spectators were amazing!

This may have been my favorite of the four marathons I’ve done.  I may be biased because I live here, but I loved the course.  It went through several different sections of Houston, all different from one another.  The start and finish were organized and easy (unlike San Antonio!).  The only thing I disliked was that they included the elite runners in the age group prizes.  So, no age group prize for me.  I can’t run a sub-2:40.  The medal and finishers’ shirt are both stunning though.

Today I am sore, cranky, tired, hungry, and unsure when I’ll be able to run on my knee.  I think it’s my IT band and I’m fairly sure it’s not a tendon or ligament thing, which is encouraging.  It’s on the outside and I can feel some lumps near my knee in the IT band area.  I’ll try to give it a few days before I start worrying.  My entire body hurts, after all. 

Hopefully blogging (and blog reading!) will be more regular soon.  Working on this computer issue.

Thanks to those of you who already commented here and on Facebook!  And thanks to all the volunteers at the Houston Marathon, especially that one who gave me water at mile 6 with the cup already folded into a spout!

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