1.17.2016 Chevron
Houston Marathon- Houston, Texas
Background
Houston is to date the only marathon that I have run twice.
It begins and ends downtown near my office and the logistics are so good that I
can take my standard commute to work and park in my normal parking sport for
the race. Add to it that it is a very well run race on a good course and this
marathon is one I may do many times in the future. It was also the Houston
marathon in 2015 that marked my first marathon back after 3+ years and 30 +
pounds away from the sport. I was just looking finish that day but for 2016’s
edition of the marathon I had a different mission- a new Personal Best time.
I had already marked Texas off of the fifty states map the
previous year but actually had signed up to run Houston again the day that
registration for the 2016 race had opened. I was running for Houston Habitat
for Humanity through the race’s Hero program.
I had also already run two fall marathons in 2015- The Hot and
Hilly Heart of America on Labor Day weekend and the just plain hot Mississippi
Coast marathon over Thanksgiving weekend. HOA was meant to pick up a state and
keep me motivated to train through the Houston summer and MGC was a race that
could have been a fast day if the weather had been better- I used it to the
best training effect I could given Houston was on my calendar already. Also,
leading up to Houston I had run a 30K prep race in late December in Sugarland
that went well.
In the end I didn’t think that I was going to go under 3:30
but I did think that I had a chance to better the 3:39:02 PR I had set in Las
Vegas back in 2011. The comeback had a chance of being complete in all senses
of the word.
Travel and
Logistics
Again, this race has virtually no logistics to speak of but
unlike a normal commute day, or even the 2015 race, the family made the trek
downtown with me. We took off early in the Mazda loaded with snacks, blankets,
and sleepy kids.
We were successful in parking in my normal lot and proceeded
to the Convention Center by way of the Hilton Americas. Mitch was especially
impressed with the tall escalators and remarked about what an awesome place it
was. Tasha had her pink pompoms with her to cheer me on and had made a “Go Dada”
wrist band for me that I wore during the run.
Houston is a big race and I kissed everyone before heading
out onto the street and finding my corral. It was cold in the corals even
though the weather was expected to eventually be pretty good. I had a throwaway
long sleeve shirt on and marveled at some of the clothes others were using to
stay warm including a woman that had a full length bathrobe.
The Race
8:32, 8:33, 7:44, 7:59, 8:11, 8:07, 7:59, 8:08, 8:09, 8:14,
8:08, 8:07, 8:19, 8:22, 8:17, 8:24, 8:17, 8:20: 8:46, 8:29, 8:28 8:43, 8:16,
8:22, 8:18, 8:19 (+ 2:32)
As the splits for this race reveal things went pretty
consistently. I was not in a pace group but did note where several of them
were. The first two miles were crowded and included an unscheduled pit stop to
the porta potty. After that I settled in and pretty much confirmed my prerace
decision to run for the PR but not more aggressively.
It was notable for me to compare how much faster I was
moving at various mile points than in 2015. I was working hard but not to the
point where I thought I was risking a blow up. I did start to fade a bit after
mile 18 but kicked it back into gear when I saw the 3:40 pace team come up near
me. I was doing the math to essentially stay just in front of that group and
then kick in the final 1.2 in order to challenge my PR.
The Houston Marathon finishes on Lamar Street and as I
turned onto Lamar I realized that there was something off with my math and I
was closer to not making a PR than I thought over the last few miles so I
accelerated (or kicked harder to maintain pace I guess) a little early.
I passed my office and new that the 26 mile mark where I had
watched some of the later finishers from the 8th floor the previous
year was in view and at that point the road seemed to be more clogged with
runners which made it more difficult to speedup. Still, as I reached the finish
line I saw that if I hustled there would be a new PR on my running resume. And
if I just missed my poor family would have to hear about it until I did achieve
a new best.
3:38:04- sounds nice to say. I am back
Wrapping up
I’m writing this entry in May after the race so I do know
how at least the next four months of my season played out. Leading up to
Houston I logged a lot of miles and those two fall marathons really served
their purpose. Granted, if Mississippi had better weather that may have been my
PR and I may have jogged Houston but as it stood an 11 mile tempo run was a
great confidence booster for my 30K and some much needed longer quality work.
The 30K was tough especially considering the storm it was run in but I felt so
strong at the end of that race that it was a real confidence booster headed
into Houston. And, of course Heat of America may look like it was just a Midwestern
adventure but I signed up for it when I had nothing on my calendar at all and
really wanted to keep focused training through the summer.
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