3:27:55

This is what I look like after running/walking for 3 hours, 27 minutes, & 55 seconds:















Look ma! I got another medal! :)

In case you can't tell by the picture, I was very tired & in pain. But it was worth it. It was a hard race & I felt like shit practically the entire time, but I completed my 2nd 1/2 marathon & beat my last time by 8 minutes. Here's the run down of the day:

I laid out everything I needed the night before & had a bitch of a time getting to sleep. Woke up on race day at 4:00 am, took the dog out, got myself dressed, packed my gym bag w/ all the essentials (body glide, vaseline, change of clothes, flip-flops, etc.) & tried to eat a power bar & drink a glass of water (didn't have much luck w/ the power bar). I drove over to the GRB around 5:00 am & looked for the Team in Training "tent" but nobody was there yet. My body finally started to function normally & "nature" called. (What a relief!) Then I ran into fellow HRB's Edwin & Holden. We looked for Jon & the other HRB's, but we did found Erica & the TNT area instead. I went over to Erica & we walked around a bit, then checked our bags. Afterwards we found the HRB's by the make-shift church, where we chatted a bit & took a few pics. We were particularly impressed with Cassie, who was dressed all in Blogger Orange, including her back-pack! She got the Blogger spirit award for the day. See? Isn't she cute? :)















Super Houston Running Blogger, Cassie Cowan & her boyfriend, Manny

Erica & I headed back to the TNT area where the rest of the gang had gathered. We did some last minute prep, I ate another 1/2 of a power bar & finished my bottle of water, the coaches gave a quick speech, & then we were off to the starting line, which wasn't as easy as that sounds. We made the mistake of trying to go down the street where the full marathon corrals were, but we got stuck in a nasty bottleneck of people. There were only minutes left before the start & we were starting to panic because we didn't know how we were going to get up the next block to our starting area. Suddenly I went into "dad mode" & I just broke from the group & started weaving my way in & around all the people. I was able to get through on my own fairly quickly & made it to the starting area with 2 minutes to spare before the gun went off. As I was walking to the start, I ran into Evan & Lori, which made me VERY happy. Evan & I did San Antonio together back in November (it was his 1st full marathon, my 1st half marathon) & it was so nice to be able to start together again.

Next thing we knew, the gun went off, so we started walking. It took us over 6 minutes before we actually got to the starting mat & were able to start running. We looked to the right & saw the most GORGEOUS sunrise I think I've ever seen. The sky was the most incredible shade of blazing orange, red & pink (I wish I had a picture of it). It was a great way to start a race. Evan & I "bumped fists" & wished each other luck, & Evan took off. I was alone in a sea of people.

Mile 1 - (15:04:30) Personally, I didn't care for the whole "lets run up a huge freeway overpass at the very start" thing, but I guess it's better than having it at the very end. The crowd was huge & it was really hard to keep a constant pace & get a good position among the other runners. From the get-go my legs felt like lead & my energy level wasn't very high, despite the excitement of being in the race. (I blame the shitty TNT pasta party where the only vegetarian option was a fettucini alfredo... cuz a heavy cream sauce is exactly what you want to eat the night before a big race.)

Mile 2 - (14:50) Woo hoo!! My 1st negative split!! I was very surprised by that, especially since I ran more in the 1st mile than I did in the 2nd. Must've been the crowd that slowed me down in mile 1. This area of town was pretty sketchy, but there were lots of people on their porches cheering everyone on. My upper left thigh started to tighten up. It would continue to hurt the rest of the race.

Mile 3 - (15:20) Still not bad. My legs felt like shit, but the crowd was keeping me going. I think it was around here that I saw a cute guy holding a sign that said "RUN YOU CRAZY BITCH! RUN!!!" I loved it. It made me laugh. A lot.

Mile 4 - (14:51) I was quite surprised by that. I loved seeing that 14 again. Woo!

Mile 5 - (15:50) Not happy with that split. I blame it on the Native American musicians playing such soothing music & the incense. However, I loved seeing all the signs along the median cheering on all the runners.

Mile 6 - (15:12) That's better. Carissa was on the sidelines cheering me on just before the mile marker, just like she promised she would. Got a nice laugh seeing the giant chickens cheering me on at the overpass at 6.2 with the sign that said "If you were running the Conoco-Philips Rodeo Run, you'd be done by now".

Mile 7 - (15:29) Aaahhh Montrose. It was very cool to be running in my neighborhood.

Mile 8 - (15:50) Right before the mile marker I saw my dad walking towards me on the median. He came up to me & starting running by my side. It was awesome. He told me my mom was at the TNT tent just down the road. As we came upon the tent, I saw Bill Dwyer, Jilly Bean, Marcia, & the other TNT'ers, all calling out my name. It was a HUGE boost. I got a lump in my throat & had a huge smile on my face. I high-fived Bill & some of the others as I ran by, told them "this is my dad!" & they all cheered for him, too. I then threw my arms up, laughed & yelled as Jill took my picture. Next to Jill was my cute little mom with a huge smile on her face, clapping & cheering me along. She looked so happy. At this point my dad stopped running with me & joined my mom. Then Marcia ran along beside me for a bit, asking how I was doing, updating me on some of the other TNT'ers. After a few minutes she turned to go back to the TNT tent & I continued on. Not much later I saw Erica, then HRB'er Jon Walk & his adorable daughter, Waverly on their way back up Montrose. They were looking great & we cheered each other on.

Mile 9 - (16:04) My legs were starting to hurt more, the sun was coming out & I was getting very hot. Just before the mile marker was the turn around at Richmond. I must say that for a moment I seriously considered skipping the U-turn & just going straight down Montrose for 2 more blocks, making a right, & going back to bed in my apartment. It was a cruel temptation having my street on the course, but I knew I couldn't really do that & I plugged along & made the U-turn. Once again I saw my dad walking towards me, & once again he ran beside me for about 1/4-1/2 mile, until we got back to the TNT tent & my mom.

Mile 10 - (16:15) The sun was sucking the life right out of me. I could feel salt crystals all over my face & was cursing myself for not taking the salt packet before the start. Also by this time the crowd had significantly diminished & things were very quiet on the course. That is until I saw my friend, Dawn, from work. She was at an intersection w/ a few HPD officers screaming her damned head off for me. It was exactly what I needed at that time. After I passed her, she ran off down the side street. I figured that would be the last I'd see of her. As I neared Allen Parkway & started my jogging interval, the area right above my left ankle & just below my calf completely seized up on me. I kept having to stop to stretch it out. When I got on to Allen Parkway, there was Dawn again, screaming her head off for me & jumping up & down. Again a huge boost for me & just what I needed.

Mile 11 - (15:21) Given the pain I was in, I was surprised by this split. I knew I had slowed down significantly, so this didn't make sense. Dawn kept popping up about every 1/8 of a mile along Allen Parkway. At first I thought maybe she'd cloned herself, but then I realized she had her car on the side of the road & as soon as I'd pass her, she'd jump in her car, drive up a bit on the course, jump out & wait for me again. I can't tell you how much that meant to me. It was just awesome & the exact push I needed to keep going on, especially given the pain I was in. The person next to me on the course said "now THAT is love!" I agreed. :)

Mile 12 - (19:22) OK, now I know I was in big pain & had slowed down, but seriously? NINETEEN MINUTES???? It became obvious that the mileage wasn't marked correctly for 11 & 12. Just before this mile was the Animal House crew... a group of people drunk & dressed in togas handing out beer to all the marathoners. It was quite humorous. It was also quite humbling to be passed by all the full marathoners who had run twice as far as I had & would yet finish long before I did.

Mile 13 - (16:44) Finally through downtown. It was about f'ing time! The winds were really strong & I was getting chilled. My legs were killing me, I was starving, & I just wanted to be off the damn course, but I knew I was almost done & that kept me going. It was cruel to be able to see the GRB, then have to turn left, away from it & continue a few more blocks before making the final turn on Rusk. Oh how I LOVED being able to see that finish line. It seemed so close, yet so far away. One of the race officials said "only 5 more blocks & you're done". Those were the sweetest words ever.

Mile 13.1 - (1:43) Halleluja!! I was almost there!! The crowd was cheering me on & despite the pain in my legs, I stopped walking & started to run again. I saw my fellow TNT'ers in the crowd & it gave me the added push I needed. I looked up at the clock at the finish & got a chill as I saw the numbers go to 3:34:00 as I crossed the line. (34 has been a very lucky # for me this past year). I raised my arms up & screamed "YES!" I knew I'd made a PR & that was awesome (& quite surprising given how I'd felt during the entire race), but better yet... I was done.

It was funny to me how I could be in such pain for practically the entire race, yet still do so well. At the same time, I'm still not satisfied. I know that if I hadn't had the problems with my legs, I could've finished about 10 minutes faster. And I know if I had actually trained properly these past 5 months, I could have done a whole hell of a lot better.

I'm determined to do things right this next time around. San Diego is going to be my race.