My race weekend started on Friday, January 17th. My husband and I went to pick up my packet and to go through the expo. We arrived at the opening time and had to wait in line to get in. There were lots of vendors and some amazing deals to be had! I scored a Moving Comfort vest for $39 and a Moving Comfort bra for $24. My packet pick-up went smoothly. There were clear instructions & signage as to where you were to go and proceed from there to pick up your event shirt. There was no shortage of volunteers at the expo or the race, so someone was always available to help you.
Me at the expo:
I woke up not feeling my best, and I was getting a bit concerned as to was it nerves or a dreaded illness. My husband and I had both been around sick people at our jobs, so that greatly concerned me. Let me rant for a bit....If you're sick, stay home!!
As the day progressed, I kept feeling worse and worse. I slept most of the way home from the expo. (We live about an hour away). Once home, I got comfortable and bundled up on the couch praying this dreaded feeling would go away! After a good nights sleep, I woke up feeling much better! I believe I had some type of 24 hour stomach bug....not fun!
Saturday was a busy day getting things ready for the race and not to mention hydrating myself after the awful day before. I diligently watched the weather forecast for Sunday morning, and I took 3 shirt options with me. We left Saturday evening to go back to Houston to stay at the Magnolia Hotel, which was 2 blocks from where my corral was located. We had a great night lounging around watching TV and then it was lights out around 9:30PM.
Sunday arrived and I was excited and ready to go run!! One last check of the forecast, and I decided on my outfit. The start showed to be 46 degrees, but to get cooler once the sun came up as a cold front was to be moving through. Well, that was completely WRONG! It wasn't bad at all waiting in my corral, but I attributed that to being between the tall buildings. I had on my cold gear long sleeve shirt and leggings....totally over dressed! I should have known better, since I get heated easily and sweat a LOT!
There was much excitement watching the beginning festivities with the wheelchair athletes and elite runners going first. I crossed the start line 17 minutes after the official start at 7AM. Loved seeing all the runners going by and getting antsy to start myself!!
Start line:
I had my plans to stop and walk at miles 5 and 9 to hydrate and re-fuel. This is what I did on my last half and it worked out great. I made it to mile 5, and I was HOT......along with a lot of others it seemed judging by the discarded shirts, jackets, etc. along the course already. Yes, the temperatures never dropped once the sun came up and as much as I hate running in wind; I sure was wishing for the north wind. According to my splits, I was going to PR....at least that was hopeful! Well, the hydration and re-fuel stops did not go as planned. Miles 7 to 11 were a struggle, and I just wanted to finish already! The PR was still in reach, but I didn't care about that anymore.
The course was fantastic and mostly flat...just lots of concrete and not much asphalt. The spectators were great cheering you on and calling your name out along the way....which I needed!! The runners stayed pretty packed along the way too. I was hoping to be a bit more spread out once the full marathoners turned at mile 8, but no. You were always dodging around someone or someone cutting in front of you.
I ran out of my water on my fuel belt, so I had to make the last two water stops along the course. I brought it in for the last two miles. My last mile was my best split of the whole race. I finished at 2:26:03 and was thrilled. I missed my PR by 2 minutes 18 seconds. I've kind of beat myself up afterwards, but I was just listening to my body, and better to be safe than sorry and have a DNF!
All in all, it was a great time and I'll be back!
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