Well, that was the funnest marathon I have ever run(and wettest, and stickiest, and warmest). The night before I had the pleasure of eating pasta with fellow bloggers Joe and Danielle(slowjoe and slowjoesgrl). Not-so-slow, I might add. I also met blogger "flatlander" and wife! Good times and cool to meet face to face! There was lot of ruckus going on about race cancellation due to lightning, but while the rain came, the lightning did not, and we had a race. Race morning: Hotel bed sucked and didn't sleep real well but that's normal and expected. Up at 5, coffee, bowel movement, banana, nutri-grain bar, half mile walk to the convention center and there by 6. Miraculously, me, Joe, and Danielle found each other in the massive crowd and got to chatter. Joe was in the same wave and we headed out to the starting line together. I dont' remember exactly when, but cue the rainfall shortly before the start of the race. We lined up a few rows behind the 3:20 pacer. It was humid(90%), and wet, and too warm(for me). I considered the conditions, and decided that conservative was the best bet, and I was NOT leaving Houston without a PR. I decided to play it safe, don't do anything stupid, get the PR, don't crash, and go home and recover quickly for a more aggressive showing to defend my title at the Eisenhower marathon in 10 weeks. I was concerned about the heat and humidity, which are problematic for me. Humidity wreaks havoc on my ex-smoker lungs, but aerobically I actually felt quite well the whole race. I carried one emergency gu but never used it. I slowed down at every aid station and made sure I got the gatorade down, though. I cruised quite comfortably until mile 19 when my quads began to scream. They have been quite resilient in my long runs so this surprised me a bit, perhaps all the concrete? Anyways, the screaming quads became my main issue for the last 10k, and I slowed down quite a bit more than I would have liked, but kept telling myself to just hang in there and get the PR. From mile 22 on I was in "one mile at at a time" mode. When I finally passed the sign that said 1/2 mile to go, I turned it on. My Garmin measured a quarter mile long, but I'm afraid I didn't run my tangents real well--I ran a lot in the middle to stay off the camber on the sides. I had a lot of miles in the 7:15 range and I was comfortable, so I think if I maintain fitness, lose this stinkin 10 pounds I've gained in the last few months, and have more favorable conditions I may pull off that elusive 3:10 in April. Splits: 7:43, 7:24, 7:22, 7:20, 7:19, 7:14, 7:16, 7:15, 7:12, 7:12, 7:13, 7:13, 7:13, 7:23, 7:23, 7:24, 7:24, 7:24, 7:24, 7:36, 7:33, 7:37, 7:41, 7:44, 7:48, 7:41, last .46 at 6:27 pace. The course was extremely entertaining and despite the rain Houston came out and cheered in masses in their ponchos and umbrellas! I had water thrown on me by a priest(as if I wasn't already soaking wet?), saw the "Thriller" dance, countless bands and music, lots of cheers and bells and whistles! I saw Aunt Rena at mile 7, my sister and brother-in-law at mile 17, and saw Amy on the homestretch. During the last 4 miles the energy was great, and the crowd told me sweet lies about looking strong and having a good stride(I flailed desperately the last 4 miles to make those stinkin quads move). Afterward I talked to Joe and Danielle and we took our after pictures! Joe had an excellent first marathon and Danielle had a good run in her 1/2! They are great fun and hopefully someday we have the pleasure of getting together again(come to Kansas and bring those kids anytime!). Off to a shower, check-out, and long drive home. My friend, chaffeur, and paparazzi Amy got us home in a record 8.5 hours. Amazingly, my legs feel pretty good despite the drive, and I believe recovery will be quick. Mentally, I am ready to roar and get back at it after recovery and chip at that PR some more! It's gonna take some time, but one of these days I'm gonna run that sub-3. I just have to be patient.
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