I have wanted to do The Woodlands Marathon since I have lived in Texas. Because of logistics and the fact that I live so far from civilization, I have not done this race. I saw someone post that they were in need of pacers and I bit the bullet. If they were at least paying for my entry, that would help me get there.
David has been out of town for about a month now and my mom said she would come and watch Naomi during the race. We made a huge trip out of the weekend. I wanted to go to Waco to see the Magnolia Market (from HGTV, Fixer Upper). We left a day early to stay at a Bed and Breakfast and add two and half more hours of driving to the already 5 and a half hour road trip. I live so far away from anything I have to drive at least three hours. Anyway, long story short, the Market was not worth the extra time and I drove HOURS this weekend. I am looking forward to leaving this place in 2 months!!! yipppppppeeeee
Race details: Great race and I absolutely LOVED pacing this event. I would not have enjoyed racing this marathon- pretty darn difficult. Lots of rolling hills. It did get pretty warm out on the course but I didn't really notice because I wasn't going fast. The course was beautiful, winding through streets of trees.
I had fun pacing with Stephen, we would crack jokes and we tried to keep the pace consistent. He was pretty easy to pace with and communicate where we were with time. We were always ahead by a minute and we would walk through the aid stations. We had one runner with us and she stuck it out. She finished with a 4:13, which was a PR for her. It was fun talking her through the last miles while she kept strong. It's fun to see as a pacer how people really fall apart at the end of the race and you feel really good. It reminded me of what I do in marathon when I am trying to give it my all.
We finished with a little less than a minute to spare but we ran under the clock when it read exactly 4:15. People sure liked that and were impressed with our timing. hahaha.
My friend Brittany I coached and trained with ran a 3:40. I was super impressed. This was her first marathon and by no means was it an easy one. She said she felt great the entire time. I knew she would do well. I was just happy things went her way and she ran her best. Beautiful day to see her accomplish an amazing feat.
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