Houston Marathon - RunMarathon

Started out in red wave instead of the blue I was assigned to. My goal was in the 3:40s with the prayer that my legs wouldn't cramp. My legs felt the best they have in a while...no achilles tendonitis in the right leg and the pain in my left foot, which could be a stress fracture was somewhat less painful since I haven't run at all this past week.

My achilles felt pretty good the entire race. The left inside ankle, I began feeling a dull ache beginning at mile 3 that never went away. Checking with my doctor-in-law to check on probable diagnosis (I'm still thinking it's a stress fracture). The first half of the marathon overall felt pretty good as for legs, hydration and nutrition. The first half I kept pretty close to the 8:00 mile pace I dreamed of...hitting the 13.1 at about 1:45. I knew before the race that keeping that pace would require a miracle and I'm not calling in any miracles for a marathon....unless I'm bent over vomiting my guts out and not able to put one foot in front of the other and the miracle is survival. Fortunately that didn't happen. So I kept running after taking a short bathroom break near West U elementary...just after mile 13 I think.

At about mile 15 I had tightness in my right hip flexor that I havent' felt before. However, legs still had some gas left in it but it was in the red. After mile 15, I began walking for a 30 seconds every mile. If I kept it at that I probably could have hit 3:45.

I saw the family just after mile 18 at the corner of Chimney Rock/Woodway and a welcome sight it was! The kids made posters and were happy to see me. I gave both of them kisses and hugs (to oooohh Daddy you're wet!!) and gave mom a kiss and asked her to not let me do this again. I think I told her that I could quit now and I'd feel okay...I think I also said that I can feel my legs below my knees except for the cramps that spring up every few minutes....Ouch!!

So I proceeded to miles 19 and beyond....and I'm pretty sure I was running on fumes. I started walking every 1/3 to 1/2 mile. It wasn't pretty. My goal changed to keeping it under 4:00 and walking as much as I needed. I had occasional cramps everywhere...calves, hamstrings, groin, quads. I only had to stop twice to actually work a hamstring cramp out. Allen Parkway....the final three miles was a death march for me. I was out of gas and wanted to walk....I spent most of the time calculating my pace and trying to figure out what splits I was going to need to keep it under 4:00 wasn't easy anymore. Kept running (jogging) the last mile or so and saw the family at the end. I'm pretty sure I was the last or one of the last persons to cross the finish line under 4:00 according to the gun time.

By the end of it, I could add left knee pain to the list. Maybe/hopefully just the bursitis that I had last January. Next day, the left ankle is noticeably swollen...so I'll probably need to put my running shoes for a few weeks.

Whether it's going on a 100 mile bike ride or running a marathon, they humble me and remind me of the work and the difficulty of swimming 2+ miles, biking 100+ miles and running a marathon...in one day. The pain I was in at mile 26 was nothing compared to the pain I'd be experiencing at mile 140. At this point, I'm pretty sure my body and my joints can't complete an Ironman. Leave that for tomorrow and focus on today. Cheers.

Train more. I really didn't start a run specific training program until mid-November. I had been training throughout the season and had decent fitness and trained for a 70.3 in November but had had only run 13.1 or further maybe three times between August and November. Most everything else was in the 6-10 mile range. In December I probably logged 100+ miles with 3 or 4 runs between 15-19 miles. I should have started in August to have been better prepared but that was about the time my tendonitis in my achilles started acting up.

I probably could have taken in more fluid...I went from 200 before the race to 194 after the race. I don't think I was dehydrated. I felt fine the rest of the day, but that's a good 3% drop in body weight.

Hobble into the convention center....eat a dry bagel (ickk), a cookie and some chocolate milk. I had enough sense not to eat the eggs and sausage, which would have ruined my digestive system for the rest of the day. Met up with the family at the Reunion hall. Walk a half-mile to the car. I'm pretty sure I saw and said hello to Clyde Drexler on the street about a 1/4 mile from the convention center (maybe going to Toyota Center) at around 11:30 am...he had to be about 6'8".

I wanted to change clothes but taking my shoes off was too much effort.


Pain. Inadequate training.


Volunteers were awesome. Course security was good. Post-race food could have been better.