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Comments: This is such a fun race! I love the course and the people out along the way. I've done the Austin half and the White Rock half, but the crowd support to me is so much better in Houston. Everyone seems to be having fun and there are so many block parties all along the way. The only hard part for me was the last 1.5 miles. I was soooo on track for my 4:00 and then...my quads cramped up completely. And it was over. I lost that 4:00 right there on Allen Parkway. Plus, I knew I had developed a huge blister on my left foot. I decided not to worry too much and just dragged my cramped/numb legs on in to the finish! My tri coach met me at mile 25 and ran me in. He was so sweet to do that despite my cussing and complaining that I was going to throw up. I might have mentioned I was going to throw up on him since he was being so positive. Thankfully no throwing up and I remembered to smile that last 1/2 mile as everyone out there was so positive and excited for each runner. My pace group had fallen apart around mile 22 or so and the pacer had passed off his balloons to someone else, so it looked like I wasn't the only one who suffered at the end! After the race, I hobbled over to the picture people and had my race photo. I'm sure it's going to be a winner since I was sort of swaying back and forth at that moment and had forgotten to remove my headphones from my Ipod. At least it will make me laugh! I got my medal, my mug, and found my family and went out for fajitas! It was a great day! What would you do differently?: Take some potassium and magnesium pills more regularly to ward off cramping. My quads tend to do that which puts a halt to my forward progress! I'm going to hit 4:00 this spring so I'm revamping my plan and hitting more miles and more track practices to strengthen me. I think I'm going to try the Pfitz multiple marathon plan to recover and get on board for Boston this season (I've got a charity spot there) or Oklahoma City.  Post race
Warm down: Stretched and hobbled around for a while. Drank 2 margaritas and ate fajitas. That's the recovery for me! What limited your ability to perform faster: Cramps. Needed more track practice and mileage these past couple of months. Refocus and learn to suck it up when the pain hits. I think I wimp out too easily. Event comments: This is a super fun and friendly marathon. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to run a fast course with a lot of people. It was very well run and efficient and the 2009 registration has already opened! Last updated: 2007-11-05 12:00 AM
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United States
Houston Marathon Committee
40F / 4C
Sunny
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Started off the morning with vanilla ensure and coffee. And then Gatorade on my way to the race and while waiting. I made sure to get to the convention center early to have time to relax and decompress before the start. Last year I got there about 10 minutes until the gun and panicked trying to get my bag checked and get in line! This year I was there at 5:45 a.m.
Stretched and sat in the convention center trying to keep my focus and go over what I expected the day to look like. My goal was to run the race in 4:00 or less. While in the end I came out in 4:02:17, this will still a major PR for me and a great race! It was a fantastic day! I made sure once I finally went outside that I hurried to the start to find the 4:00 pace group. While I knew I would warm up quickly, I didn't realize how windy it was that morning and I was only wearing my shorts and a sleeveless top. I looked like a freak, but I started digging through the pile of discarded clothes near the start (we were starting at the front of the second group) to find a shirt. A very nice man offered me his shirt that he was taking off and I gladly took it. It made a huge difference those last few minutes and the first mile of the race!