Houston, Texas United States Houston Marathon Committee 55F / 13C Sunny

Total Time = 3h 09m 3s Overall Rank = 195/5396 Age Group = M 30-34 Age Group Rank = 32/404

First, a little background. Up until about a year ago, I always thought that running a marathon was a bigger challenge than I cared to face or could even accomplish; the task just seemed too daunting. The majority of my running career was done in high school and comprised mainly of 5k cross country races. I remember thinking back then that the marathon distance seemed completely surreal and well beyond my means. Many years later I decided to get back in shape by running and stuck with the 5k distance for any races I entered and eventually found my way to triathlons. Even after a half-iron distance race in 2007, I still regarded the marathon as an endurance feat that was a bit too much for me. It finally took a good friend running his first marathon last year to make me realize that this distance might be attainable. I decided in March of 2008 that this would be my next big goal in life and promptly signed up for the Houston marathon in April. Fast forward to August and I had not done much training and had a "woke up pregnant" moment when I remembered that I had signed up for the run leg of a half-iron distance relay for Longhorn 70.3. I started training more diligently but it was too little too late for the Longhorn run and I wasn't really thrilled with the results. Looking back, I'm really glad I had this relay in my schedule or I'm afraid I might have slacked off until it was too late for the marathon as well. However, I quickly resumed training for the mary right after the relay and stuck with it with a renewed sense of dedication. I initially stuck with a Hal Higdon taining plan that I found online, but started to modify it about 3-4 weeks into the 18 week program after doing more research. I found 3-4 plans that I liked and gathered a bit from each to come up with a schedule I was happy with. I steadily ramped up to 79 miles/week three weeks before the race and am proud to say that I did not skip a single workout. I was running five days a week and swimming one for the first 9-10 weeks of the program but switched to six days of running and one day of complete rest after that. I imagined running a 3:30 when I signed up but as the training progressed, I started having dreams of times in the 3:20's, 3:10's and then, reluctantly, started thinking about Boston qualifying (3:10:59 or quicker). At first it was truly just a dream goal, but I began obsessing on it during most of my training. I did a few training days later in the program that were designed to predict finishing times and, surprisingly, they were pointing towards the one thing I couldn't get out of my mind...Boston. I tried to keep this lofty goal to myself but I'm no good at not sharing so by the time the race came around, most of my family and friends who were interested were awair of this crazy goal I had talked myself into. The only thing left ot do was go out, have a good time and run my butt off.

The other thing I found out while training for this race is that it truly is about the journey and not just the destination. For those of you who have dedicated a significant amount of time towards a race, you know what I'm taking about and for those who haven't, I highly suggest singing up...it's an awesome thing.


RACE DAY:
Didn't sleep very well...tossed and turned all night. I probably got about 3-4 hours of sleep total. Got up at 3:45 (alarm was set for 4:00), took a shower and had a banana and bowl of oatmeal. Had my typical race morning pit stops (three times in 45 minutes...I was like a pet goose) which I'm pretty sure are a direct results of nerves. Got dressed and headed out the door around 5:10. Got to the race site around 6:00, parked and met friends inside. We stayed indoors until around 6:35ish and then started the walk to the starting line. I found the 3:10 pace group and got as near as I could. At this point, my lower back was starting to get a little stiff as we had been on our feet for a while. Waited as they started the wheelchair group and went through the elite introductions, but surprisingly, I was fairly calm in the last few minutes before the start.

Nothing more than the walk to the starting line.