Houston Half Race Report (and other weekend fun)

I was really looking forward to getting this thing over with! I was feeling kind of negative (not a surprise to those who know me well). I actually skipped a long run this training period, and I got sick on Wednesday before the race. Not good. I had really been looking forward to breaking 2:30:00, seeing Christine, and spending the weekend in Houston with Jonathan. But getting sick zapped the enthusiasm for the weekend.

Friday: Arrive in Houston

Luckily Thursday was the worst I felt. The flight was pretty painful (had a sinus and ear infection), but by mid-afternoon, I was starting to feel better. We went to Jonathan's sister's house and played with her kids, had dinner with the whole family, and stayed the evening.

Saturday: Pre Race

After breakfast and more playtime with the kids, we were off to check into our hotel. We got rooms at one of the race hotels, the Four Seasons. It was so nice! We met the Strouds at the expo, got settled into our room (and did all my favorite race day prep!), then went to dinner with the Strouds and some of their friends, Josh, Jen, and Shane. The expo was so organized that I just had a great feeling about the whole race.



Sunday: The Main Event

I didn't sleep all that great, and it was a 7am race so we got up earlier than usual. I didn't really feel nervous. I was just excited to get the thing out of the way! The hotel was just blocks from the convention center which was so great. We checked our bags and went to our respective starting corrals. Again, everything was first rate. It was incredibly organized! There were 25,000 people running so I thought it would be mass chaos. Fortunately, I was wrong!

The weather was incredible--low 60's, no wind. Earlier in the week, it was projected to be cold, and there was talk of rain. Houston is notoriously muggy so I had low expectations for the weather. However, after the heat at the Dallas Half, and the wind at White Rock, I was sure I could deal with anything. So to actually have great weather---what a blessing!

Miles 1-2: It took forever to get to the actual start. I learned my lesson weaving around people at White Rock so I just walked along until I got there. I could not get my music to work, but I was determined not to panic (I finally got it working). I really tried to look around and take it all in. I was completely inspired by a young couple nearby. The husband was blind, and his wife was leading him through the race. The start was tricky for a sighted person so I cannot imagine how difficult this was for them! I never saw the first mile marker, and I was getting pretty tired. I was thinking what a long 13.1 this was going to be when I saw the second mile marker! No wonder! I kept thinking I was on mile 1! I was relieved to know that I was further along than I thought. Water stations were consistently at every 1.5 miles starting at mile 2. I took water at mile 2, walked 1 minute, then calculated where I needed to be for a 2:30:00 finish. I knew I needed to keep my miles at around 11:30. I was behind at mile 2 so I tried to pick it up the next mile.

Miles 3-7: Most of these miles I read the signs in the crowd and the backs of people's shirts. The crowd support was incredible. There was an adorable little boy (probably 4 years old) on his dad's shoulders screaming at the top of his lungs, "Go Mommy! You're so fast!" He was so cute (especially since I knew that if his mom was anywhere near me, she wasn't fast). My favorite shirt was a grandpa running in between his 2 granddaughters. The front of his shirt said "Amy and Kim's Paw-Paw". The front of the girls' shirts said "I'm Kim." "I'm Amy." The back of his shirt said "I Had to Make Them Do This." The back of the girls' shirts said "He Made Me Do This" with arrows pointing toward the grandpa. They got loud cheers from the crowd!

Making sure I was on pace really passed the time. I only checked my pace at every mile marker, and I kept being surprised that I was on track for a 2:30:00 finish. Since the water stops were consistent, I decided to walk 1 minute at each water stop instead of each mile.

Miles 8-10: These miles were tough. It was a long stretch where you ran to the end then turned around and ran back (I didn't like this part of the White Rock course either). It was discouraging to see the mile 10 marker on the other side of the road and know I wasn't even at mile 8 yet. I had a fear that I would fall apart at mile 10 (like the other 2 half marathons) so I really tried to work hard and stay on pace these miles. Amazingly, I did.

Mile 11-13.1: At White Rock, I had to extend my walk breaks to 2 and 3 minutes the last couple of miles. I was so surprised to be a little ahead of pace when I got to mile 10 that this gave me a big rush. I knew if I kept it up, I'd meet my goal. The last water stop was at mile 11.5. I decided this would be my last walk break, and it would only be a minute. Right after the walk break, there was a bridge with a sign that said "You only have 1.5 miles to go". This was also the part of the course where you could see mile 25 of the marathon. Some of the elites were on that part of the course (yes, the elites were finishing 25 miles at the same time I was finishing 11.5 miles). It was amazing to see how fast they were running and hear the crowds yelling for them. Most of the half marathoners were yelling for them, too. I decided that if they could stomach another 1 after 25 miles, surely I could stomach another 1.5 after only 11.5 miles. I couldn't believe how strong I felt the last 1.5 miles. I knew I had to book it to finish in 2:30:00 so I didn't let up. My music was stuck on 3 songs, and one of them was a Christian song called "You are a Child of Mine". I blared it then I turned off my music the last .5 miles so I could hear the crowd. It felt so good to cross the finish line!

Jonathan was waiting at the finish line, and we got our finisher shirts (so cute) then met up with the Strouds and Josh, Jen, and Shane (David, Josh, and Christine all ran the 5k). Jonathan finished in 2:07:27 (a new PR!), and I finished in 2:28:47! It was a great race--wonderful weather, a well organized event, good finish times, and shared with friends!

Sunday P.M.: We shared a post race meal with the Strouds, Josh, Jen, and Shane then headed over to see more of Jonathan's family. We shared dinner with his sweet Aunt Dorothy and sweet grandmother, Mary, before turning in at his grandmother's house.

Monday: Another One Down, None to Go (at least not anytime soon)

We shared breakfast with his grandmother before meeting his family for lunch then it was off to the airport to come home. We had a few minutes to kill after lunch so we stopped by an AT&T store and got my belated birthday gift..an iPhone! Hurray! All in all, a great weekend, and a great "last half marathon for awhile." I'm looking forward to taking the week off and enjoying my sub-2:30 finish.