At my last track practice the Tuesday before the marathon, Shawn told me he thought I had the physical ability and fitness to run well in the marathon. He said I just had to get right in my head about it; that he was worried all the crap that had gone on in the few weeks before that could leave my head in another place and less than confident. I walked away thinking (overreacting of course) "ugh! he thinks I'm too much of a head case to run well this weekend?!" But then I also realized that may have been the best thing he could have said. It almost seemed like a challenge - I felt like I had to prove that my head would be in the right place and that I would make it happen. I had to prove it to myself more than him, but it was certainly good food for thought.
It was really weird driving to Houston and staying in a hotel downtown for the Houston Marathon. This was my 7th year to run there (5th full marathon; I ran the half two of the 7 years), and I lived in Houston for each of those years. This was my first time to go back to race since I moved to Austin. My parents and Mrs. Clark (aka Mom #2) drove in from Beaumont and we all stayed at the same hotel. When they came up to my room they said they had bad news but took forever to tell me what it was. I was getting frustrated, thinking "who else died?" because it had been that kind of month with my Grandmother and Charlie passing away. Sure enough it was not that bad, and comical if anything. The valet was taking my car to park it when my parents drove up and they saw him drive it into a pole. Awesome. It wasn't that bad and he totally admitted to doing it, but probably would have never said anything had my parents not seen it happen. Come to find out it was $500 of damage (I have the check to deposit in my possession now - just need to make it to the bank!).
We had originally planned to go eat at Mia Bella in the Pavilions because it was walking distance from our hotel. I had reservations made but then was called and told the person who made my reservation wasn't supposed to make reservations, so I had no reservation. They then offered me a 9:30pm reservation. No thanks. And I will not be going to your restaurant in the future. Turns out our hotel had a buffet for the runners that worked out just fine. I was tired by that point anyway and didn't want to deal with trying to go anywhere else. I got my stuff ready, amidst talks of awful weather and the potential cancellation of the race the next morning. They had said if lightning was spotted within 10 miles of the course, the race would be shut down. Its Texas. What were the chances of there not being lightning with a storm coming through?
I slept until 6 Sunday morning which was nice - since I did not have to drive or park, I got to sleep later than usual. I feared what I would see out the window and/or on the radar when I woke up, but sure enough it was clear. Or, well, clearly 100% humidity, but no huge storms anywhere around us. I made my dad walk down with me because I had my arm warmers and gloves with me - I figured I wouldn't need them, but didn't know for sure and didn't want to have to take them all the way back to my room if I decided I didn't need them. Sure enough, when I walked outside I was hit with a wall of steam and no hint of cold air. Back the arm warmers and gloves went with Dad, and off I went on my 3/4 mile jog to the start line.
Houston starts in two waves now. The first year they announced that I got my nose all out of joint about it because I was in the second wave, but it actually worked out great and I had no problem being in the second wave again. It meant I got to sleep even later! I walked out around 6:45 and my start was at 7:10. After the first wave went off, I made my way up through the crowds. I knew I wanted to line up ahead of the 4:15 page group. I kept walking and walking and walking. Until I stopped. On the start line. Wow. The 4:15 group was 1-2 people off the start line. Previously, 4:00 had been the cutoff between the two waves, but apparently it was now 4:15. I had seen an old high school classmate (Aaron) just before I got up there. His wife (also from my high school) had run before, but this was his first. He said he was aiming for a 4:30 or 4:45. I had hoped he was going to run a bit faster so I'd have some company, but oh well. Anyways, at the start line Monica and I found each other and we were laughing about our prime start location. The press was all lined up in front of us and it was a bit surreal. I think being on the start line was one of the best little surprises of the day. It also meant that when the timers were calling splits at every mile I had to do no math. The splits and pace they called were mine. You can see Monica and me on the start line in this video. I'm in the pink skirt and she's in the pink top.
Before we knew it, the gun went off and I went off too. The first mile is one of the longest "climbs" on the course, as you go up the Elisyan Viaduct. About 1/2 mile in I looked and knew I needed to slow way down. Even with the intentional slow down, mile 1 was a 9:16. Goal pace for the day was ~9:30. So not awful, but I definitely did not need to keep spitting out 9:16 miles. The first few miles were uneventful. I was excited to be running and pleased that goal pace was coming easily.
5k - 29:05 (9:22 pace)
I saw Leigh just before we turned south on Studewood. She was one of the first of the many familiar faces I would see through the course of my 26.2 miles. I definitely felt at home out there. I was relieved to realize I was not hot. I was certainly not cold, but the ~70 degree temps were not killing me, at least not yet. The miles were still coming easy, but the course was getting more and more crowded.
10k - 58:42 (9:26 pace)
I saw a big group of Houston Racing friends around mile 7, coming across Allen Parkway, and they got me excited. Team Woodhead's first stop was just before mile 8. I didn't say much to them, just that I was doing well and that it was sooo crowded. It started to rain pretty steadily sometime in this stretch. I welcomed it. Familiar faces continued to grace the course. I realized that with Aaron not far behind me, I was going to get double the cheering crew. I went to high school with everyone out there cheering for him, and they were awesome about cheering for me also. I had no idea where all they would be, so it was such a treat. I grew increasingly frustrated with how crowded it was on Studemont and Montrose and could not wait for mile 9 where the half marathoners split and made a u-turn off the full marathon course. A group of familiar faces was at the Annunciation School water stop too - Kelley and Kristin, also from high school.
Mile 9. Ahhhhhhhh. It was almost silent as the half marathoners turned around and we ran on. It is kind of odd and almost symbolic as we continue to cross 59 towards Rice. One of the quietest few blocks of the course, as we face the fact that we are not running the half, but still have quite a journey ahead. It was also a moment for me, as this was the first time since 2008 that I was going straight instead of making the turn for home. I had been too sick in 2009 to run the full and was sick again/not fully recovered from IMFL in 2010 so ran the half that year too. This year, finally, I was getting to go straight again.
15k - 1:28:19 (9:31 pace)
I remember starting to hurt by mile 9 the last time I had run the Houston full. That was in 2008 where I ran a 4:30 which was a 42 minute pr. I reminded myself that it was okay to hurt by that point, that pr's do not come without a price, and that I cannot expect it to not hurt. Each mile started to hurt a little more, but my pace was not really affected. I told myself at one point "okay, this is how it is going to be. Each mile will hurt a little more, but you are NOT going to slow down. You are just going to deal with it." University street has historically been one of my favorite parts of the course. This year was a little different. I did see the Alfords out there and said hi to them. Their daughter, Leigh Anne, was running her first full that day. She also went to school with me - preschool through high school. Come to find out, there were at least six of us from the Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School class of 1999 running that day. How cool is that?? My crew was at mile 12 in Rice Village. I told them I was still doing good and didn't need anything. I may have been kind of boring for them to watch - I didn't stop and talk like I had at times in the past, and didn't need anything that I'd given them to carry around in case I did need something. I guess that means I was having a good race, but not necessarily exciting for them.
I was so excited to cross Kirby on University. This where the American flags start to line the street, on both sides. Usually one of my favorite miles, this year it left much to be desired. The flags were out, and there were people there, but no one was cheering. The ground was wet and it was almost a depressing area! I wanted to say "cheer up!" but was already reserving my energy for more important things. I came through the half still on pace but definitely hurting.
13.1 - 2:04:11 (9:29 pace)
The "huge hill" on Westpark is between mile 14 and 15. It is an overpass over a few railroad tracks. It is dreaded by all Houston runners. This year, though, I was proud of my new Austin legs. They ran right up and over that hill without much effort. Just before that I'd seen Aaron's crew again and they really fired me up. After the first few miles, I do not think I went more than 5-10 minutes at a time without seeing someone I knew. The highs and lows of emotions during a marathon can be crazy. I'd see someone I knew, a kind smile or a loud cheer, and I would be so excited. Then, not 5 minutes later, I'd find myself back in the depths of the reality of what I was doing - trying to run 26.2 miles faster than I'd ever run 20 miles, or 18, or even 14 for that matter. There would be highs, thinking of Charlie, thinking of the day I was having in his honor - doing what I love. Then lows, being sad about the loss of he and Grandmother.
25k - 2:27:10 (9:28 pace)
Just after turning onto Richmond, I noticed Aaron was right behind me. I looked at him and said "okay, Mr. 4:30. What are you doing here? Do you realize you are on pace for a 4:08 finish right now?" He said "ya, that's what they tell me," clearly flustered by trying to talk. I tried to talk some more but he had headphones on and I'm not sure knew what I was saying. Finally he said "I'm just going to stay right behind you." This was bad and good. Bad because I would have much rathered he stay next to me so I had some company, but awesome because it held me accountable and I realized I had all of a sudden become someone's pace bunny and I was going to take that job very seriously. My crew was just past mile 16 again and I was boring once again but told them I was doing well. Aaron's crew was just around the corner so it was double cheers at that point. Kim was originally going to meet me at mile 18 but we realized that would be a logistical nightmare. After mile 16 I was so wishing she was going to be there, not mile 22 as we had later planned. Tanglewood has been hard every time I've run that course. Its beautiful but seems to go on forever. The support is good too, but you are approaching mile 18 and everything is really starting to hurt. I came around the corner at Chimney Rock to Woodway and knew I was basically on my way home, but still had a loooong way to go. I saw several friends at that intersection, but was losing the ability to have much interaction. I crossed the 30k mark and was slowly entering a land of mental oblivion. I looked for the Big Bushes, but I do not think they were out this year.
30k - 2:56:39 (9:29 pace)
Miles 19 and 20 came, slowly, but surely. I was shocked I was still on pace, but it was hurting. Crossing 610 into Memorial Park is kind of the symbolic beginning of the end, which in a marathon can also be dubbed as the wall. Mile 20. Pain. The sun peeked out just as I came into the park. I looked at it, cursed it, told it it had to go back because I was not wearing sunglasses and because the weather would have been unbearable had it stayed out. I guess it listened - I did not see it again until I was eating lunch at 3pm. There are some slight inclines through the park that you never even notice in a car, but certainly do at that point of a marathon. I knew Kim and possibly Tiffany would be at mile 22, ready to run to the finish with me. I could not wait. I knew there would be a huge crew at mile 22 in front of Tri On The Run. I knew there'd be another crew at 23 and another at mile 24. Just hold on and those will come soon enough. At mile 21 I finally broke. Just a little though. I let myself walk. It felt sooo good. I told myself I could slow down to 10 minute miles from there to the finish and that I would still have a huge pr. It is amazing what a weight was lifted off my shoulders when I let myself off the 9:30 hook. Turns out that mile was around 9:40, so I did not even slow down that much at all, but mentally it was so much easier to tackle.
35k - 3:26:29 (9:30 pace)
Mile 22. Ahhh. Finally. I saw a mass of people I knew and saw Kim hop out well in advance of my arrival to hook up with me. As I got closer, Tiffany hopped in too. I briefly remember seeing Jill cheering like crazy for me too, but do not recall in the least what she or I said. I did not have much of a brain left at that point. Kim and Tiffany talked and I talked when I could. Mostly I just listened to them talk. Mile 23 came - I saw Dionn and told her on I was on pace for a huge PR and then saw more of the Ft. Bend Fit group. I did not say much while we were running; I think at one point I managed to get out that I was shocked I was still running so well, but that it hurt. Everything hurt. At one point I remember Tiffany running in front of me and thinking she was going to kill me. But sure enough, it was just what I needed. It kept me on pace. Mile 24 - Houston Racing. I saw many familiar faces but could not really express much. Ron tried to feed me a snickers and that was the absolute last thing I wanted. And you know something is up when I say I don't want chocolate. I saw Aaron's crew once again and told them I was so glad they were out there. We ran by a group with something in coke cups. I decided coke sounded awesome at that point. I asked if it was coke and they said it was beer. I was utterly disgusted that they had beer and not coke! I slowed to walk a few times here and there, but never for too long. Kim and Tiffany's gentle encouragement was exactly what I needed.
40k - 3:57:25 (9:33 pace)
Tiffany turned around just before downtown. Kim stuck with me as we passed the mile 25 marker. I knew then that I had accomplished what I set out to do that day. Unfortunately I still had a mile of hell to actually get there! The wind downtown was so bad at one point I tried to run behind Kim but quickly informed her she sucked as a windscreen. The blocks were ticking off, one at a time, but not fast enough. Kim peeled off around the Four Seasons and told me I had just a tiny little bit to go. She was right. I had done it. I saw Team Woodhead and made that last left turn for the finish. I tried to speed up but nothing was there. I was okay with that. I had given all I had to give. I had my day for Charlie. I had finally been healthy enough to run, and to run well.
Finish- 4:10:52 (9:34 pace)
My second half was 2 minutes slower than my first half. That is the closest splits I have had in a marathon and I'm thrilled I was able to hang on as long as I did. Sounds kind of stupid, but it takes guts to go for a pr. My mantra through this whole process was "you don't know if you don't try." I was met with more than one look of doubt when I told people what my plan was, especially given the less-than-ideal conditions forecast for that day. That plan was to go out near 9:30 pace and see how long I could hold onto it. I had trained for it, I had the tools for it, I just had to make it happen. I'm sure there are also many people who think there is nothing special or hard at all about running at 4:10 marathon. For me, it was very much both special and hard. It took me 7 marathons to break the 5:00 mark. This was number 9. I guess the next natural step is to try to break 4:00, but if it takes me 7 more to get there, I'm not sure I have it in me, at least not anytime soon :-)
We are so spoiled in Houston for the marathon. You are in the convention center before and after. Its huge and has everything you need. Thankfully there weren't really any big crowds when I finished so I was able to get my gear and food with relative ease. Aaron found me in the finisher's shirt line and I was so excited to see him. Turns out he finished in 4:13. Pretty darn awesome for a first marathon, if you ask me! We walked back to the family reunion side together and saw a lot of his crew and then some of my cousin's family before I made my way to my family. I found them and Kim and we all walked back to the hotel together. I took a quick shower and then we headed back to the finish to watch Danny Green finish his first marathon. The Futura/Pan street corner in Beaumont was well-represented that day. My family lives on the corner - the Clark's live across from the front of our house and the Green's live across from the side of our house. All three of our families have been there forever (us and the Green's over 30 years, the Clark's 28 years). Kelly (Clark) had originally planned to come in to run too, but wasn't able to. She was definitely missed, but her mom did a good job of representing their side of the street!
After we saw Danny come in we headed to Lupe Tortilla's for lunch. Yuuuuummmm. I was a little worried about driving back to Austin by myself after the race - I made sure to have plenty of food and fluids to hopefully make the drive okay. There have been some marathons where I've been absolutely fine after and others where I barely even had the ability to feed myself. Thankfully the chocolate milk immediately after finishing and awesome fajitas at Lupe's seemed to do the trick. I was good to go on the way home, aside from having to pee every 15 minutes. Oh the joys of hydrating.
Houston angered a lot of people by going to a lottery system, and may not have made the best decisions about that whole process, but they still put on a damn good race. Their planning and execution is top notch. The course was crowded at the beginning and I noticed one stop early on had run out of gatorade, but aside from that, they did a fabulous job. I will definitely continue to run this race when I can and much prefer the full course there to the full course here. Even though I live in Austin now, I feel like this will always have an appeal to me as a "hometown marathon." I guess I may have to make a little more room for title of hometown marathon though considering Beaumont also has one now too.
I'm thankful to my parents and Mrs. Clark for being the best support crew around. I'm also so thankful Kim and Tiffany were there at mile 22. I'm really not sure I could have done it without them. Having Shawn's help has been awesome too. I can bounce ideas off him and he is responsible for some changes in my training I made this year that made a big difference. He kicked my butt before dawn every Tuesday and Thursday at Anderson HS for weeks on end leading up to the race, and also suggested adding goal pace miles to some of my long training runs. I was scared to death of that prospect but clearly it did some good.
My next big race is Ironman Texas in May. I'm not sure when my next marathon will be. Registration for Houston opens in July - hopefully I'll know by then if that is something I want to do for 2012 or not.
And now for the obligatory toe report: looks like two toes blew up. That is not too bad considering my feet were wet for at least 20 miles of the run. The blister on my right big toe shocked me when I took my shoes off in my hotel room. I purposely didn't put my shoes and socks back on in my room when we went back out to watch...I carried them to my parents room to make sure my mom saw my gross toe. She just loves that kind of thing. Not. But I do love grossing her out.
My middle left toe was pretty much a blister over the entire top of my toe and under the nail. I lost the nail last night, but not before it got infected a few days after the race. That one was pretty too!
My pictures and video are here. Some are pretty funny - there are ones from overhead at mile 24. Kim is in black, Tiffany in white. They are clearly smiling and talking. I, in the middle, am completely out of it and trying to just stay alive. You can also see me on the start line in a few of the pics. Just call me famous :-)
(more pictures coming soon - I'm experiencing technical difficulties right now!)
Comments
And belated congrats on your PR. I'm aiming to go for one myself on the 15th so I know how hard it is and I commend you for sticking with it!