Chevron Houston Marathon

Date: 1/17/2010
Time: 7:10 AM
Workout: HOUSTON MARATHON
Weather: Perfect- beautiful and sunny
Finishing Time: 4:19
Race Notes: I ran with my brother Eric for his 2nd marathon and my 5th. While the Arctic Blast had Houston freezing the week before, it warmed up and stopped raining just in time to make Houston beautiful on Sunday morning. We left the house at 5:45 AM and made it there just in time to check our bag, use the restroom, and stretch a little before heading to the starting line. Neither of us had really been marathon training for the previous month, and I hadn't had a long run since the Marine Corps Marathon in October. The two of us stayed together and enjoyed the race for the first 15 miles and had 2 bathroom stops. We were averaging around a 10:30 min/mile pace at that point. After the second bathroom break, Eric's IT band was giving him problems and prevented him from running the whole time, so I went ahead. For the first time in a marathon, I was feeling pretty good and picked up the pace to finish the race with a negative split. I averaged less than a 9 minute mile for the rest of the race and finished the last mile strong with the help of a corps guy from A&M pushing me to run faster.

I want to give a special thanks to everyone that came out and supported us in the race. I was delighted to see some friendly faces from my TNT Nation's Triathlon team at Mile 7 cheering us on. It was such a great boost to see everyone and got me wanting to run a little quicker after stopping to give hugs. Eric and I didn't think our parents were going to get out to see us, but they surprised us and were there with their dog, Princess, at the half marathon mark to cheer us on. I was so excited that they made it out. They also met us at Memorial Park at Mile 20 to catch us again, although I felt bad for Princess not getting to run with us. Finally, they were able to make it to the finish line in order to watch Eric finish the race. It really kept me going knowing they were going to be at Memorial Park to see us again. Also, I'd like to thank Chip Deeds, a friend of David's family, for running with me a little bit after handing me water at Mile 21. Of course I couldn't escape seeing Chip without him getting some up close pictures of me running. Taryn and Andy were also there at Mile 23 after they completed the half marathon, and Katy Carrico was nice enough to wait around and watch me cross the finish line!

Eric was able to put the pain aside and run through the finish line for a 5:24 finish time! Way to go Eric! He has had IT band problems in both marathons he's finished. His new goal is to complete a marathon without getting hurt! I am a little jealous that he got to shake Pres. George Bush Sr's hand though and I didn't get to see him. Too bad we didn't get a picture of that!

Thank you to Team In Training, my family, and friends for all of your support! I could have never done it without you! Maybe next time I can pick up the pace and qualify for Boston!