I would definitely recommend this race! It was my first time running it (my 5th half I think, I'm starting to lose count), and I honestly have no complaints. I normally try to take mental notes of my gripes about races as I trudge through the miles but I don't remember having any negative thoughts on this one. The race was all about the running which is all a runner can ask for.
This race was very well organized from start to finish. There is a lottery system to enter. You enter the lottery and insert your credit card number and if you win the lottery you get billed lol. Kinda strange to be happy about seeing a $100 debit on your charge card. Anyway, I'm not sure how many people enter the lottery, but on my first try I had luck and got picked :o). #winning!!
I went to the race expo yesterday afternoon. I really appreciated the long expo hours; it was open til 7 pm Friday and Saturday. It was held at the convention center in downtown Houston. I hate downtown areas because I hate paying for parking and searching for free parking. It was good to get familiar with the start line area though. I actually parked illegally so I know that I was in and out of the expo in 10 minutes, including the walk to and from the car. Everything was laid out nicely and I was able to quickly get my race packet and my t-shirt. I did have trouble finding my bib number. They emailed them pretty early and I couldn't find it. I was able to look it up from the website, but if I had one suggestion it might be to have a booth for looking it up. Pretty small thing nonetheless.
This morning I got to the convention center a little after 6 (start time was 7:00). I generally try to get to my races at least an hour early because the bathroom lines are inevitably long long long. My friend was able to drive right up to the convention center so I didn't have to do a lot of walking around. And then a miracle... SHORT BATHROOM LINES!!! I have never seen anything like it. I think they had potta potties set up inside the center as well as outside and it was freezing so maybe a lot of people were just inside, but I was out of line before 6:30. Unheard of. I waited near the building until 6:40 to try to minimize the time I had to spend in the horrible elements. While I was standing there I met a nice lady named Wendy who walked to the start with me. There wasn't a lot of signage directing people exactly where to go, but there were plenty of volunteers out and I found my way to my corral pretty quickly. Actually the half marathon and the marathon had separate start lines which I had never seen before. Seems like a good idea; less congestion. A reverend prayed (gotta love Texas), and then somebody sang the national anthem (she was phenomenal; they said she had performed at presidential inaugurations- unlike the singer at the Dallas Marathon :-/). The race started on time (we were all freezing so that was definitely a major plus) and we were off.
The water stations were great. There wasn't signage to warn you they were coming up (which I prefer) but I didn't have any issues getting to them. Great volunteers. One of them even pinched the cup for me which I thought was above and beyond (it's easier to drink out of the cup if you pinch the top to a point). Houston people are nice and I know this, but while I was running a marathoner poked me to say she'd been pacing off me for 4 miles and I was running a great race. So nice! The half marathon U-turn was clearly marked with signage and volunteers. And the finish was split into two lanes, one for the marathoners and one for the halvers. I thought this was genius, especially since the first marathon finisher finished right when I did. It's good he had room to win his race in peace.
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| The winner surrounded by his entourage. He was Ethiopian as were all of the top finishers, male and female. |
If you can't tell I was really impressed by the race organization. Had to rave a bit. Would definitely run this one again.
The actual race was great too. I woke up and it was ~50 degrees which is pretty good. Unless it's raining. And windy smh. The forecast said it was going to get colder as the day went on. SIGH. I left my hat and fleece at home in Austin (not smart), so I wore a light jacket and capris. Gloves would've been nice to have too. My hands were freezing (the hands are always the first to suffer), but they warmed up by mile 3. At the start the rain started pouring down. SIGH. My feet were soaked in the first five minutes. But the rain let up for the most part and it was still a great race. I always run better in the rain and today was no exception. If you want to race fast you have to train fast. But training fast hurts. So I don't lol. I have slowed down quite a bit this year, averaging about 10 min miles. I was very conscious of my time after the first couple of miles (gotta love the Garmin), and was able to maintain a 9:30 pace. I finished in 2:05:03, less than 2 minutes off my PR. I started to run out of gas around mile 10 but my friend had told me she'd be at mile 11 so that helped me push through. I passed a sign that said 1.5 miles to go and I think I died a slow death. It felt like forever away. But I think that's how a good race is supposed to feel. I started out the 13th mile a bit slow but made a mad dash to the finish in the last half mile.
I'm still trying to figure out the nutrition piece of racing. I've gotten better about carbo loading. I started paying attention to my carb intake on Thursday. I accidently got drunk on Friday night (ha ha) so my goal yesterday was to rehydrate. I had pasta for dinner, not a lot but a decent portion. I also had two gatorades and plenty of water. I woke up in the middle of the night having to pee. Hydration, success. I did have some GI issues earlier yesterday. I had some nachos at a sports bar earlier in the day and i spit out a small chunk of white cheese because it just didn't taste right. I'm not sure if the GI issues were a result of that or something else (like the gazillion drinks I had Friday night followed by the gazillion waters I had yesterday). This morning the issues seemed to be gone. I had half a gatorade, a banana, and about four inches of a sub sandwich all before 6 o'clock. I also took a 5 hr energy shot. I think the energy shot is a mental thing lol. I took 2 Gu's, at miles 4.5 and 9. All of this seemed to work for me (like I said I started to run out of gas at mile 10, but was able to push through). I used the bathroom before 6:30 and didn't have to go during the race. When I finished I was able to go get my medal and t-shirt but then I wanted a bathroom lol. If this had been a full marathon I would not have made it four hours lol. Maybe this is just part of it, I don't know.
Anyway, great race! 3 down, 1 to go!
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| The 3rd of 4 finishers medals |
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| Me post race |
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