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Short Version:<br><br>
Breakfast -- Cup of coffee then a Clif bar in the car<br>
Weather -- Beautiful sunny day with a temp of 45!!<br>
Attire -- LS hot pink tech T and blue/pink running skirt<br><br>
Last year's Time -- 3:07:12 (14:13/mile), 503/558 AG<br>
Goal Time -- 2:05:00<br>
Finish Time -- 2:04:18 (9:30/mile)<br>
Rankings -- 176/647 AG, 852/3512 F, 2185/6035 OA<br><br>
Long Version:<br><br>
First, I have to explain last year's time. I didn't really run that slowly. I did not train well for the race. I had only run for 6 months (EVER), and my longest run was only 10 miles. So, I ended up with GI issues which caused me to stop twice for a long time. According to my GPS, I think I ran about a 10:30/mile last year, but a more than 1 hour improvement sure looks good! Plus, I trained REALLY well this time. My longest run was 17 miles, plus I did hill training and interval training, which I've never done before. It obviously helped TON!<br><br>
I went to bed around 9 or so and slept well until about 1:30 am. From then on, I was in and out of sleep. DH and I both finally woke up around 4:30. We leisurely got ready. We were staying at my grandmother's house because the kids were there so she could take care of them during the race. We got our coffee and got ready. My running partner met us there so I could ride with her (she doesn't like driving downtown). I ate my Clif bar in the car and she had a Powerbar. We got parked and walked my DH's parents' hotel to meet up with them. We decided to head out at 6:40 for the starting line. We lined up between the 4:00 and 4:15 marathon pacers. We saw someone we knew and talked for a bit. Then, we were ready to go. They did the National Anthem then FINALLY the gun went off. Fireworks were going off everywhere (later we inhaled the smoke as we ran through it)<br><br>
After raining all day yesterday, today was a beautiful sunny day. They kept promising it would be, but I wasn't going to believe it until I saw it because this is Texas! LOL The temperature was around 45 at start time. DH started with us because he planned to run the full marathon at my half marathon pace. BIL started farther up and MIL started farther back with her brother. Jen, my running partner, and I really didn't want to start too fast. We both had our Garmin on, so we watched them closely. The first 3 miles were uphill, so we wanted to be careful not to push it too hard. The next 3-4 miles were mostly downhill and flat until we really hit the hills around mile 7-8. We planned to walk for 30 secs. at every water station (every mile). So, we did just that. We felt really good, and we were right on our goal at mile 6. Plus, we came back into downtown around mile 5-6 where there were TONS of spectators. It really makes you run fast! Then, we headed back out. Both of our Garmins were off on the mileage, so the pace was also a little off, but we were mainly just looking at the time to keep our pace. Once we hit the hills, the going got tough. We had decided we were not taking any water or walk breaks after mile 10. Well, at the water station between mile 10 and 11, there was a HUGE hill, so we decided to grab some Powerade and walk up the hill. After that, we didn't walk at all. The last two miles were tough because there were a few REALLY steep long hills. I just kept telling myself the faster I run, the sooner I get to stop running! I thought we'd be able to run negative splits the last 3 miles, but with those hills, we were doing good to keep our pace.<br><br>
So, I sprinted to the end, trying to beat Jen. I actually did beat her across the finish line, but our times were exactly the same. My ranking did show me on top, though. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"> She always beats me by a few seconds, and DH told me I better beat her this time! I knew we had made our goal, and we were both happy and felt great. I think I did a great job, considering I've only run for a year and a half (started with C25K in August 2006)<br><br>
Unfortunately, Jen called her DH who had come down to see her with her two kids, and she found out he was having an anxiety attack. So, we had to walk to where he was, then to their car, and she had to drive him home. I drove her car to her house later.<br><br>
After that fiasco, I had to get back to see my BIL finish his first marathon. His ultimate goal time was 3:10 because that's the Boston qualifying time. He ended up finishing his first marathon in 3:13:42, which he was really happy with. He said he was actually keeping a 3:05 pace until mile 23 when his legs started cramping badly.<br><br>
We went back to the hotel for just a few minutes, then we headed out to see my DH finish. We ended up missing him by about a minute because he finished faster than his projected 4:15. His final time was 4:04:05. This was also his first marathon. We walked around some more, then waited for my MIL to finish her first marathon at age 58. She finally did finish in 5:11:28.<br><br>
All in all, it was a GREAT day!! I know several other people who PRed at this race. The funny thing is that the fastest marathon time was not very fast at all (2:20). I got to see the first marathon finishers come in, though. It was really cool because they came in right after I finished. The crowd went wild!<br><br>
Oh, DH has decided I should go for a HIM this year now. The one here is in October, and it is an Ironman event this year. That is another thread, though! Yikes!!!
Breakfast -- Cup of coffee then a Clif bar in the car<br>
Weather -- Beautiful sunny day with a temp of 45!!<br>
Attire -- LS hot pink tech T and blue/pink running skirt<br><br>
Last year's Time -- 3:07:12 (14:13/mile), 503/558 AG<br>
Goal Time -- 2:05:00<br>
Finish Time -- 2:04:18 (9:30/mile)<br>
Rankings -- 176/647 AG, 852/3512 F, 2185/6035 OA<br><br>
Long Version:<br><br>
First, I have to explain last year's time. I didn't really run that slowly. I did not train well for the race. I had only run for 6 months (EVER), and my longest run was only 10 miles. So, I ended up with GI issues which caused me to stop twice for a long time. According to my GPS, I think I ran about a 10:30/mile last year, but a more than 1 hour improvement sure looks good! Plus, I trained REALLY well this time. My longest run was 17 miles, plus I did hill training and interval training, which I've never done before. It obviously helped TON!<br><br>
I went to bed around 9 or so and slept well until about 1:30 am. From then on, I was in and out of sleep. DH and I both finally woke up around 4:30. We leisurely got ready. We were staying at my grandmother's house because the kids were there so she could take care of them during the race. We got our coffee and got ready. My running partner met us there so I could ride with her (she doesn't like driving downtown). I ate my Clif bar in the car and she had a Powerbar. We got parked and walked my DH's parents' hotel to meet up with them. We decided to head out at 6:40 for the starting line. We lined up between the 4:00 and 4:15 marathon pacers. We saw someone we knew and talked for a bit. Then, we were ready to go. They did the National Anthem then FINALLY the gun went off. Fireworks were going off everywhere (later we inhaled the smoke as we ran through it)<br><br>
After raining all day yesterday, today was a beautiful sunny day. They kept promising it would be, but I wasn't going to believe it until I saw it because this is Texas! LOL The temperature was around 45 at start time. DH started with us because he planned to run the full marathon at my half marathon pace. BIL started farther up and MIL started farther back with her brother. Jen, my running partner, and I really didn't want to start too fast. We both had our Garmin on, so we watched them closely. The first 3 miles were uphill, so we wanted to be careful not to push it too hard. The next 3-4 miles were mostly downhill and flat until we really hit the hills around mile 7-8. We planned to walk for 30 secs. at every water station (every mile). So, we did just that. We felt really good, and we were right on our goal at mile 6. Plus, we came back into downtown around mile 5-6 where there were TONS of spectators. It really makes you run fast! Then, we headed back out. Both of our Garmins were off on the mileage, so the pace was also a little off, but we were mainly just looking at the time to keep our pace. Once we hit the hills, the going got tough. We had decided we were not taking any water or walk breaks after mile 10. Well, at the water station between mile 10 and 11, there was a HUGE hill, so we decided to grab some Powerade and walk up the hill. After that, we didn't walk at all. The last two miles were tough because there were a few REALLY steep long hills. I just kept telling myself the faster I run, the sooner I get to stop running! I thought we'd be able to run negative splits the last 3 miles, but with those hills, we were doing good to keep our pace.<br><br>
So, I sprinted to the end, trying to beat Jen. I actually did beat her across the finish line, but our times were exactly the same. My ranking did show me on top, though. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"> She always beats me by a few seconds, and DH told me I better beat her this time! I knew we had made our goal, and we were both happy and felt great. I think I did a great job, considering I've only run for a year and a half (started with C25K in August 2006)<br><br>
Unfortunately, Jen called her DH who had come down to see her with her two kids, and she found out he was having an anxiety attack. So, we had to walk to where he was, then to their car, and she had to drive him home. I drove her car to her house later.<br><br>
After that fiasco, I had to get back to see my BIL finish his first marathon. His ultimate goal time was 3:10 because that's the Boston qualifying time. He ended up finishing his first marathon in 3:13:42, which he was really happy with. He said he was actually keeping a 3:05 pace until mile 23 when his legs started cramping badly.<br><br>
We went back to the hotel for just a few minutes, then we headed out to see my DH finish. We ended up missing him by about a minute because he finished faster than his projected 4:15. His final time was 4:04:05. This was also his first marathon. We walked around some more, then waited for my MIL to finish her first marathon at age 58. She finally did finish in 5:11:28.<br><br>
All in all, it was a GREAT day!! I know several other people who PRed at this race. The funny thing is that the fastest marathon time was not very fast at all (2:20). I got to see the first marathon finishers come in, though. It was really cool because they came in right after I finished. The crowd went wild!<br><br>
Oh, DH has decided I should go for a HIM this year now. The one here is in October, and it is an Ironman event this year. That is another thread, though! Yikes!!!
