When I signed up for the Aramco Houston
Half-Marathon last year I really wanted to use it as a PR race but that
wasn’t in the cards this weekend. First a shout-out to my wonderful
hosts, the aunt and uncle of a law school classmate of mine (who was
supposed to run too but had to cancel her trip last minute), who could
not have been more welcoming (the aunt also ran the race and PRd with a
1:41!!!).
I’ve been battling a cold for the past two
weeks so I had B and C time goals in mind. Friday night my flight out
was delayed several times so instead of getting in before 9, I got in
near 11. By the time I got to sleep it was well past midnight and
unfortunately my brain didn’t realize I didn’t have work the next
morning because it woke me up around 5:15 am! When I did my 3 mile
shakeout run later in the day my legs still felt kind of heavy—not light
and fresh the way they were supposed to.
In order to get downtown on Sunday for the
start we had to leave by 5 am which meant a 4:15 wake-up and another
night of not enough sleep. I had my usual bagel with peanut butter
(having had my ritual pancakes for breakfast and pasta for dinner the
day before) and we were out the door right on time. We cruised downtown
with no traffic and found a spot in a garage by 5:30. At 5:45 we left
the warm car and headed over to the convention center. There weren’t
any port-o-potties in sight so, after ditching my warm clothes, I
headed to the corals for a pit stop. It was a little chilly, but not
cold and with clear skies, the weather was absolutely perfect.
Although the half has around 11,000
people, there are only three corals, the A, B, and open corals. I
thought it would be a mess but it worked surprisingly well—I managed to
get almost to the front. After several running celebrities were
introduced, a prayer was offered, and the anthem sung, the gun went
off.
In spite of the large number of people I
experience no crowding at the beginning. You run immediately over the
freeway on a bridge which constitutes the biggest “hill” of the course.
To your left, you can see the full marathoners who merge onto the same
bridge. At mile 1, I realized I had started my watch too early and for
the first time in my running history the course clocks were behind my
watch! I knocked out mile 2 in a PR pace but I could feel the
effort—the last time I ran a PR, the whole race felt effortless so I
already had doubts.
The areas we were running through
definitely had a inner-city feel, but after seeing so much suburban
sprawl, it was a nice change. We were now running with the marathoners
but the course remained very open. At this point my legs started to feel
tired. My breathing was great but my body wasn’t giving me the speed I
asked for. My pace didn’t change too much for the next couple miles,
but I was having serious doubts since nothing felt right.
Just after mile 5, we turned onto what is
essentially a long straightaway that lasts for 4 miles. I began asking
myself if I shouldn’t just slow down and treat the day as a long run.
Nevertheless, I kept going, reminding myself that I was still on track
for my C goal and that my B goal was not impossible.
Because
of an out-and-back spur, at mile 7 you start seeing faster
half-marathoners running towards you on the other side of the street.
At this point I began counting the minutes until I would may the
turnaround and join them. Around mile 9, just after the turnaround
another guy was running right beside me. I picked up the pace a little
to match him as he increased speed and stuck with him. He told me I was
doing great and I returned the compliment. He definitely kept me
moving faster than I would have on my own.
Just
before mile 10, the course makes a right turn onto a parkway and
begins heading downtown. From this point onward, I had one goal:
finish! I lost my supportive friend somewhere along the parkway but I
tried to keep up my own pace. Thes were slower miles but with the
downtown skyline drawing me in, I found more energy than I thought I
had.
Finally, I could see the convention center
which signaled the finish line. I knew I would meet my C goal with no
problem but I still tried to speed up when I saw the 400 meters to go
sign. I crossed the finish in 1:24:37, my slowest time since 2009, but
felt great about it. I had run the race without throwing in the towel
and had a great time overall enjoying the spectators, the other
runners, and the city itself. I hope to return next year for a second
chance at this race!
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