Somehow I let myself get talked into another marathon about 18 months ago. WHAT MUST I HAVE BEEN THINKING! I think I remember thinking it would not be so bad since it was a winter (January) marathon. I still was not satisfied with my time and kept hoping I would SURELY do better. So WE all sign up for the Houston marathon. Not such a far trip-less expensive and an easy drive from here.
So some sign up for the half and others the whole-but I am a glutton for punishment so I put my name on the dotted line for the whole. It is just something about that 2 year period between marathons that my memory gets a little hazy.
Once again we train for 18 weeks, once again we peak out at 22 miles. WHAT FUN!
The official hotel is downtown right by the start, so we settle in for the night after a delicious pasta dinner (a marathon tradition). It is always difficult to sleep the night before the run, but you are so keyed up that you somehow survive. Fuel Fuel Fuel is the name of the game. While training you learn what to eat and when to eat. On the day of the race-YOU DON'T ALTER THAT PLAN!
The city of Houston does a great job putting on this marathon. The crowd support was as good as it was in Washington and there were not as many runners. You run through several of the Burroughs of Houston and each area did a superb job of cheering on the runners. There is not as much to see-but the crowds and entertainment along the way help make up for that.
The first 18 miles were fine-but I am running alone (NO FUN AT ALL). I am once again running my planned pace and thinking about crossing that finish line. Then I look up and see Running Buddy, Ivory. She is injured and is standing on the side of the road. We are out in the boondocks and there is no way back but on the two legs that brought you this far. I would have never lived with myself if I had gone by her and not stopped. So I stopped and determined what I could do. We get going again, but I have never seen ANYONE look like they were in more pain. It is a struggle of monumental proportions, but we both manage to get across that finish line. I actually had the best time by one minute that I had ever run, but I would have not been able to forgive myself had I gone off and left her. I am never going to be a really fast runner and will not ever qualify for Boston-but some things are much more important to me and the friendship I have gained from my Running Buds is all the glory I will ever need.
Will I run another? Who knows-for now I am not in good enough condition to even consider it. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT TOMORROW MIGHT HOLD THOUGH!
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