Houston Half Marathon Recap

“My only regret is that I didn’t take the can of beer at Mile 8.” – That is what I said to my husband after we finished 13.1 for the 3rd time.

After months of training, you would think I would have done better and been more serious about this race, but the weather made it extremely challenging. When I saw the forecast, I was so mad. 100% humidity? Rain? 70 degrees? That is quite possibly the worst case scenario for race day. I thought about not showing up, but I did it anyways.

I was pretty serious about my training up until Christmas. Once we went on Christmas vacation, my running slipped. Between vacation and a business trip to California, it was hard to make time to fit in the last couple weeks of training. This probably made the race more difficult for me as well.

Overall, the course was nice. It was flat with only 1 small hill at Mile 11. The crowd support was great and we got to run through some beautiful neighborhoods in Houston. I would recommend this race for a half-marathon or marathon newbie. Our first half was the Nashville Rock ‘n’ Roll which was all hills – I almost swore off half-marathons forever after that!

Anyways, I thought it would be fun (or funny) to recap my thoughts throughout the race. I think it is interesting to look back and see what you were thinking at each mile. I hope y’all find this interesting or funny, too!

Thoughts at:

• Mile 0: “Okay, it’s go time! I think I am ready.” “Oh there is a nice cool breeze in the air, that will be helpful – I bet the humidity won’t be that bad after all!”

• Mile 1: “Well, so much for the cool breeze. There is no breeze now.” “Why am I already drenched in sweat?”
• Mile 2: “Oh no, someone already fell over and passed out.” “Okay, I definitely need to grab one of those waters…..to pour over my body.”
• Mile 3: “Perfect, I am feeling great now after dousing myself with water!” “We are really picking up the pace!” “I am feeling good!” *Looks down at watch* “A 11:15 mile!? No way, I had to AT LEAST be going 10:30”
• Mile 4: “Okay Catheryn, you are doing just fine, just keep going.” “I really wish it wasn’t so humid.”
• Mile 5: “I really don’t think I am going to make it to the 10K point. Why do I suck at running?” “Why did I even train for this?”
• Mile 6: “OMG, the chafe is real!” “Maybe I should stop and walk a bit to re-gain control over my breathing and figure out this chafing.” “Okay, shouldn’t have stopped, my feet feel terrible!”
• Mile 7: “Alright, almost to the split point where the marathoners split off!” “Man, it would really suck to be running 26.2 miles today.” “Yep – definitely never signing up for a full marathon.” “Oh look, beer!” “I am really jealous of the guy in front of me who just grabbed that craft beer.”
• Mile 8: “Okay, only 5 more miles to go! We can do this!”
• Mile 8.5 – 10.5 (Alex left me): “I hate this.” “Why do I sign up for these?” “I am never running again.” “That’s it, I am walking the rest of the way.” “Just kidding – keep running.” “Nope, not kidding, I am walking.” “Why won’t my side cramp go away?” “Probably because IT’S SO HUMID!” “But seriously, why is it so humid?” “Why are there no spectators over here.” “This is sad – I have reached a new low.”
• Mile 10.5: “Okay, seriously Catheryn, left than a 5K left. Anyone can do a 5K!” “Okay maybe not anyone….like I can’t run a 5K right now.” “Yes, you can!”
• Mile 11: “I am feeling good again!” “A hill…..great.” “You are running up that hill.” “Woohoo, I ran up the hill and passed everyone that was walking the hill! I feel amazing.” “I could really use some more Gatorade.” “Oh look, there’s a Gatorade stand!” “Nope, definitely not Gatorade, that was beer.” “People really like their beer!”
• Mile 12: “Only 1 more mile! I am almost free from this pain!” “The crowd support is amazing – everyone is cheering me on.” “I can’t stop now, someone just said ‘Go Catheryn!‘” “Oh look, there’s Alex!” “I can’t believe I caught up with him.” “He must really be in pain.” “I see the finish line – PRAISE THE LORD.”
• Mile 13.1: “I did it!” “Never doing one of these again.” “I need a margarita ASAP.”

How am I feeling the day after? Most of the pain is in my back. I don’t think my shoes were supporting me very well, so I need to figure that out before my next half. My calves are also a little tight. Other than that, I am not doing too bad.

When is my next half? I am signed up to run the Katy Half Marathon on February 4th! It seems a little too soon, but I am going to do it as long as the weather is cooler.

That is about all I have to say about that race! I am glad that we did it, but I still have a long way to go before reaching my personal running goals.

If you are a beginner runner looking to run your first half-marathon, check out my other post about half-marathons. I talk a little bit about which ones I have done, training tips, etc.

I am excited to have Monday off – does anyone else have the day off work for MLK day? What were y’all up to this weekend? Has anyone else ever run a half-marathon?

Cheers to a new week!

-Catheryn