Houston Marathon Wrap

I write this with heavy hand as I have enjoyed some 'big IPAs" at our post marathon celebration at Boondoggles...

First, congratulations must go out to those whom I know set a PR today: Cassie, Joe, Lynette, Atwell, (Dr.) Jonathon, and Ruthie. Second, a big thank you to Brian Allen, who acted as my support crew for this race. I tell you what, you cannot beat having a good support crew. Not only do they help you with the necessities, they also provide you with a certain amount of motivation. Brian also had several large IPA's at Boondoggles as his reward for a job well done.

The first thing I have to say about the Chevron Houston Marathon is that they need to do away with the "K" signs. I am talking about the signs that let you know you have run 20K, 30K, etc. Late in the race, I cannot do any math and these signs do nothing but confuse me. Let me see, thirty divided by five, times pi. No wait... No value whatsoever.

I knew going in to the race that at some point my left knee would fail. The question was when. Yes, I completed the run, but I think maybe I should have been like the young, but intelligent Melissa, who opted to run the half. I say this because my knee went south between Miles 17 and 18. More on that later.

I started at the back of the pack as usual. Maybe not such a good idea the way they have the corrals set up. I finally got into the White Corral and realized that I would have to run to the Start Line. Then I asked myself, why in the heck I am running to the start line. It would be one of those days.

Getting to the Elysian Aqueduct was no problem. The problems started once I got there. I was forced to walk because the mass of humanity in front of me was walking. No big deal I said, "nice and easy to start out." More like frustrating.

The frustration continued into White Oak Bayou. Nobody and I mean nobody was able to get past the 5:00 pace group. They took up the entire street and were at least three deep. Madness I tell you, madness. I was not able to get to a good pace or stride until about Mile Six and right before then some of the damage was done.

As some of you readers may know, a week or so ago I went rollerblading. Let's just say that I am somewhat retarded when it comes to putting wheels on my feet. Sure enough I ended up on my hip. Yes, there was a bruise. As I approached a water stop I hear some woman, in all her bimbosity, shouting "Gatorade" like she is playing a game of Marco Polo. She was apparently running from side to side at the water stop looking for Gatorade. Unfortunately she ran right into me, her knee striking me just below the hip, exactly where my bruise was. What I muttered under my breath cannot be repeated.

Speaking of water stops, they were an absolute mess. No continuity whatsoever. No wonder people were confused.

After Mile 6, I finally got into a pretty good groove and moved easily for more than ten miles. Then it fell apart. My stomach apparently does not appreciate Amino Vital after the halfway point. And as I mentioned earlier, my knee went south after Mile 17.

Let me describe "south" to you. Think about someone hitting your knee with a ball peen hammer every step you take. The only thing that kept me going, albeit slowly, was that I had been here before and I knew what kind of pain to expect.

I immediately started doing a 9/1. The 9/1 soon became a 5/1. Then I seriously considered doing a 3/1, but I was too lazy to reprogram my watch. So I just plodded along as best I could. Coaches Robin and Allison easily passed me. Then Coach Dave went by. For a short while I thought I would at least try to keep Coach Dave in sight and for a few miles I succeded. But eventually his yellow shirt soon disappeared in the distance.

As I approached Mile 25 I seriously considered the Hash House Harriers offer of beer. At least they don't have Budweiser I told myself. But the beer went untouched as I approached downtown. I ran to Louisiana and took a walk break. Once I turned onto Rusk I felt as though I could run the rest of the way if I kept my steps short. This was definitley a different feeling. Usually when I hit Rusk, I am passing people like they are standing still. Now, the opposite was true.

With a half mile to go, I heard a familiar voice. The leader of the Yellow Blob was right behind me. Except there was no Blob with him. It was just Atwell. Atwell and I ran the last half mile together, with the exception of a short moment when I veered to the right to give my wife a low five. Apparently, everyone in Houston knows Atwell. I kept hearing "Go Atwell," "Go Atwell." It was not until we ran past Alaina and Greg that I heard my name. No matter, it was great to spend the last half mile with a friend who felt as much pain as I did. And you know what, Atwell had PR on this day. Good for him.

As for me, it was a 4:43:41 chip time. Not my fastest race, but nowhere near my slowest. And since Carolyn says anything between 4:30:00 and 4:45:00 is respectable, I guess that's not too bad. I shall not complain.

I took a few lessons away from this race and will put them to good use next month. Yeah, I'll be running another marathon next month. I got the fever... Sure, I am feeling the pain, but I got the fever baby.

A few random notes. As I mentioned above, the water stops were not consistent. Further, the crowd seemed small this year; maybe it was the weather. Also, where were all the dang radio stations? The ones that were out there were not playing any music. Multiple bands playing Tom Petty songs when I passed by - can't beat that.

It was good to see some folks I have not seen in awhile. I finally met Vic, who by the way finished his first marathon (way to go dude). I got to see Edwin prior to the race. I saw Holden on Memorial. (it has been awhile). I'll mention Byron because I have not seen him in several weeks. I did not get to see Cassie, who was either stalking me (good job) or avoiding me. I also missed Keith and Jon, although I saw Jon at the Expo on Saturday.

Listening to: The Middle - Jimmy Eat World (Hey, don't write yourself off yet)

Comments

[Sarah]

Too bad about the masses of humanity. I was fortunate to be in the front corral for the half and didn't have too many problems. On the K thing -- for the half, the 10M and 15K banners were switched! So we passed mile 9, passed mile "10" about 3 minutes later, and then passed "15K" 8 minutes after that. Sheesh.

Congrats on another marathon finished!

[Tiggs]

Diito on the "k" thing. Useless and annoying. Plus they had the 10 mile and 15k signs switched. Sigh. Oh you can bet I was looking hard everywhere for Tigger or Mrs. Tigger, but never saw either of you :(
Had I been having all the problems you were having, I would still be partying iwth the Hashers! Way to tough it out! A 4:43 is way better than respectable!

[Margo]

Jamoosh!
I saw you this morning at the HF tent, but I was intent on going to the bag check & when I came back, couldn't find you. Sorry to hear that your race was pretty tough. But, you finished! Good job!

Margo

[Vic]

Great to see the great Jamoosh finally. Strong running dude. Way to go.

[Carolyn]

Great run, my friend!! I was concerned about you and your knee, and I'm so glad to hear that you had a strong run despite that and the mob you were stuck behind and the assault to your hip. See you tomorrow night at the Yellow Fever celebration!

[txrunnergirl]

Dang Jamoosh, way to stick it out through the pain! I thought of you as I was attempting to weave through all the freaking walkers in the middle of the freaking road. Grrr... Anyway, great job!

[Jill]

You ran and you ran well - that is the important part!! Congratulations on finishing your upteenth marathon!!

[Edwin]

Congrats on your run. Good seeing you yesterday.

[Holden]

Good to see you on Memorial. I was having several issues when you passed me. I apologize for not being more social at that moment. I wasn't sure if I wanted to cry hysterically or laugh hillariously you see.