Acknowledging that I'm still working on my comeback to running, I had registered a few months ago with an anticipated finish time of 2:45. For race morning, that placed me in corral 26, close to the back of the 30,000 participants, so I didn't cross the starting line until after 8 a.m. I knew it was going to be a warm morning, so I had to balance two concerns -- not going out too fast due to the heat and knowing that I should try to cover as much ground as I could before the fog lifted.
The fog dissipated by the time I hit the 10K point, and I found myself in increasing difficulty. I remember this part because the RnR organizers had planted a large inflatable guitarist balloon figure that straddled San Pedro Avenue. I made it under okay, but I saw people behind me get a surprise obstacle as the breeze caused the figure to dive and crotch-bounce the pavement, blocking all lanes.
The last half of the race had me heat-bothered and hurting more than expected. I'm sure some of my problem was taking on this course on sloped pavement after logging just about all my training miles on trails here in the Houston flatland. But that doesn't explain why I only consumed half a package of GU Chomps when I was consuming a package and a half during long runs of similar length. Looking back, perhaps I should have taken one of those little packets of margarita salt from the volunteers at the start area. I could have been running calorie-rich, but electrolyte-poor.
There were a fair number of spectators along the course, but I really could have used more cowbell. The most memorable signs I spotted were "My Mommy Is Faster Than Your Mommy" and "FART!" which came at the right moment to crack me up. I did my best to acknowledge the cheering and otherwise have a good time of things with the people around me. Yelling "Watch out: heavy man being acted upon by gravity!!!" while passing people on a downhill hasn't gotten old for me yet.
With a lot of walking and stopping to stretch my aching achilles, I was heading for my personal worst finish time for a half marathon. I gathered myself for one final push to try and finish under three hours, but was unable to do make that happen. After humbly accepting half marathon finisher medal number ten, I plopped my butt onto the Alamodome parking lot with some HEB-supplied snacks as headliner Vince Neil gave us "Dr. Feelgood," "Girls, Girls, Girls," and other Mötley Crüe tunes that I'm sure the under-30 crowd imagined were playing on the wagon radios during San Antonio's cattle drive days.
I did have an excellent weekend overall, though. Being able to get a downtown hotel really did make the expo and race morning logistics a breeze. I feel fortunate not to have been one of many participants to have needed medical attention. I even read that one runner died.
I'm counting a burger from the original Fuddruckers restaurant and a little historical sightseeing in downtown San Antonio as a great start in "active recovery." After this race, however, and knowing the Houston Marathon course has a lot more pavement waiting in a couple of months has me seriously considering a switch to the half distance. I really am learning how to do this stuff all over again.
The Splits:
Mile 1 - 11:15
Mile 2 - 11:13
Mile 3 - 11:37
Mile 4 - 11:46
Mile 5 - 12:24
Mile 6 - 11:56
Mile 7 - 12:52
Mile 8 - 12:37
Mile 9 - 14:04
Mile 10 - 14:47
Mile 11 - 16:32
Mile 12 - 20:26
Mile 13: - 16:31
Last .1 - 2:47
Half marathon elapsed time - 3:00:45 per Garmin Forerunner 205, 3:00:41 chip time
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