13th Houston Marathon

This was one my worst Fall Warmup Series in years. But I had a decent 30K race in December and I started running much better with the colder weather during the weeks before the marathon. The first three Fall Series races projected a marathon time of 3:08 to 3:10 and the 30K Race poointed to about 2:58. My plan was to shoot for about 6:40 miles and put the brakes on anything faster than 6:35.

For the record, Hobby Airport had:

Time....Temp...Dewpoint....Visibility....Wind.......Conditions
6:53AM - 42.1 °F - 39.9 °F - 7.0 miles - West 4.6 mph - Partly Cloudy
7:18AM - 41.0 °F - 39.2 °F - 2.5 miles - WNW 5.8 mph - Scattered Clouds
7:31AM - 41.0 °F - 39.2 °F - 3.0 miles - West 4.6 mph - Mostly Cloudy
7:32AM - 41.0 °F - 39.2 °F - 3.0 miles - West 4.6 mph - Mostly Cloudy
7:53AM - 42.1 °F - 39.9 °F - 3.0 miles - WSW 4.6 mph - Mostly Cloudy
8:53AM - 45.0 °F - 43.0 °F - 4.0 miles - West 4.6 mph - Mostly Cloudy
9:53AM - 51.1 °F - 46.0 °F - 6.0 miles - Calm Calm - Mostly Cloudy


The Heliport at Hermann Hospital had:

Time....Temp...Dewpoint....Visibility....Wind.......Conditions
6:55AM - 46.4 °F - 44.6 °F - 5.0 miles - NW 6.9 mph - Clear
7:15AM - 46.4 °F - 44.6 °F - 4.0 miles - NW 9.2 mph - Clear
7:35AM - 46.4 °F - 44.6 °F - 3.0 miles - NW 9.2 mph - Clear
7:55AM - 46.4 °F - 44.6 °F - 3.0 miles - WNW 8.1 mph - Clear
8:15AM - 46.4 °F - 44.6 °F - 3.0 miles - NW 6.9 mph - Clear
8:35AM - 46.4 °F - 44.6 °F - 3.0 miles - WNW 4.6 mph - Clear
8:55AM - 46.4 °F - 44.6 °F - 4.0 miles - NW 8.1 mph - Clear
9:15AM - 48.2 °F - 44.6 °F - 5.0 miles - NW 5.8 mph - Clear
9:35AM - 48.2 °F - 44.6 °F - 5.0 miles - NNW 6.9 mph - Clear
9:55AM - 50.0 °F - 44.6 °F - 6.0 miles - NW 5.8 mph - Clear

The weather turned out very nice, maybe a little warmer than some of the forecasts. Of course, I was still soaked in sweat.

1) 6:29 oops...I was a little late to the starting corral and only worked my way up to near the front at the very last minute.
2) 6:39 - 13:07
3) 6:30 - 19:36 so much for the plan
4) 6:41 - 26:17
5) 6:44 - 33:01
6) 6:33 - 39:34 this mile always end up faster
10K in 41:02
7) 6:43 - 46:17
8) 6:33 - 52:50 I spent much of this mile looking to my left to watch the elite half-marathoners flying up the other side of the street.
9) 6:39 - 59:30
10) 6:44 - 1:06:13 The half marathoners have turned around and the course is much lonelier and I'm able to get back on a more reasonable pace.
11) 6:44 - 1:12:58
12) 6:45 - 1:19:43
13) 6:44 - 1:26:26
Half marathon in 1:27:08 My pacing hasn't been very good and I'm a little faster than I planned, but I'm feeling very good.
14) 6:39 - 1:33:05
15) 6:47 - 1:39:52 Up the Westpark Overpass; I'm near RichardP but I've been running the whole race by myself. The volunteeers moved the elite fluids table over to the sidewalk just before RichardP arrived....he wasn't very happy about that!
16) 6:41 - 1:46:33
17) 6:32 - 1:53:05 RichardP and RichF (both over 50s) passed me going up Post Oak. I hung out with RIchF through this mile and I'm still feeling very good.
18) 6:39 - 1:59:44 I was amazed at how quickly the turn off San Felipe arrived; I'm feeling much better here than in previous years.
30K in 2:04:02
19) 6:44 - 2:06:29 I was looking for President GHW Bush and Barbara; in 13 races, I've never seen them.
20) 6:50 - 2:13:09 I think RichardP passed me this mile and I just let him go.
21) 6:54 - 2:20:13
22) 6:56 - 2:27:09 Somewhere near here RobW passed me like I was standing still.
23) 7:02 - 2:34:11
24) 7:20 - 2:41:31 The Allen Parkway Alps took their toll on me.
25) 7:19 - 2:48:51
26.22) 8:46 - 2:57:37 (7:12 pace) I saw a banner for 1/4 mile to go, but didn't see a mile marker for 26.

I'm not really sure why I slowed down so much the last six miles. My legs felt rubbery and I quit looking at my mile splits: a sure recipe for a slowdown. I'm a little disappointed about this part of the race. It wasn't smart to run by myself. I also carried two gels with me and never ate them. I was pretty stupid to give them a 26 mile free ride; they might have helped stave off the crash. On the positive side, I was very happy to place in my age group, especially after being shut out through the entire Fall Warmup Series.


I took a big risk by going with the the Saucony Fastwitch 3 shoes. I couldn't find a cheap pair of familiar shoes before the race. I got this crazy idea two weeks before the race to try out a much lighter shoe. The new shoes didn't arrive until Wednesday and my only pre-race run with them was a marathon-pace run on the track. The size 12½ was a little small for me. If I tried them on beforehand, I probably would have gone for a size 13. But I finished the race without any toenail damage, a marathon first!