2019 Chevron Houston Marathon Race Report
TL;DR: Ran too fast through the first 20mi and ran/walked the last 6mi. Hit my two goals (a. Finish; and b. <4hrs). But I don't feel 20% as satisfied as I did after my HM. Could use any advice ("Lessons Learned" section at bottom) you guys have.
Full cup of coffee version:
The Prologue is basically the same as my
HM report from November, with the below happening since then:
My half marathon in November went as well as it possibly could have. Slight negative split and a time faster than even my "dream" goal. So coming off that high, I was immediately thinking that I should try a full marathon in 2019.
Rather than wind-down for the winter and then have to train-up again for the marathon, I thought I could just jump right into the
Higdon Novice 1 Plan right at the halfway/HM point and aim for a Jan/Feb marathon. I had two weeks of vacation in Dec which were timed perfectly for peak training (if the weather cooperated). The advice from all you BMFs here was a little trepidation from some but overall supportive of the idea.
I lived for 11 years in Houston and love the city. It's also a very flat city and has a
marathon in Jan. That was the obvious choice. Some consideration was given to the
Sprouts Mesa/PHX Marathon as an alternate, mostly because the climate is more predictable there with lower humidity. But it's a net downhill and if I run only one marathon in my lifetime I don't want it to be one with an asterisk.
So Houston it was.
Training went well, even though I didn't really follow the letter of the plan. More the spirit of the plan. Calgary weather can really suck in the winter but I lucked-out and we've had mild temps (20-40F) and very little snow, leaving most running paths in the city clear.
I did get all the requisite long runs in, mostly at a pace that was slower than I was used to running. I also put in more total weekly miles than the plan dictated, even though some were on trails and some weren't technically running (power-hiking up mountains).
So like I said, I followed the plan loosely. But I was definitely getting faster. 10Ks at paces I didn't think possible (for me) were becoming more common. I could get up Prairie Mountain faster than I ever could before. This is working!
The last day before my taper I got cocky and decided to go for a PR on a trail run I do frequently near the city. And I destroyed it, shaving almost a minute off my time. But looking-back I think I might have hammered my legs a bit too much. The following two weeks of taper were basically spent with sleepless nights as my knees/calves/ankles screamed all night because I couldn't get comfortable. Walking (and even running) during the taper weren't so bad but I was growing increasingly concerned that I was going to have a problem come race day because they weren't getting back to 100% like they did before my HM.
I skipped a couple of the taper runs for this reason, trying to heal-up. Including the day before the race.
The night before the race my legs were still not great so I decided to bring in the big guns and took a double-dose of Naproxen. It has the tendency to burn a hole in my gut but I figured the legs were the priority and I would deal with the gut issues after the race.
Score. Woke up in the morning and the legs were almost pain-free. Time to race.
I got up with plenty of time to beat the 0645 corral closure but in an effort to avoid mid-race pitstops I took time for a second poop. That set me back a bit and had to rush now to get in before corral closure.
Got changed, had all my gear ready. Weather forecast was 33F and a 15mph wind. Decided to go with a ball cap (no touque), wool base layer, quarter zip long-sleeved shirt, tights, and shorts. Gloves too. An old fleece on top of that (which I discarded pre-race in the corral). Wahoo TickrX chest strap, a pack of Strawberry Clif Bloks, and lip balm. Paper towels to blow my nose. Awesome prep.
Zipped out of the hotel, across the street to the convention center where I'm promptly herded through a course to the corrals. Took about 10 minutes to get there but I beat the closure by about five minutes. Made my way up to mid-corral and barely had enough time for a little stretching (not as much as I wanted) before things started moving. National anthem, pre-race photos, and the gun goes off.
Basically the race boiled-down to two halves: Everything that happened before 32km (20mi) and then everything after. So I won't do this report by km/mile as much as others.
First 5K (5:10/km, 8:24/mi pace)
I registered myself for this race the same as with Vegas. Put myself in a faster corral/position than I planned to run. That way I wouldn't have to pass as many folks and might get some space during the race versus the rest of the pack. But I discovered a new downside: Mentally I wanted to run the same pace as everyone around me. I was using my new Garmin 5 Plus for the first time in a race and I love that you can get your instantaneous pace from it (rather than having to wait for Strava to read averages after each km). But I could see that I was running faster than plan. Plan was to run the first half at 5:30/km (8:52/mi) and then try to run 5:20 (8:34) for the second half. I knew that I needed to try to stay under 5:40 (9:07) to achieve my secondary goal of running under 4hrs.
Every time I saw my pace I would try to slow down but then a few minutes look at my watch and I was running 5:10 again. Mentally I had part of me telling me that was OK because I went out fast in Vegas for my HM and managed to hold the pace through the whole thing. Maybe I was sandbagging my goal (unintentionally) again and it isn't the end of the world if I run a little faster than plan, right?
The sun hadn't risen at the time the race started but was coming up quickly. Houston isn't a pretty city by any means but the people are great and this was no exception. Lots of folks out despite the "cold" morning (by Houston standards) cheering the racers on. I felt energized, just like with my HM.
Singing Elvis was positioned one mile in. Fate, right? This is just like Vegas! Right?
5K-10K (5:09/km, 8:22/mi)
Running through neighbourhoods I was familiar with was great. Crowds continued to cheer. Lots of bands playing, including a mariachi band.
Still found myself looking at my watch, trying to slow down, and then looking again minutes later I was back to the faster pace involuntarily. Running the pace felt easy/comfortable and I was still a little cocky. This is easy, right? I'm at sea level. I'm superman. I'll try to slow down but it's no big deal if I don't.
Ran by my
favourite restaurant. Wished they were open so I could steal a tortilla chip or two.
Check my heart rate on my watch. Already at 145. Knowing that from prior long runs my HR climbs slowly but surely, I knew that was a bad sign. Soon it was going to be above 150. Way too soon.
10K-15K (5:12/km, 8:26/mi)
Before the race, I was debating what to listen to. On my training runs I had been listening to a great series of audiobooks (
Expeditionary Force) to pass the time. I was worried about getting bored on my first ~4hr run, but loved the motivation music might bring (as it did with Vegas -- noticing a theme here?). So I decided to do both. First half listening to an audiobook and the second half music.
That was a mistake. Between the bands, cheering, announcements, noisemakers, etc, I couldn't hear much of the audiobook. Should have just gone with music.
HR up to 150.
Houston, we have a problem.
150 isn't bad for me but what's bad is that I knew 160 was going to be about 10km away. And 160 comes with an expiration timer on my running. Not sustainable for me.
I still tried to slow down, but it was feeling like more work to run slower (off my "comfortable" pace) than it was to run "normally". Is my head ####### with me?
15K-21.1K (5:22/km, 8:37/mi)
Back at about the 10K point I started popping Clif Bloks. About one every 2-3km. In training I never had to drink/eat while running but I knew that might be different for a full marathon. So I started testing Clif Bloks during my long training runs and they didn't upset my gut. I also decide to take my first cup of water ever during a race (didn't take any for my HM) and found out that running and drinking is really hard. Probably got two mouthfuls in, and the rest was on my chest and the ground.
But I'm starting to tire and my "comfortable" place is notably slower. I was telling myself that I was in trouble. I wanted to run the whole race with no walk breaks but doubt was starting to set-in. I'm only approaching the halfway point and here I am starting to feel fatigue.
And my HR is now at 153 and still climbing.
Crowds were a little sparse in this section but the guy yelling "YOU OWN THIS HILL" halfway up one of the few grades was pretty cool. And throughout the race there were lots of signs:
- "You're running better than the government"
- "Run faster, I just farted"
- "GO random stranger!"
- WORST. PARADE. EVER.
I wish I could have read more but for some reason my vision goes to #### as I run longer distances, even with my (prescription) sunglasses on.
21.1K - 32.2K (5:24/km, 8:40/mi)
At the halfway point, I fired-up the music. Roughly the same playlist as Vegas but with a bunch of songs that were popular when I lived in Houston.
Over this 10K it was a mental struggle for me. My inner voice shifted from "run the whole race" to "just get to 32.2K and then you can walk through the next water stop". "That will be the farthest you have ever run". I had given up already, which was so defeating. HR was 158 and I still had 15K to go. 15K.
I passed 32.2K, saw the next water station, and grabbed a drink. And walked. For the first time.
And then the wheels fell off.
32.2K - 42.2K (6:28/km, 10:25/mi)
I told myself that I would just walk through the water station, which I did. Got back to running right after. HR was back down (temporarily). OK, maybe this isn't so bad. Other people who run marathons walk the water stations, right? It's OK.
No, it's not.
After about 800m I had to walk briefly again. And then again after another 800m. The next 5K was basically this run/walk pattern.
Then just prior to 37K I told myself "OK take a long walk, charge up, and run the last 5K". The long walk part happened, but running the last 5K did not.
I got into a cycle like a car lurching-forward and then stalling. I would run for a bit, then die and have to walk. Kept trying to get back into gear but just couldn't make it last.
The crowd was getting thicker and was just as great as through the entire race. One of the things I read about this marathon was that if you put your name on your bib, people would cheer for you by name. And that was so true. So many times people where cheering for me by name. They don't know who I am (ref "GO random stranger" sign from before) but still it is energizing. And during one of my walks in the last 5K a nearby person yelled "GO [ZASADA]!!!" and that got me running again, which then got him, and everyone around him, cheering. It was awesome.
The problem was I just had nothing left.
At the 10K mark, which felt like ages ago, I was telling myself that I was going to sprint the last 2-3K. But now I'm just struggling to "run" at all.
Eddie Money hits the playlist and it's the saddest thing ever. I want to get stoked. I want to sing and do air guitar (like Vegas). But all I could muster were a few lyrics barely whispered between breaths. You could be right there beside me and not hear me.
I managed to run the last 200m to the finish and cross the timing mats. Shut off the watch. No elation, no sense of achievement, just happy that it's over. And I beat my 4hr goal despite hosing-up execution so profoundly. As if to tell me it wasn't so bad,
I crossed under the clock (gun time) at 3:59:51 (I'm the tall, gangly guy with horrible posture on the left). My chip time was lower than that but it's almost like someone was telling me it wasn't so bad -- that four hour mark is something nobody can take away from you.
Walking through the finishing gauntlet is just a blur at this point. I can barely walk. My wife texted me and said that she's waiting for me (broken foot and all) at the reunion area on the other side of the convention center. It's crowded but I manage to find a medal. Then a banana. And then HEB (a grocery chain in TX) has 500ml bottles of ice-cold chocolate milk. I'm lactose-intolerant, and haven't had chocolate milk in probably 10 years, but #### it, I'm taking one. It was so cold and so good. SO GOOD. Quick post-race photo and then into the queue for a finisher tshirt. Grab that, and hobble deliriously to the meeting area. Arranged by first letter of one's last name. You Strava guys know what my last name is. So all the way at the end. Way at the back.
See my wife. Big hug. No time to chat. Have to find a clear section of floor. Must sit. Have to sit. Desperately need to sit.
After finishing, I don't think I have ever been as close to passing-out as I was when trying to get through the finishing gauntlet/process. I don't know if it was just exhaustion, dehydration, or something else. I didn't sweat
that much (given the weather) but I couldn't explain why I was so out of sorts. Legs were incredibly sore but that was to be expected. It was the confusion and light-headedness which was new.
That said, there I am, sitting on the concrete floor of the George R Brown Convention Center, having finished my first marathon. In under four hours.
By The Numbers:
- Unofficial chip time: 3:57:18
- 2217/6667 overall
- 1557/4058 among men
- 212/568 among 45-49 men
It would be nice if I knew the totals so that I could get percentile. Using
this site, my time is 60th percentile worldwide which makes me feel a little better.
Epilogue
Lots of friends and family emailed/texted me yesterday and today with congratulations. To them, I just completed my first marathon. In under four hours. And if that's all I knew, I would feel much more excited about it than I do. The last half of the above reads like abject failure and I absolutely don't feel that way at all. I achieved my two goals. It's just like that sports match where the team wins but the coach knows they played poorly.
So, ironically, I'm on my flight home typing a race report and thinking about what marathon I'm going to sign up for next to do things right. Even if I run exactly the same time.
Lessons Learned
- Don't run as fast at the beginning, dummy
- Find a new training regimen, probably Hanson
- Eat/drink more? Is that why I was so light-headed?
- Races are not conducive to audiobooks
- Stop overdressing, even if it's cold -- the latter parts of the race I really wanted to shed a layer but I didn't want to pitch my best gear (which I was saving for this race)
- Shoes -- I had ~500 miles on the pair I ran the race with -- that too high?
And due to the chocolate milk and Naproxen, I spent most of my post-race afternoon in restaurant/mall/hotel bathrooms.