I'm a little slow getting this logged, but here goes.
So, I was stoked to get out of the Houston heat and humidity to run this race. I thought cooler temps sounded great! HOWEVER, I was NOT planning on FREEZING! I went from one extreme to the other! 30 degrees and a strong wind at the start was not fun. Thankfully we didn't have to wait around too long for the start because, despite our best intentions, we were on the VERY LAST BUS. I don't know if this happens a lot, but it almost seemed like they hadn't planned on enough busses. We had arrived in plenty of time to catch a bus and they were filled before we could get on. But, it all worked out in the end.
When the race started, my toes were numb for the first 3 miles. Made it to Veyo hill and began the trek up. Now, I haven't had much practice on hills lately, so I was hoping I wouldn't die on this one. Made it to the top and was ready to pat myself on the back, and noticed there were still more inclines ahead. . .I guess I had forgotten these. I had only really remembered 2 big hills in this race. So, the extra uphill was a little difficult. However, it wasn't the uphill that got me this race. It was the downhill. Normally, I LOVE downhill. But, when you haven't been training on hills, it's funny how those muscles don't appreciate them much anymore. Or not funny. By mile 10, my quads were REALLY starting to hurt. I couldn't believe it. It was only 10 miles! I kept hoping it would just go away, but by mile 15/16, I stopped at the aid station and had them rub icy hot on me. That felt a little better, although they were still hurting. I actually starting dreading the downhill. It was terrible. Around mile 22 I stopped again for some more. It was that bad. At mile 23, a friend I used to run with surprised me on the sidelines. I was starting to fade at this point, so that was a nice boost. The last 3 miles were really quite a struggle and there were moments I wasn't sure if I was gonna pass out or keep going. I had nothing left at the end. But, I was super excited as I had been watching the clock saw where I was coming in at. My goal was to finish with a new PR and I did. By 5 minutes. Hubby also PR'd and was there to greet me at the finish line. After about an hour of recuping I felt better, although it was a week before I ran again. I haven't been that sore after a marathon for a long time, and I know it was the hills. Looking forward to my next one in 6 months, here, where it is mostly flat :)
My splits:
1 - 8:26
2 - 8:27
3 - 7:44
4 - 7:50
5 - 8:06
6 - 7:54
7 - 7:36
8 - 9:04
9 - 9:01
10 - 9:02
11 - 9:02
12 - 9:00
13 - 8:32
14 - 9:20
15 - 8:32
16 - 9:40
17 - 8:16
18 - 8:54
19 - 10:08
20 - 9:12
21 - 9:47
22 - 9:03
23 - 9:25
24 - 8:46
25 - 9:24
26 - 9:25
.2 (okay, my watch GPS said .51. My miles were off of theirs) - 4:47
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