I ran the Houston Half Marathon on January 16, 2025. Very happy with my time of 2h 15 min. I had set an aggressive target of 10 min / mile. However, with travel to EBC and Morocco, my training was not as consistent as it should have been. Regardless, I am very happy with the result. My official time was 10:21 min / mile the Garmin tracked me at 10:15 min / mile which given the conditions of below freezing at start I am satisfied with.
Photos
Pre-Race:
I woke up around 4:45 am, not having slept well due to anticipation. I had coffee and almond butter, then got ready.
I parked at my friend Gary Bucek’s apartment at Park Place One, right across from George R Brown – a perfect spot. The first floor of George R Brown was packed with runners. There were hundreds of porta-potties, but the lines were crazy.
I waited for Corral D to close and tried to stay warm. I couldn't find my colleague Marlies and her group because it was too cold to use my phone. I shredded my outer layer and left it on the fence. Unfortunately, it still took another 5-10 minutes before we started moving up so I missed having that jacket for some additional warmth.
Finally, we started moving forward slowly. I managed to use a porta-potty just before the race began. It was still cold, but the sun was up. So many people shed their extra layers before the race. There were giant trash bags of clothing that lined the corrals being scooped up by race volunteers. Hundreds of blankets, hoodies, and jackets; I’m sure the city will donate these items to the shelters. As our corral finally got going I set my watch and started running. I started the Garmin activity at 7:37AM.
First Third Miles 1-4
We started running north on Congress and then turned onto Washington. The sun was up, but it was still cold. I felt good and ran at a good pace. Ran by the businesses on east Washington. It was interesting to see them in the morning light as we usually see them in the evening. They seemed older and historical as I ran by them. There were lots of spectators lining the streets. Most of them gravitated to the sunnier sections looking for that additional warmth. The streets were still lined with excess layers that people shed off as they warmed. I was afraid I started a bit too fast trying to clear into open space as it was quite crowded getting from Congress out of Houston downtown on Washington ave. We turned south on Waugh Street and crossed Allen Park. And then west on Inwood/West Grey through River Oaks. I took a gel pack at mile 4 just to keep fueled up.
Second Third - Miles 5-8
We turned south on Kirby Dr and ran down Upper Kirby District. Started to feel a bit of soreness in my calves but I just pushed through to keep pace with the group of people I was with. Weather was sunny and felt warm enough to take my gloves off. I had the handwarmers in and began to feel that it was too warm. Stuffed it away in the back of my bike jersey. I was happy with the choice to use my bike jersey. The additional pockets are very handy to stuff my gel packs and other stuff. I was worried that it would bounce around but worked out great. I took another gel pack and banana at mile 8 and used the restroom. Picked up another GU on the way. Next time I think I will carry only two gels and pick up stuff on the route.
We turned east on Bissonnet. I felt good and just in the zone. The soreness in my calves worked its way out so just got into the zone. For some reason my Peloton program shut down. I was doing the Suzi Chan 90 minute run class. I must have bumped the phone and it stopped. I was happy just to run and hear the ambient noises. It did help me to get centered into the moment. Ran like that for another 15-30 minutes and then wanted a bit of music boost so I turned on my Spotify Cruise Running Playlist.
Last Third - Miles 9-13.1
Feeling good going into the last ⅓. The weather was turning a bit chillier as we started going through the West University area. I thought it was the shade at first then we got to main street and the cold wind started blowing directly at us. I put my gloves back on. Ran around the big fountain on Main street near Rice University. As we came around heading north on Main the cold wind hit us head on. I leaned into running a bit faster just as a challenge and started moving ahead of people. The roads on Main were pretty bad and I clipped my toe on a crack which sent a jolt through my calf. That was a close call as I could have tripped but also I was nervous that I would get a cramp. I just kept pushing thinking that I needed to finish fast.
Around mile 11, I started to push it and ran sub-10-minute miles to the finish. I felt good but I was concerned that I would expend too much energy and have nothing left for a last push. However, when I got onto Allen Parkway, and I could see Downtown I just figured to start running and pushing pace. I was running pretty fast through the finish.
Finish and Post Race
The last leg was tough because of the wind, but overall it was a really good race. So many people! This is the largest athletic event I participated in. Even MS-150 did not feel this big to me. Happy they had chocolate milk at the end to help recovery. I got my medal and shirt. Went to pick up my gear bag and sat down to organize everything.
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