Houston Marathon 2023

 Houston, Texas - January 14-16, 2023

I came back to Houston this year as determined as I'd ever been before a race. I PR'd there in 2020 on a decent weather morning, faltering a bit in miles 19-22 before closing hard to put up a 3:45:12, a bathroom stop at mile 15 not helping me reach my sub 3:45 goal. But last year I was supposed to be here racing the half to try and put up a new PR, but instead was sidelined with my dreaded back issues, so I watched my friend Kyle run a blazing 1:35 in my bib in absolutely ideal weather conditions instead. I also got to watch a lot of my other teammates who I had logged a ton of miles with go out and take advantage of that weather and throw down some very impressive marathon times. I signed up for the full later that same month, ready to come back and prove to them and myself that I could do a committed season and send it on the Houston streets a year later. 

Tate, Heidi and I drove to Houston on Saturday morning, and enjoyed a lively group dinner with my Rogue Evening Edition family while celebrating Coach James Dodds’ birthday. He gave an impassioned speech / pep-talk that I had heard last year but held more weight this time around - as I was actually toeing the line the next morning. It involved being calm, being focused, having a good time, doing what you said you would do, and facing the pain. All great things to take into daily life as well as a marathon. I went to bed knowing I had done the best I could in terms of training, hydrating, and focus when it came to my 7th road marathon. The rest was out of my control, nothing left to do but to send it. 

I guess I should note one thing about doing my best in terms of training here, in that I missed over 90 miles of my training plan due to an unexpected series of ER visits in November around Thanksgiving, as a potential blood clot in my kidney caused me intense pain and a ton of medical testing. Eventually I was given the go ahead to begin running again, although not entirely cleared for super hard efforts (like long runs with pace workouts in them, or red-lining a full marathon), so I was able to get back on track and hit almost all of my prescribed runs in December. But missing a 50 mile week just 7 weeks out from the race was far from ideal. Nevertheless, I persisted (sorry, couldn't resist).

Another variable worth calling out was that during our family dinner, we all got an email from the Houston Marathon warning us of warm temperatures on the course the next day, and advice from medical professionals on how to handle. This was definitely not what you want to be reading 12 hours before a race you've spent months preparing for, with a specific pace in mind. Dodds' informed us we should adjust our goals by 4 to 5 minutes due to the humidity, but part of my pre-race anxiety was truly not knowing what my goal was anymore. I had done all my speed and pace workouts with 8:00 minute miles in mind, which equates to around a 3:30. After the kidney issues, I thought high 3:30's might be realistic (maybe beating Dodds' 3:36 PR or Dan's 3:37 debut from last year), but now with heat and humidity coming into play I resigned myself to shooting for the same goal I had in 2020, which was to go sub 3:45. 

I woke up race morning and had a good breakfast, a good poop (very important pre-race), and tried to stay calm as I got antsy about my race kit (do I go shirtless or not was the main concern). I left just before 6am to walk to the convention center to drop off my gear bag and continue to try to practice staying calm, "calm as a Tibetan monk" was what Dodds' had prescribed. I got to walk/jog to corral A with my friend Campbell to ensure we made the closing cut-off time, and a bit unplanned we ran into our friends Sydney, Liane and Becca, which added to calmness I was shooting for. Everyone was all smiles and seemed relaxed all things considered. It was already 61 degrees with a humidity in the 85% range, realistically the kind of weather that was going to make the next few hours a suffer-fest, but everyone seemed in good spirits. I peeled off right before the start for one last bathroom break, crossed the line at 7:05am and started my watch, trying to lock into a comfortable pace. Mile 1 my watch read 8:35, which if I could carry for another 25 miles would bring me in right around my goal time.

Crossing a bridge between miles 2 and 3, I heard a group of guys commenting about how great the sunrise looked over downtown Houston to our left, which they were definitely right about.  I heard a voice call out from behind me saying “you are going to think I am stalking you.” It was Sydney, who had started ahead of me but had also peeled off to use the restroom early in the race and was now in lock step with my pace of 8:30’s. We didn’t really agree to it before or even during, but we ultimately began running together, cracking jokes and enjoying the sights, sounds and crowd support of the race while knocking out mile after mile at a somewhat robotic clip. I was already feeling the sweat pour and my heart rate be more elevated than I wanted for this early in the race, but having the company was a welcomed distraction and so I continued to “send it” and see if/when I might break. 

We got boosts of energy from seeing friends out on the course, Cameron and unofficial Rogue photographer at mile 3, Minkun multiple times at 5 and somewhere around 10, Brooks rep and Houston based Eric around mile 9, and coach JGar running with us around the half-way point. We also got passed by some of our friends, Kyle and Derek, as they sped by to fast half marathon times. Through 14 miles we were right on pace, even as the sun began to peer through the crowds and heat us up even more. JGar tried giving us the advice about thinking about adjusting our paces while he ran with us, since everyone seemed to be suffering in the warmth, but we tried our best to ignore it, even getting to run with Dan for a bit as he passed us en route to another staggeringly impressive PR of 3:32. But once he was out of sight, I began to realize if I didn’t want to blow up the same way I had at Big Bear in November 2021 (or even at Goodwater Trail marathon in January 2021) that I would need to make some adjustments, so between mile 15 and 16 I slowly faded behind Sydney and let her go on without me. 

I settled into my “long-run pace” of 9:30’s and focused on my form, trying to stay on time with my nutrition and hydration while also trying to stay positive, even as I saw my PR attempt fading with every mile. Miles 17-19 were a slog on a long straight neighborhood road, where I remembered hitting the wall a bit in 2020, but I managed to not walk and not feel some of my usual knee pain I often get around this distance in previous races. As I turned into the park and passed the 20 mile marker, I realized that if I could run the final 10k in under an hour, I’d for sure go sub 4 hours on the day, and maybe even had a chance to flirt with my second fastest marathon time so far (a 3:55 at Vancouver in 2019). Feeling refocused, I almost blew it up by running a bit too fast through 21, but eased back into my comfortable zone, trying to save something for the final kick. 

The music I hated playing through speakers posted onto the poles and trees in the park in 2020 actually seemed to propel me through it this time around, and I was already feeling proud of myself for not going to a dark place at almost any point in the race, and instead staying focused on the task at hand. As I passed mile 23, I felt hopeful I might be able to make this PR-minus one (2nd), and strategized my remaining nutrition as I wondered if it was too early to “go fishing” to pass people as we went through the hilly sections on the back half of the race. I again focused on my form, as I was worried about a left foot and also right hip cramping sensations that were sneaking up on me, and took advantage of the smoothness I felt on the short downhills when they revealed themselves.

Finally, as I could begin to hear the noise of the crowd near the finishers corral, I decided it was time to push. I remembered the long runs I had done this cycle that included pace work in them, and remembered those were 8 minute miles, and tried to lock into that sensation. Then I ran into Cameron with his camera and he decided to run me in from around the 25th mile marker. As I entered the shoot I saw my watch hit mile 26 at a sub 8 mile pace. I knew I still had a least half a mile left if not longer, based on when my watch had beeped during previous miles compared to mile markers, but I was full speed ahead at this point so there was no turning back.

Then up ahead, I spotted Sydney running with her husband Cam, which gave me more energy to try and catch them. I debated slowing down to finish with them, but already had momentum going and was close enough to the finish line that I just mumbled some words of encouragement as I kept my stride pace up and ran by them. The finish shoot felt way longer than I remembered, and I almost ran out of steam before the end, but kept my form and opted to not look at my watch until the very last second. As I crossed the finish line I looked down and saw 3:53:59 on my watch, over a minute faster than Vancouver, and heavily whispered a “FUCK YEAH!” to myself. I thought about crying for a bit, but also didn’t want to faint, so I worked on getting my breath back, just in time for Sydney and Cam to finish behind me. I ended up beating her by 5 seconds, but she had PR’d by nearly 12 minutes, so all in all it was a great day for both of us, even if we are both already hungry for a lot more (sub 3:30 still my true goal for my next race, with a BQ in 2026 what I am ultimately working for).

After retrieving our finishers medals, shirts, and mugs, we met up with Liane and Becca and drank our chocolate milks, before I hobbled back to the Airbnb with Tate and Heidi. We met up with more Roguer’s at Rodeo Goat for burgers, then at 8th Wonder for a large group photo, then Pitch 25 to end the night. We also got to see Bill and Kasia from Iceland at 8th Wonder which was a nice mini-reunion. 

Ultimately, I am disappointed that it wasn’t another PR, and that it has been 3+ years without one now despite feeling more consistent than the years I was hitting them consecutively, but I also am super proud of my attitude during the race and not being hard on myself, which ultimately allowed me to adjust and have a decent day despite the weather. I do believe that I could have fun 10 minutes faster in ideal conditions, but also don’t think I could’ve even sniffed 3:30. So the big takeaway for me I think is that I need to up my mileage in future cycles, and also potentially slightly increase the pace of my easy runs. It really may be a matter of, if you want to run faster, you have to run faster (thanks for the advice Campbell). I hope my team lets me come back (since I didn't PR), and I can't wait to take the lessons I learned during this cycle into my next training block - once I figure out which race is next. Philly? LA? We'll see where my attention is drawn once I get my legs back, but also I don't think its unrealistic for me to say... Houston, I'll be back.