2023 Woodlands Marathon

The Background

I had a decent race at Galveston Marathon.  After going out too fast and crashing, I kept fighting and finished in 5:09. Obviously, the lesson learned from Galveston is to not go out too fast.  

This would be the last race of the season.  Originally I was going to run Seabrook Lucky Trails later in March, but I have a minor surgery coming up.

The Race

It was perfect running weather, slightly chilly at the start.

As I headed out, I felt slightly off.  My ear was stopped up and I felt a slight lack of motivation, the latter being maybe a sign it was good the season was ending.  

Putting on music early, I ran at about at about 10:30 pace to mile 6.  Holding that that to mile 10, I still felt okay.  From there to half marathon. I got a little tired but still held a decent pace, hitting the halfway point in 2:22:53. 

I still felt okay to mile 15.  Pushing away thoughts of walk breaks, I chugged along to mile 20.  Though now at 11-minute miles and tired, I could still run.  I thought, "I'm feeling good so I gotta not waste this."  

I had been passing people steadily, like Jamie and I did at USA Fit, and this motivated me.  At about mile 23 on the Waterway, I chatted with a fellow who has finishing his first marathon.

I finished in 4:47:19 having run every step of the race.  I had even run through the aid stations!

Terri cheered for me at the finish.

Reflections

My positive split was only 1 minute and 25 seconds, so that tells me I ran this well.  I cut my marathon time by an hour and a half from Brazos in December.  And running every step is a big deal to me.

As always, having the motivation and accountability of my friends Luke, Jamie, and Cesar made a big difference.

This was the tale of two seasons:  the first half was a string of DNFs, the second half my running buddies got my motivated.  A 100-mile finish at Jackalope, two really good marathons at USA Fit and Woodlands, what more could I ask for?

I hate to take time off while I'm rolling, but maybe it's better to finish on a high note.  I'm registered for Mule Shoe Bend in July, but I could do something before then.  Anyway, first step is to recover from the surgery.