26.2 times 7

It's OVER I finished. I finished my 7th marathon, my fifth Houston one. But it was not pretty. If you want to know how to have a crappy race, then here's the formula. NOTE** My damn desktop won't let me upload pics to this blog..so I have no photos to share..shit shit shit shit.... Pinkgurugal's Anti-Marathon Recipe 1) don't train 2) suffer a terrible chest cold the week leading up to the race 3) eat late (like at 9pm) the night before the race 4) roll out of bed 25 minutes before the race 5) eat 3 bites of oatmeal and 3 sips of coffee heading to the race 6) and ... SKIP that all important "Number 2 bathroom break" This was the least prepared I've ever been. Being sick didn't help. Neither did being burned out from the 2007 race season. Oh yes, and I quit my job and fell in love. I think the latter played a part, but I'll take that over all of this. Pinkgurugal's Play by play Why did I get up so late? Well.... it was cold and the bed was felt so good. I'm not a morning person. But when I finally rolled out of bed, I realized... I cant eat a whole bowl of oatmeal so close to the race start. After Rob dropped me off at 7:00am (when the gun went off), I managed to start with the second marathon wave at 7:10. Things were going fine, I stayed with the 4:15 pack for the first 15 miles. Then it went downhill from there. For the next 11 miles, I went from a 9:36 pace to ultimately, a 10:30 minute pace. I was tired, my legs were soooo heavy, and my knees felt so numb. Thankfully, I literally ran into a friend who was running at my increasingly slowing pace. By mile 21-22, I was so tired. In years past, I always had some reserve left in my tank, and I could usually step up the pace. Not this year. It took everything in me to run it in. Memorable Marathon Moments 1) I high fived with President George Bush and Babs, who were watching the marathoners go by in front of their church. 2) Thank God for Joe Martin who kept me company while I was dying out there. 3) Saw the Chelly (my best friend Kelly) smoke by me (she did a "training" half marathon in 1:34!) 4) I Saw Rob, his son John and Trigreyhound at mile 7. It's always fun to see people you know 5) TriRyguy took some pics at mile 22. I can't download them for some reason 6) The belly dancers were at their usual mile 20. (I like seeing them) 7) The weather was PERFECT 8) The finishers shirts were cool. Accolades Congrats to everyone who raced, including my good friend Joe Philips, blog nemesis Red Allez Guy (who bought a race entry and was Neil Cheng) Sugar Daddy Philip Shama, and lastly, Ironbabe Jane for finishing her FIRST marathon. You go Jane! Cheers and happy training! "Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen." --Mark Twain