Half Marathon #2: Rhythm & Blues

Salutations, friends!

My pops before the race.

This post is about three weeks late, but you know what they say: better late than never! Life has been so busy lately that I can't seem to find a spare moment to even update my blog. But never fear, my slacker tendencies haven't extended to my running. It's been quite the opposite, actually. Those of you who know me understand how much I hate waking up early. Consider a testament to my commitment that I have been waking up at 6am to squeeze my runs in pretty regularly. Now onto the reason you actually read my blog (maybe)...

The Rhythm & Blues half marathon took place on February 19 in downtown Houston. I have to admit, I was a little excited to be running in my home town. I had these fantasies that all of my friends were going to wake up, make signs, and cheer me on as I ran those 13 miles. But alas! I then remembered all of my friends are in their twenties and probably went to bed only a few hours before I woke up. Oh well, that's why we have parents. 

This race had its ups and downs. Literally. I never realized how many "hills" Allen Parkway had. (Houston joke!) Back on track: the best part about this race was that my dad ran it with me. Running is our thing and it was really nice to have him standing next to me at the starting line. I twisted my ankle (i.e. had a rough fall) running at Memorial Park the weekend before the race so my main goal was not to hurt myself any more. I started the race a little faster than I intended. I was feeling pretty good though so I decided just to roll with it. The race consisted of a 4ish mile loop along Allen Parkway. Three loops around allowed runners to become familiar with the course without making the course too monotonous. Once I hit the halfway point, I started to slow down. My ankle wasn't really giving me trouble but my knees were a little sore from the pavement pounding. The race became increasingly difficult. That last mile was brutal. My hips tightened up and all I could think about was how much I didn't want to be running. I felt like I was crawling past the finish line. The experience reminded me of a cross country race my freshman year of high school. Haley, Adrienne, and I were the very last three people to finish the Rice University race. The memory makes me laugh. After finishing that high school race at Rice, all I could think about was how I never wanted to run again. The feeling I experienced at the end of the Rhythm & Blues race was similar. I hurt so bad in so many places. Fortunately, beer was available at the finish line. My mother, who had been moving along the course cheering for me all morning, was waiting to congratulate me. Despite feeling absolutely miserable, I ran the race in 2:09:54, thus knocking a solid 2 1/2 minutes off my previous time. Success! 

Pops and me post-race with our finisher's medals

My father, a seasoned marathoner, clocks a 1:57 half marathon these days. I haven't told him yet, but halfway through the year he is going to be pushing himself to keep up with me. 

I even have pictures from this race! Don't get too excited though...I haven't uploaded them onto my computer yet. But once I load those puppies, you can feel like you were right there running beside me. Half marathon #3 has already come and gone, as well, so I will be posting my reflections on that race before the end of the weekend. And I really will, do not let my past failures lead you to doubt me. The story of number 3 is better told sooner than later!

Ciao bellas. 

My momma hangin' out with me as I sip my post-race beer.