Texas Tumble

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't... Much like Almond Joys and Mounds, with distance running sometimes you feel good, sometimes you don't. Yesterday at the Houston Half Marathon I was a total Mound, sure didn't feel good! (If you haven't seen those old commercials and don't know what I'm talking about, then obviously you didn't watch enough Price is Right as a child).

I ran just barely faster than what I came through the first half of the Columbus Marathon, and that first half of Columbus felt a heck of a lot better! I'm not going to make excuses, but there were definitely extenuating circumstances (some back, spine and neck issues left over from a bad weight coach last year) that contributed to my poor finish time, and based on how my legs felt I probably didn't recover very well from my little high mileage experiment. I was right where I needed to be at four miles, but the last nine were u-g-l-y.

It's very frustrating to travel far away for a big race and then bomb, but this is not the first time I've done it, so I know from experience that I'll survive. However, I'm not satisfied with survival, I want to prosper! I am extra motivated after observing all of the other elite athletes during the weekend.

I don't consider myself greedy or overly materialistic, but for some reason I've always been obsessed with free stuff! It started at the Expo the day before the race where I came away with two Lara Bars, some Power Bars, an entire box of brown rice, two handkerchiefs with the course map on them and a really cool stress ball with legs and arms and a cowboy hat. The freebies continued with all the benefits of being considered an "elite athlete."

The elite hospitality suite had amazing food for breakfast (Einstein's bagels and schmear, my favorite!), lunch, dinner and tasty snacks in between. We all got over-the-shoulder bags and t-shirts with the race logo on them, and the super-nice Brooks rep from Houston gave me a free technical tee (unfortunately, since everything really is bigger in Texas, even though it was a small it fit me like an X-large). Best of of all there were free massages, and boy did I need them!

Before the race the race officials escorted us across the legions of dedicated joggers lined up for blocks, past Minute Maid Park and to our own port-o-poties - the ultimate pre-race perk! Afterwards I thought to myself "only in Texas" when I saw that in addition to the typical bagels and bananas they were serving "recovery tacos" in the elite athlete area. They actually weren't bad, but right after I ate one my stomach really regretted it. Like I said, I have a hard time turning away free stuff!

Despite my terrible race, it was hard to be upset for long when the sun was shining and it was warm in January! Afterwards we went back to Nancy's town house and after lying on the floor trying to get my back to chill out for a while, I showered and pulled on my Peyton Manning jersey before we went to a local bar to watch the Colts game. It was depressing to watch them loose, but I was proud of myself for winning a verbal scuffle with a random guy in the bar who was trying to tell me that Eli is the better Manning quarterback, give me a break...

On my way home I ran into a good friend from high school and she ended up being on my flight back! It was great to catch up and before I knew it we had landed. It was even greater that I didn't have to drive home thanks to my ride, but I'll admit that going from sunshine to snow was a bit of a shock to the system. Going back to work this morning was also quite a shock to the system...

So, what's next? Time to regroup, refocus and re-energize for the next ten weeks until the Stanford 10k. With the Olympic Trials - Marathon being in late April, the early April Stanford meet is my best shot to qualify for the Olympic Trials - Track and Field. I am right on the bubble of being able to go, and since the meet and all hotels within a 30 mile radius are sold out, there's only one way I get to go to that meet, and that's by running fast! I know it's in there somewhere. I know with some hard work, help from friends and some faith I'll be back to Almond Joy shape in no time.