Pre-race excitement

Fun, yet busy day.

I had plans to sleep late, but my cell phone started ringing before 8am. By 9:30 I had already picked up Wyatt. Earlier in the week I talked Wyatt into going to the Houston Boat and RV show. Part of my New Year's resolution is to start engaging in more family activities, so I'm looking for a small bumper tow RV.

Unknown by us until we arrived at Reliant Stadium, but the expo didn't open till 1:00pm. Both of us had a full schedule and couldn't wait around that long. Since we were in the South part of Houston we met Shaina and had lunch at Cafe Express.

Today was the first of my "Vegan Friday's". Even though Cafe Express is a healthier restaurant, I found it a challenge to find full "vegan" options. It would have been easy to order a vegetarian meal. Eating only vegan foods left me with two side dishes; roasted artichoke hearts & tomatoes and sweet potato fries. My selections we delicious, but left me hungry.

On the way back home we stopped at a couple RV stores. I found the particular RV I've been looking for and it's actually cheaper than I expected. Now that I know the available options and prices, I'll start a hunt for a used unit.

Once I finally got back home I ran three miles. It was amazing how strong my legs felt. I honestly thought I was running a ~12:00 pace, but it was actually in the low ten minute range. Those three glorious miles will be the last till Sunday's marathon.

Run:
3.01 miles
30:05
10:00 pace

Weight:
199.25

I had just enough time to get a haircut and shower before Tom and Andrea made it to the house. From here we headed to the GRB to pick up our race packets at the Houston Marathon Expo. This years expo was by far the best I've been too. Lots of useful booth's and it wasn't too crowded. I would have liked to look around longer, but they closed at 6pm.

The energy of the expo has me fired up for the marathon. It's also a great feeling to be around Tom and Andrea as they prepare for their first marathon. Their pre-race nervousness is sandwiched by the excitement of the "unknown" and it is contagious! I'm so proud of these two. They've both worked hard day-in and day-out and deserve this monumental achievement. Their first marathon is something they will never forget and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to be a part of it.

As for me, I'm ready and a PR seems within reach. I'm lighter than I was in 2006 (199.25 versus 218.5lbs) and I'm in better shape. The only difference is, I was "faster" back then. As I look through my training log I clearly see a significant difference in my training paces. In the months leading up to the 2007 marathon, most of my runs were in the low 9:00 range. Currently I train at a leisure 11:00 pace. There's one big difference I'm counting on; in 2006-2007 I was always hurting and today I'm happy and healthy.

My race strategy is to run a safe, consistent pace. My ultimate goal is run sub 4:30:00. If that doesn't happen I'll be content with a new marathon PR (sub 4:39:01), but I really need to focus on getting Andrea and Tom through THEIR run. I've run hundreds of miles with these two athletes and I don't want to abandon them now. On the other hand, if one drops we have already agreed I will stay with the front runner. Our plan is to run together and finish together. I truly believe we've trained smart enough to cross the finish line together.

After the Expo, we found a great Vegan restaurant in uptown called, The Pepper Tree. Great food and reasonable prices. I only wish it was closer to home!

Even though I should be in bed, I'm still busy. I work tomorrow till 8pm, so I'm getting all my race stuff together tonight. I've already programmed my garmin, selected my clothes, pinned my bib, attached my chip, gathered my GU/S-caps, and even packed my drop bag.

All I have left to do is wait for the start gun to go off. I'm keeping my fingers crossed my shift at work is easy. I have the night part off, but that won't matter if we make a house fire or something even bigger.