Houston Marathon Race Report: 1-19-2014

Well this past weekend I completed my first stand-alone marathon and am pretty happy with the results. Conditions were absolutely perfect, great weather and course. My goal time was four hours and I finished in 3:49 and did not have to walk even once so my pacing was good. I did not stick with my original plan but the overall results were still good.

The original plan: Start at a 9min/mile pace, speed up to 8:30 at mile 18 if possible.

What actually happened: Started at an 8:45, held consistently with the intention to drop to 8:30 at mile 18. Wasn't feeling it at mile 18, or 20, but I cut down to 8:37 for mile 22, getting progressively faster and finishing on a 8:02. At this point I think I was running fast based purely on the thought that the faster I ran, the sooner I could sit down. As a whole, I finished about two minutes faster than was originally planned.

Some snazzy data for your enjoyment, check out that heart rate drift!

My awesome emotional support crew at Mile 23

For the race I wore my new Daft sunglasses from Spy Optic, my Newton Running Distance U's and a good layer of Ruby's Motion Potion for Every Notion. Very comfortable the whole race and not a single complaint! The Daft glasses fit perfectly against my face, keeping the wind from drying my eyes out, and they fit tight enough to keep sweat from dripping into my eyes behind the lenses. I've been a huge fan of the Newtons since I got them last fall and this being my longest run in them I am still very impressed and will be getting a new pair of the same when the time comes. 

I'll take a few weeks easy on the running, keeping my bike and swim workouts as planned but reducing morning runs to 5 or 6 miles runs and my only weekend run between now and then around 10 miles. On February 1st I'll be running the Surfside Marathon and plan to have a similar finish time to the Houston Marathon, depending on conditions. The Surfside Marathon is the only marathon that occurs entirely on the beach and it'll be fun to run this very unique course. I highly recommend signing up if you are in the area. Nice course and great swag!

Recipe of the week: Recovery smoothie!

It's starting to warm up again down here on the coast, and looking forward to a cold fruit smoothie makes the workout much more. It's also a great way to get good nutrients for recovery in while you relax!

What you need:

• 1 cup plain greek yogurt
• 3/4 cups of your favorite berries, I like raspberry and blackberry mixed
• 1/4 almond milk
• 1 tbsp Honey
• 1 tbsp Flax or Chia seeds ( I prefer chia)

Toss is all in a blender with some ice, blend, rock and roll!