What a great weekend for running in Austin! As the saying went for the race (appropriately suited for a Valentine’s Day event), “Run Austin, Love Austin”. This was actually a pretty big weekend for Derick and I, as it was his first full marathon. This was also MY first full marathon back in 2008.
The weather was spectacular, albeit a bit chilly at the start (probably low 40s), I am guessing that the busy volunteers had their hands full of clothing that was stripped off of runners those first 5 miles. The sun came out right after the gun, and it made for an awesome day to run; be it 13 miles or even 26.
As for my race, I did not know what to expect, but as with any race, I intended to give it everything I had and go into it shooting for a best time. That is kind of how I approach any race I do; always an opportunity to PR. While I had been battling a bit of a cold the past week, it is hard to say that it did me any dis-service, as I ended up feeling almost entirely normal on race morning and physically my body felt strong and responsive. In all honesty, the rest probably did me good and allowed me to run on fresh legs (funny how that works isn’t it…I think the little setbacks are usually a blessing in disguise). The downside to this was, 13.1 miles of hard running on up and down terrain left me completely trashed post-race.
I took out miles 1-3 strong but not too hard and cruise down 1st street (a 3-mile downhill stretch) in some 5:45 miles. I was joined here by Jack & Adams own Adam Reiser, who was running the full marathon! Though we did not chat, it was nice to have Adam by my side for a few miles. As I approached mile 7 or 8, my hands got warm and luckily Jamie Cleveland was nice enough to pick up my gloves as I saw him cheering and left him a little gift as I went by. Read More
