The Stars @ Night Are Big and Bright...

Back in June I was sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot, inside a fireworks tent, and decided to enter Aimee and I in the lottery for the Houston Marathon. We knew the chances of getting in were small, but we thought it would be fun to watch the Olympic Trials and then run the Marathon the next day. Fast forward six months: I got a new job, we moved, Aimee is 17 weeks pregnant and it was one of the best trips ever!

17 Weeks; The Finish Line for the Olympic Trials 

Houston has officially taken my top spot for best Marathon. Not just because of the trails, but for the following reasons: 1) Organization; downtown start/finish with indoor gear check; fenced in corrals; easy to follow signs/directions 2) Port-A-Potties everywhere (nuff said), including inside the start corrals and after each aid station 3) Amazing volunteers and lots of them 4) Scenic loop course 5) Flat 6) Perfect weather (uncontrollable I know) 7) Finisher Shirt and Mug 8) Post race breakfast 9) It's a PR course!

The Women's Trial Race, Meb Wins, and I thrown the Javelin 

We began Saturday by going on a 4 mile jog around downtown. It was fun to see all the final prep work for the course/trials and we also checked out Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros. Next, we watched the US Olympic
Marathon Trials. Since they ran an 8 mile loop, we were able to see both the male and female runners at least 4 times each. As the race went on, Aimee and I worked our way to the finish and sat in the grandstands. The crowd was nuts and really cheered these athletes on to London. After the trials we went right into the expo to pick up our race bibs for the following day. The rest of the day was spent watching playoff football and resting.


Sunday morning we arrived downtown around 5:45 am to be in our corrals by 6:40 am before they closed them off. Aimee and I had both qualified for the "faster" A corrals which kept us up front and helps avoid too much congestion at the start. Another great thing about Houston is they separate the 1/2 and Full start areas and do not merge them until mile 2; this also cuts down on congestion. With Aimee prego she only ran a portion of the half and took several pictures along the way. Being towards the back was a new experience for her and I'm sure it was tough for her to walk most the race, but safety first there's a baby on board!

Thanks to the perfect weather and flat course, I was able to PR (3:03:20) which re-qualified me for Boston (3:05:00 for my age). My time is good for the 2013 race, but I have to wait until this September to see if I get in. In the meantime we are already looking into hotel options and so is some of our family!  

After eating breakfast and filling my awesome finishers mug, we walked back to the hotel and decided to drive down to Galveston for lunch. It was an quick 45 minute drive, all interstate, and we were glad we made the trip. We walked along the gulf, saw Galveston's New Orleans style downtown, and watched the second half of the Houston Texans playoff game. We highly recommend this race, enjoyed being part of the Olympic Trials, and are always grateful for the opportunities we have to compete and run.

Galveston and the New Orleans Style Downtown