_motivation
I was never tempted to run Houston pre-pandemic. Dallas Marathon checks 80% of boxes with 20% of overhead.
Pandemic hit. I became race deprived. I wanted to pace for ChihYang for his next Taipei Marathon. Of the 4 qualifying marathons in the US, Houston was the most practical.
[Taipei-bound]
_goal
A+: 3:23:48. PB from 2013.
A: 3:25. BQ 2023
B: 3:35. BQ 2024 (it pays to be old)
C: 3:40. Qualify for Taipei Marathon 2022, 2023
_Preparation
I used Stryd’s high-volume marathon program—it worked for me for Hachie 50k 7 months ago.
I resisted replacing easy runs with races for this cycle.
I put more effort into recover. I bought massage after hard efforts.
Highlights:
I came to Houston less fatigue than at Haichie 7 months ago.
The final tempo was the half at Dallas Marathon. It went well.
I hit weight goal of 137.0 lb on the nose.
I qualified for corral A using the result from pacing Irving Marathon.
Lowlights:
I crashed on skates 3 weeks before race.
[left knee]
I rolled left ankle 4 days before race and damaged race shoes. My backups were half size bigger.
_drive to Houston
I left house 10 minutes late unable to get either radar detector to turn on. Bad omen on electronics. Wireless charging mount also acted up while Waze and Audible apps interfered with each other. I missed the simpler days listening to audiobooks on cassettes.
I listened to the Nike Oregon Project book "Win at All Costs" by Matt Hart. It reminded me Tyler Hamilton’s “The Secrete Race” before 2012 Dallas Marathon. It’s human nature to punish the ones who play by the rule—and for the fans to feel innocent despite creating the demand. I was no longer surprised how Micky Mouse the doping practices were.
_Omicron
I promised mom social distancing. This become the only race I actively avoided friends. The only one I talked to was Kisha at half-full split. I shouted encouraging words; she didn’t hear me.
[roomy packet pickup]
Instead of pizza dinner, I had instant noodle and fruits w/ Netflix. I missed events as group activities. I missed Texas Flyers.
_old man fashion
I finished last pair of jeans prior to the race.
Anticipating zero social interaction, I decided on sweatpants to postpone jean shopping. Soon I’ll pull pants to armpits and tell kids to get off my lawn.
_pacing
I planned on setting Forerunner to 7:50 pace; Fenix to monitor Stryd power at 219w. I’d end up between 3:25~3:30 finish time.
11 hours before the gun, I chose to skip Forerunner. I recalled mistakes at Dallas Marathon with multiple Garmins that led to losing the foot pod’s data.
[snap this shot waiting for GPS’s to learn satellite signals;
I would stand between 7:30 and 8:00 signs race morning]
_location, location, location
I lost minimal time standing in cold. National anthem, speeches, gun happened like clockwork. Houston Marathon was a well-oiled machine.
[Magnolia hotel front door was 24 seconds to corral A entrance]
_unfamiliar ground
Stryd’s 219w kept me at an uncomfortable but manageable pace. I stayed with 3:20 pacers. Too fast. I felt strong and hung on. I didn’t have enough experience in AlphaFlys to know how legs were supposed to feel; I felt the carbon plate bouncing.
“Heck, maybe I’m fitter than I thought.”
Stryd’s projected finish time was closer to 3.5 hrs. I wished I had the extra Garmin to confirm pace, but the outdated FR630 might be insufficient to overcome downtown buildings.
I let 3:20 pacers go after turning into headwind at mile 9. I felt more fatigue than expected. Wished I was more familiar with these shoes.
The buildings slowed the cold wind. I tailgated taller runners when practical—easy to do on this flat course. We ended up with net tailwind.
_trouble
For past successful marathons, I felt strong first 18 miles. This time legs started to fade climbing to the highest point at mile 12. I had difficulty reconciling the wattage, pace, and perceived fatigue level.
“But my training went so well….”
Confidence and fatigue were irrelevant halfway into the race. I focused on staying below threshold. I was still ahead of Taipei qualifying pace. Stryd showed pace in the low 8’s. I didn’t dwell on where things went wrong.
_cloth
I dressed correctly for this race. In order of coming off:
> disposable leather jacket
> disposable polo shirt
> disposable mask
> arm warmers
> gloves
> Oakley Flak Beta
> AlphaFlys
> tri shirt w/ back pockets for gels & arm warmers & gloves
> compression socks
> running shorts
Because of mask & arm warmers, I could be spotted on TV coverage
_chasing clock
Wall came early but was manageable at mile 14, climbing out of an underpass. Garmin told me I never went sub-8 again. Very discouraging. I thought I was too self-absorbed to notice 3:25 pacers passing me. I anticipate a 2nd and taller wall that never came.
I was passed by 3-hour pacers before mile 16. Corral B started 15 minutes later. Yet 3:25 group started in corral A. Corral assignment was the only negative aspect of the race organization I perceived.
Final 8 miles were mostly tail wind and downhill. Fenix showed me disappointing but not disastrous numbers. Official clocks conflicted w/ my Stryd pace. I focused on Taipei qualifying time. I couldn’t believe how beautiful the weather and how dead my legs were. I was in awe and in pain.
What prevented me from slowing was the thought of telling ChihYang my failure.
Houston did a great job separating half and full runners during the final section to avoid zigzagging among walkers. I flirted with cramping last 5k. No longer able to bounce off the fancy shoes, I focused on cracks, manholes, and rails. Mile 26 clock said 3:23:xx. I was confused. Maybe my poor sight misread 3:28, which reminded me to ride Ninja 1 last time to pick up the prescription glasses before selling the organ donation machine.
I sprinted. I wished I was lighter.
#’s
official:
chip time: 3:23:24 (24 faster than 2013 PB at Irving Marathon) (palindrome if 1 second faster)
pace: 7:46 min/mile = 4:49 min/km
distance: 26.22 miles
racer count: 11237 half, 6250 full
[faster than 8:00 pace at each official chip sensor]
Stryd/Fenix 5+:
Time: 3:23:26
pace: 7:59 min/mile
distance: 25.49 miles
event average power: 220w
critical power: 251w (4.01 w/kg) @ 138lb
US women half and marathon records were broken:
Sarah Hall (38 yo): 1:07:15—exactly 15 years after husband set Man’s record 59:43 also at Houston.
Keira D’Amato (37): 2:19:12
_aftermath
I had difficulty with street curbs walking back to hotel—reminded me why I was more afraid of marathon than longer events. I asked the same dead legs to hold race pace for the final 10k.
_power meter
https://support.stryd.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044274654-Attach-the-Stryd-pod-to-the-Nike-Next-?source=search
Stryd support informed me I “likely” didn’t mount their pod properly: sending me to a website with inexact procedure for a different model of Nike. I would not renew my monthly subscription.
[requiring a zip tie wasn't mentioned in Stryd marketing ad]
_carbon plated shoes
Without a control group, I couldn’t quantify the difference. At race speed, the shoes shift failure points to different body parts. Alphafly shortened my recovery cycle and seem to improve my half and full time by minutes.
I invested a lot in my running form since _Born to Run_. Able to utilize the skill was gratifying.
[Nike owns the marathoners with 6:15 pace marathoners; photo from Jennifer's FB page]
