top of page

Coach Erin's Houston Marathon Recap

Writer's picture: stridesforstrengthstridesforstrength

It truly feels so surreal to even be writing this, but I am a 3:20 marathoner.


I remeber when I had just started my running journey. I ran my first marathon in 4 hours and 32 minutes and I was SO envious of runners that were running a pace that [at the time] I could only dream of. I never once doubted I could get there. Maybe that's what really helped me over the years? I knew it wouldn't be over night and I knew that it would be A LOT of work, but I was ready for it.


I have never been a naturally gifted runner. You know the person that can go out for a run for the first time and drop 8 min miles? Yeah, that wasn't me. My first race was the Peachtree Road Race (a 10K in Atlanta-if you haven't ran it, you need to!) I honestly think I walked 60% of the race.


I say all this becuase I want those of you reading this to dream big. Sure, people may look at you like you've lost your mind when you say your big goals, but SAY THEM WITH YOUR CHEST. Nobody is going to believe in you like you do yourself so speak them into existence, put in the work and know that each step towards that goal is an accomplishment to be celebrated.


NOW, let's get to the recap!


I had ran the Houston Half Marathon the year prior and LOVED the course and the time frame of the training cycle so I almost knew immediately after I finished the half that I wanted to come back for the full one day & dang am I glad I did. (Fun fact: Houston is also my half marathon PR-maybe it's just my lucky city?)


It was so much fun to share the weekend with my athlete & close pal, Tyler. We binged watched Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, played Uno and ate all the carbs possible in the days leading up to the race.


I ran my shake out run on Saturday. Normally I feel pretty good on my shake outs, but my legs felt like bricks. I had 5 min at GMP (goal marathon pace) at the end to get some turnover in my legs and my heart rate shot up to 180. I immediately got in my head, but then tried to take a step back and remember how many training runs I had where one day felt like I was crawling and the next day I felt amazing.


My mantra for this was was "don't put yourself in a box". I wasn't going to decide the day I was going to have before I even started running.


Fast forward to race morning. [I slept like TRASH that night-reminder that sleep matters more in the week leading up to the race than it does the night of]. I woke up, turned my playlist on, ate my bagel and got ready to F*** S*** UP.



I made it to the start line with pretty minimal hiccups. The line to get in the corral was WILD-they were looking at each bib one by one. Everyone was shoulder to shoulder & I wasn't able to get to the 3:20 pace group. For those of you that don't know I have been a LOVER of pace groups for the past couple of years. I use them for the first half to keep me reeled in when my legs are ready to go. I realized I was going to have to trust myself and my training to stay on pace. [insert anxiety]


Start-Mile 6: The race started & dang was I the tin man. It was real temp 32 at the start line and a feel of 19. It took me a couple miles to get warm and get into a steady pace but I settled into a 7:45-7:50 pace for the first couple of miles. I started to get some really bad calf pain at mile 5, but knew that that has happened before and it would eventually loosen up.


Mile 6-13: My calf loosened up around mile 7, but then my left foot went completely numb. It felt like the static on an old school TV and every step did not feel great AT ALL. For a couple of miles I was debating "how long can I go without feeling my foot before it causes damage" LOL. By mile 10 the feeling had come back and I was back to settling into a "cruising pace". I settled into a pace range of 7:30-7:40.


Mile 13-19: Mile 13 I saw my husband for a tailwind swap out. I use 50 g at the beginning and carry 50 g at the end (but typically never finish it-most of it is bonus carbs if you will). Seeing him was a nice boost especially since we had turned straight into a headwind. Mile 14-16 were my slowest miles, but I knew that I needed to adjust and run based on effort. I knew these were important miles and if I pushed to hard I wouldn't have the energy I wanted at the end. So I settled into a 7:45-7:50 pace for those miles. Once we turned and the wind was hitting from the side I picked it back up to mid 7:30's.


Miles 19-24: I really didn't hit the pain cave until after mile 24. I was able to pick up the pace a bit through these miles, I clocked some miles on my watch at 7:25, but I never felt too gassed. I pulled out my mantra at this point. "Don't put yourself in a box". I put my head down and just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. At this point a FLOOD of text messages were coming through and could hear them through my airpods. One of my favorite feelings is hearing the support from so many people when you want to quit.


Mile 24-FINISH: The pain cave hit. All of my race photos at this point are a grimace. I was determined to finish the second half faster than the first. I passed a few spectators at this point giving tips on the course that was really helpful. "You're about to go to the right", things like that so I knew which side to be on. I made it to the final half mile and the ONLY tailwind of the entire course FINALLY hit my back. I gladly took the extra help and picked up the pace to low 7's. I saw my husband right before I crossed the finish and I looked down to see 3:20:04 on my watch. I FREAKING DID IT.


This was such an amazing day and I honestly felt like all of the stars aligned for this to happen so perfectly. It's also a lot of race day practice. A good amount of people reached out and asked for tips on how to run a marathon so evenly and there really isn't an easy answer. Practice, this was my 8th marathon-I know the distance really well. Listen to your body-I know it's cliche but don't race a pace that feels too hard just because you need to according to what your pre race strategy said. Things change. Take it mile by mile and really ask yourself what feels doable for my goal RIGHT NOW.


If you have read this far I SUPER appreciate all the love & support that you guys showed. It wouldn't have been the same without you all in my corner cheering me on & I hope to give you guys a SLIVER of that energy back for your races.


I did record a post race recap podcast with Coach Michaela so if you want even more details, tap the link below to check that out!



If you're interested in 1:1 coaching we are giving 20% off of your first month so reach out to us using the link below!



GO SPEAK YOUR GOALS INTO EXISTENCE!


xoxo,


Coach Erin



9 views0 comments

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
bottom of page