Aramco Houston Half Marathon - If You Can Take It, You Can Make It

“You train, you fight harder than the other guys, you win. If you can take it, you can make it.” From the Unbroken movie. Louis Zamperini liked to run. Was he ready to join the track team? It seems so. At least after listening and following his brother's advice.

It was May 29^th, almost midnight and end of my 41^st birthday. Time to go to bed, just one facebook break more when I saw running friend Joshua Thompson post about Houston Marathon's official sign closing up that night. Without giving a second of thought, I signed in.

Six months after “Now I am on your hands, ” I told Universal Runners Coach, Francisco Pulido. “13.1 miles? Should I run with music?” I asked.

“No ‘cerebrito’. No iPod. Connect to yourself and enjoy it, ” directed coach. 

Big race, big mission. Getting out of my ‘cerebrito’ a.k.a. little over-thinking brain, calculating everything.

All set, on my drive way to Houston.  Four hours, that Friday evening traffic extended to almost five. Oh well, more than enough time to relax and catch up on my Audible books. “Do not hurry, but do not rest,” A great advice from Annie Dillard to writers, that can be transferred to long distance runners. Just what I needed to hear! Stamped it on my brain to repeat it for 13.1 miles.

Saturday morning. Time to go to the expo, pick up package and get Meb’s autograph. Wait! Eugenia’s apartment, sweetest girl friend hosting me, was located a couple blocks from Kirby Dr. and Bissonet St. Almost the exact Half’s half point. Just the perfect location to set a game plan. I planned to scan cool spots on while driving, and then try to see how many of them I was able to remember and find during the run. That game would keep little brain too busy to calculate, or only calculate numbers.

On my way to the expo, driving the second half of the Half started with that big red shoe. Pic! A shoe hospital! located at the corner of Kirby Dr. & Bissonet St. Keeping on Bissonet, lot of trees. Turning on Main, Pic!  Museum of fine arts, no time to visit now. Keep going Roxy, and Pic! a beautiful water fountain before turning on Montrose.

 

 

 “I am close to Rice University” I thought, “Nicholas, my son, might study and live here.” Keeping on Montrose, just looking at the huge trees almost covering the sky. Pic! Approaching a white metallic bridge with red balls on the side. Running under this kind of structures is not an everyday thing where I live.

Crossing Westheimer and Pic! Aladdin Mediterranean cuisine, “Maybe we should come for dinner with Eugenia”. On the other side of the road a Valero Gas station. That gas station brand caused the Cheetah Chicks to miss the running course at the Dallas Marathon Relay. Oh! another Pic! What is that “Little Big” sign? Fun, a little guy holding big pancakes! I do not eat pancakes but I will bring my guys some day.

 

On the way to the Buffalo Bayou park, Pic! big artistic colorful snails under the trees, and a yellow K.

 

I must have missed a turn. I didn’t know how to keep on the course, but I am pretty close to the end. Hopefully at this point I will be on fire without any need of more Pics. Time to go to the expo to pick bib and get Meb’s autograph.

Waiting on a long line. I didn’t have anything to get signed. The t-shirt? Too dark. The book? I wasn’t going to spend $25.00 on a book I have at home. Wait the bib! “I will get my bib signed” I thought, afterwards I collect interesting race bibs plus running with Meb’s signed bib was going to make it more special. “Best wish. Run to win, Meb,” is what Meb wrote on my ROXYIN A 21437 bib.

 

After the expo and couple hours at the University of Houston watching the relays at the Carl Lewis invitational, it was time to start my first half of the Half scanning drive. Thanks to the GPS technology for always, well, almost always, making it possible to drive to places we want to go but we don’t know.

On Congress, around the start line. Very downtown area. Pic! the aquarium. Lucas, my younger son, loves aquariums. Keep going and Pic! on the right a clock tower. Crossing and keeping to what ends to be Washington street. Oh! Pic! Social junkie place. I wonder what it is. Crossing Studemont and I can see a tower. 

 

Turning on Heights, to cross a bridge and Pic! Allen pkwy. Then turning on Gray and Pic! Coffee Ginger. I love coffee and ginger. In fact I drink tea with ginger but have never tried coffee with ginger. Should I try? I kept going and Pic! River Oaks movie theater. 

Then Inwood is in the woods. Nice neighborhood with fine houses and lot of trees. Turning on Kirby Dr. and Pic! a blue metal tree before I get to the shoe hospital, end of Half’s first half and start of Half’s second half.

 

Time to come get back for dinner and go to bed.

Race day. Of course I didn’t read the instructions and after I parked, dropped my running gear, went potty and jogged to the Corral A, it was already closed. I had to go and jump the fence to Corral B, then moved to Corral A and located myself in the middle of 3:20 and 3:30 marathon pace teams, around 7:38 and 8:00 paces which sounded as pretty safe spots to try to keep on.

On your mark, get ready, set and go! Way up on Congress. Downtown, Pic! Aquarium, Pic! crossing to Washington, Pic!. Social junkies, Pic! Still no idea what it is for. Crossing Allen pkwy. Pic! Coffee Ginger, Pic! “Hi, Roxy!” said Magaly Soto with a big smile while flying by. Then I heard more “Go Roxy!” and I waved. I thought that was probably somebody from Dallas.

On Kirby Dr., almost getting to the metallic blue tree, Pic! another “Go Roxyin!” That is when I realized cheering people didn’t know me. They were reading my ROXYIN A 21437 printed bib. I wonder if they could see Meb’s autograph.

“Keep going Roxy. Almost there,” and finally got to cross that magic Half’s half point with the big red shoe. Second half of any race, even physically can be more demanding, mentally it feels like a relief for me.

Way down on Bissonet. New Pic! A running kid, 11 to 12 years old. He stopped and started crying. I almost stopped to help him but a guy, maybe his dad, turned back to make him keep going. “Same as Son & Mom running, my running project with Nicholas,” I thought. “With the discipline and energy he’s been training, it might be the opposite, son helping his mom, me, to keep going.”

I was getting a little bit tired, however even legs were not necessarily moving faster, heart rate was still behaving. Pic! the big water fountain and Pic!  enjoy the trees on Montrose. Pic! The cocolorful snails under the tree and time to stop 15 seconds for a drink. Was I thirsty? Not really, but I needed to reset and keep strong to the end. I got to Allen pkwy. That was the turn I had missed while driving. As I didn’t have any more Pics! I had to play with living pics. All people cheering around, crossing under the bridges and getting into the downtown jungle. I knew the end was close, so I started running faster and faster. Where is the finish line? Oh! there!

1:44:some. I knew I had started just around minute and a half after. Not a 1:25 but n worries. This time I took the race to finish it, and I made it. I could say I kind of connected to myself and absolutely enjoyed the race. Thanks Universal Coach Pulido for the great advice. Mission almost accomplished!

You train, you set the right goals, you finish happy and unbroken. If you can take, you can make it!  
Let’s repeat and I have already signed for Aramco Houston Half on 2016.