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2019 Aramco Houston Half Marathon Recap
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2019 Aramco Houston Half Marathon Recap

Just over a week ago, I completed my 25th half marathon. 25 y’all! I knew I had run quite a few, but actually looking at my races page and counting them out was kind of shocking. 25 half marathons, 2 marathons, 2 30Ks and dozens of 5Ks, 10Ks and 15Ks since I started running in November 2009. It feels like quite an accomplishment, but this last race felt like a big deal to me. It was my first race after giving birth to Brody and I felt great. I remember my first couple of races after Chloe and they seemed harder. For whatever reason, my body was able to handle it very well this time around and I’m so grateful to share a positive Aramco Houston Half Marathon recap!

Aramco Houston Half Marathon Race Day!

We woke up dark and early on race day when our alarms went off at 5:00am. We were able to stay at our aunt and uncle’s home in Montrose, which saved us about 30 minutes of drive time race day morning. That meant, 30 extra minutes of sleep before the race! We were up, ready and out the door by 5:35am. I pumped in the car as we drove to George R. Brown Convention Center and finished up in the parking lot. I knew that I needed to empty my breasts as much as I could because the next time I would pump was after the race at least 4 hours later! #breastfeedingproblems

As soon as I finished, we pried ourselves out of the car because it was only 35 degrees outside. SO COLD for this southern girl. Plus there was a 10-12 mph wind bringing the feels like temperature down to 27 degrees. Nope. I had on my Fabletics running leggings with pockets, a tank top, my favorite Nike half zip pullover, gloves and an extra long sleeve shirt to throw away before starting the race. I knew the extra layer would be nice while waiting outside in the corral before the race started. 

Pre Race Prep

We walked quickly and took shelter in the warmth of the convention center for about 40 minutes before our corral closed. First we checked our bag, stretched, took one final pre-race potty break and eventually ventured out to our corral just 5 minutes before it closed!

Our placement was corral B which closed at 7:00am when the race officially started. We waited in our corral for about 20 minutes before getting to start. There was music playing and everyone was jumping and dancing along to the beat to stay warm! We were all shivering and anxiously awaiting our chance to cross the start line. Since we were in downtown, the wind whips like crazy down the streets through the buildings. It was kind of brutal! I kept my outer layer on for a while which definitely helped. I ended up tossing it a little earlier than I should have, but I’m glad I had it for a little while at least!

Race Start

By about 7:15am, we crossed the start line and were off on our 13.1 mile adventure through Houston! 

We first ran down Washington and got a little nostalgic running down the street that we drove down and passed so frequently when we lived in the Montrose area. The giant American flag was hanging over the street at the firehouse around mile 2 and I just got all the excited runner feels. We did a good job keeping it slow for the first couple of miles as we warmed up our bodies and got into a solid running rhythm.

Here’s a look at the course. Since I am far from full marathon ready, we were running the shorter yellow half marathon course! As we turned the corner around mile 3.5, I was in an even more nostalgic place because we were running down West Gray and all the shops and restaurants that we saw and frequented on a daily basis! I was even more excited when I suddenly heard my friend Candace yell, “AMYYYYY!!!!” I couldn’t believe that she spotted me in a sea of people. Something about seeing your friends out supporting you on the course is magical and an awesome moral booster!

Spectators

One of the best things about running Houston are the spectators. The city comes out to support this race. Seeing your friends is obviously super exciting, but almost the entire half marathon course is full of spectators. It really gives you a runner’s high and an extra dose of adrenaline. Our mile times can prove it because during our training runs, I averaged a 10-10:45 min/mile pace. For once I actually trained properly running about a minute slower than race pace on my long runs!

You can see at mile 8 when we had a potty break! Our paces were getting faster and faster until we needed a pit stop. I did have a baby just 5 months prior and I’m proud to report that I didn’t pee myself the entire race! (TMI I know, but I’m just being real here.)

For a few miles, there wasn’t anything too exciting to report. JP and I talked about memories of running this race and living in Montrose. We talked details about planning some trips and what we have coming up with next few months. It was another great running date! As we ran down Montrose Blvd, we saw the street where our old house was and we also saw some friends! (Hi Paula!) Again, we got super excited to hear people we know shouting our names on the course. It’s so exciting!

Final Miles

From there we made the turn onto Allen Parkway right at 11 miles. This is where I started to get super emotional. Y’all we were at 11 miles and I felt amazing. The best I had felt running since having my second child and I was running my goal race! That is when I realized that we were going to crush our time goals. Deep down, I was hoping for a 2:15 race. I hadn’t run a race where I pushed myself in quite a while plus I just had a baby, so I didn’t know exactly how I’d feel or how hard to push. 2:15 felt like a reasonable goal if the weather was okay. Well the weather, despite the freezing start, ended up being better than okay! I also was feeling better than okay, so it made for excellent race day conditions.

Running down Allen Parkway, I got a little teary eyed for a few minutes. JP teased me, but I told him that I felt so great and so accomplished. There were hundreds of people lining the street cheering on the runnings. Tents of people passing out bananas, beer and other goodies to encourage the thousands of runners. It’s such a beautiful thing seeing a city come together. Being on the receiving end of it and feeling like a champ made me feel all the feels. What can I say, I’m a total sap?! I had to take a picture to document the good feels. Meanwhile JP was like WTF? This picture may sum up our relationship beautifully and I love it.

At this point, you notice in my mileage splits that I picked up the pace. We started running a 9:10 mile. What? I haven’t done that at the end of a half marathon in a couple of years. JP wasn’t too keen on the idea, but he kept up with me. He’s used to my crazy and is usually just along for the ride. We ran through downtown feeling awesome and happy! I got a little emotional again and thanked him for doing this with me. I’m not sure I would have made it through some of my long training runs without him by my side. I was proud of me. Proud of him. Proud of us. Thankful to have a husband that does things like run a half marathon with me!

Before we knew it, we were sprinting across the finish line, hands in the air, side by side. We did it with an official finish time of 2:06:23! 

Those negative splits are a runner’s dream!

Post Race

After we got our medals, we headed into the convention center to get our shirts, all of our stuff from bag check and most importantly, our FOOD! I was a hungry hippo after that race. I was a bit disappointed because in past years they had biscuits and gravy, but this year it was sausage and egg English muffins. Oh well! They still had ice cream sandwiches and of course that was the best part anyways.

Unfortunately, we had to eat and run because I accidentally scheduled Brody’s baptism on the same day as the race like a dummy. We had enough time to drive to my parents’ house, snap a few pictures, shower, get ready and head straight to the church. It made for a very exciting, eventful, joyful day!

There you have it, my Aramco Houston Half Marathon recap. My 25th half marathon in the books. Far from my fastest, but one of my proudest finishes. It’s possibly I say that every time I finish a race, but it doesn’t matter how many I run, each race feels like an accomplishment to me.

Here are some of my past race recaps for Houston:

2016 Aramco Houston Half
2015 Aramco Houston Half
2014 Chevron Houston Marathon
2013 Chevron Houston Marathon

I’m looking forward to my 26th half marathon in just a few weeks! That one won’t be nearly as fast because at Disney, races are about running with your friends and getting awesome character pictures. Stay tuned to see who Julie and I decided to dress up as this year!

What is your greatest physical accomplishment in 2019?

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