2009 Austin Marathon & Half Marathon

Austin, TX 02/15/2009 Normally when I think of the morning after Valentines day, I have visions of sleeping in, and cuddling with my significant other. So, I find myself wondering why I am standing in the shivering cold, waiting in a line for a porta potty. The reason is that Lisa and I have signed up to run the Austin Half Marathon.

We started the weekend by attending the Marathon Expo on Saturday. First, we registered for the race, then walked the entire expo, making sure we filled our race bags with as many free goodies as we could find.

After the expo we checked into the The Mansion at Judges Hill. The mansion was a great lodging choice for the race since it was only two miles from the race start. It was also a great choice for Valentines Day since it has a romantic flare to it.

Later that evening, Lisa and I took a stroll down Guadalupe Street to get a feel for the University of Texas college student life. We stopped in a few urban clothing stores, and peeked at menus in restaurants. Eventually, we decided to eat at a Thai restaurant.

At the restaurant, I almost made a fatal race mistake. I ordered, and consumed one of the spiciest dishes on the menu. While eating this dish my nose was running, and I almost started crying. Luckily, I had the foresight to stop at a CVS on the way home and pick up some Zantac, which may have saved the race for me.

The morning of the race, a friendly couple from The Mansion gave us a lift to the starting line. I was all stoked to go out and try to break my own person best of 1:44:04, but one mile into the race I had to stop and wait in line for a porta potty. The reason I give for a mid race pit stop is a cold morning combined with a late start for the race. I'm not sure how much time passed while waiting in line, but I will guess that it was a minimum of three minutes.

The rest of the race went pretty smoothly. I took in a gel at mile seven, and at mile 10 knew that it would be very hard to set a new personal record, but I picked it up a notch anyway. At mile 12 I laid down a kick that I didn't know was possible for my own body. Overall, my time was 1:47.26.

This race was a lot of fun even if I didn't set a new personal record. Everyone should be so lucky to spend a Valentines Day weekend with the one they love, participating in activities they love.