houston marthon- the sequel

i ran in the houston marathon again on sunday!!!  the weather TOTALLY sucked.  rain, wind & cold...but i am happy to report that i beat last years time by over 18 minutes!!!  3:44:50.  my goal was to get under 4 hours...i hoped that i could MAYBE get under 3:50 but that was really a pipe dream.  to get under 3:45 was a shock...honestly.  i didn't wear a watch or take my phone with me...had no idea what my pace was!  i didn't even wear a belt :)  i just took off with my ipod and 3 goos in my sports bra.  i am a bit of a novice :)  BUT now i am pissed because i was so close to qualifying for the boston marathon...3:40 would have done it!  oh well.  maybe if i hadn't had to dodge puddles and other people dodging puddles for 26.2 miles i would have had it?!?!?  maybe if i hadn't stopped for that beer??  maybe if my shoes and socks weren't soaked?!?   :) anyways...it was a super fun experience.  completely different from last year because i was solo...music this year versus chit chat last year.  my partner from last year, debra. jumped in with me for the last few miles which was SO cool.  it was awesome to go across the finish line with her (i made her do it...she did not want to!)  i finished at an 8:34 pace...faster than i thought i could handle for that many miles.  yay for me.  so happy to have it behind me!!!  feels awesome.  everyone should do it!!!!  or at least a half :)  

oh and just a little perspective...25,000 people registered for the races...12K for the half and 13K for the full marathon.  i came in 284th place for the females.  not too shabby right???  thank you to my cheerleaders- you know who you are ;)