First Marathon of 2024 - Chevron Houston - 1-14-24

 What a way to start off a new year than by running a Marathon in January!  😁

Houston was not my actual first race of 2024.... I did do a 12K on the 1st day of the new year.  Typically we all try to run the Steam whistle race on New Years day.  It's local and fun way to start the year. 😍  It was a good training run in prep for the Marathon and due to the holidays and several of the girls traveling, we did our last long run (18 miles) the next day after Steam whistle so... we got in like 26 miles within 2 days.  I pretty much took the rest of the week off except for 2 very short runs to let my body recover so I'd be ready for Houston!  and I'm so glad I did! 

Here's a pic or two from Steam whistle.  I didn't hang around after the race so I could get back home and cook New Year's day lunch for my family. 

I won a door prize

Start line at Steam Whistle

As for Houston....  The PPRF girls had been planning this trip for several months.  We had shirts made, bought matching sparkle skirts and painted our nails pink. 😍  It started out with 8 of us that would be traveling together from Mississippi to Houston and 1 flying in from Tennessee to join us.  However, our 8 went to 7 by the week of the race due to an unexpected sickness / death of a pet.  We missed Janis on our trip so much, but we all completely understood that she was right where she needed to be ... at home with her sweet dog during his last days.  😢

I picked up Felicia around 4:15am on Saturday morning and we headed to Purvis where we met the rest of the girls and load down Penny's expedition.  I was so glad I borrowed my parents cargo rack.  We had just enough room between the back of her vehicle and the cargo rack to get 7 suitcases, 2 ice chest, and 2 rolling blow up air mattresses.  We didn't even need a man to tie everything down.  😂  Several men drove up at the gas station where we were at and smiled as they were watching us load everything.  I'm sure they thought where the heck are all those women going in one vehicle. 😂😁

loading luggage for 7 women

Got our Starbucks coffee

Penny & Be in the front, Candy, Michelle & Ann in 2nd row, Felicia and I in the 3 row.

Felicia and I rode in the very back and were glad it was just us 2 back there. 😀 we had a bag of 7 pink cowboy hats in between us. 😂  Did I mention we had this whole Shania Twain theme planned.  "Let's Go Girls" 💓  I only got a tad panicky when we got in heavy traffic and I got to thinking if something happen me and Felicia would be trapped in the very back with no door to get out.  I kept reminding myself Penny was a good driver and it would be ok and it passed.  🙏

It actually was a FUN ride.  We laughed, sang, and carried on like a bunch of college girls on a road trip! We may be old, but we still like to have FUN! Life's too short not too! We called Penny, "DJ Penny"... she had a wide variety of songs on her phone that she played for us and kept us entertained.  

It was a beautiful sunny day when we arrived in Houston.  Our hotel was just a couple of blocks away from the convention center and start/finish line, so we never had to get back in the vehicle until time to go home.  The expo closed at 5pm so we didn't have much time to shop.  We got our race bibs and basically got out of there pretty quick.  All the marathon race jackets in smaller sizes were sold out! They only had a few Large and then mostly XL and XXL! I was disappointed in that fact.  I guess tons bought them on Friday or earlier in the day prior to us getting there late Saturday afternoon.  Felicia was the only one that snagged a jacket and I'm so glad she did because it was a PR race for her the next day! 💓  We had a quiet evening in our hotel with pizza and early bed at 8pm.  We were all pretty tried from a long travel day.   We had 2 hotel rooms for the 8 of us and it worked out perfect.  Penny & Michelle had brought their air mattresses which was a good thing because our room ended up being a suite with 1 bed and a couch.  It did have a full size refrigerator and small kitchen area which we used! 

Ms Ann had put this on top of the champagne bottles.. so cute!

Look at all that glitter. 

Finish line.. we walked right by it on our way from hotel to convention center... Penny did a great job once again picking a hotel that was close to everything. 

Our very late lunch once we arrived in Houston... we were starving! 

Our towel we got in our race bags. 

A run shirt I bought at the expo.. with the Pink cowboy hat that Janis had bought all of us... excuse the house shoes.. ha 

Elevator heading to our room. 

RACE DAY:  We knew the temp from Saturday would not hold.  There was a winter storm headed into the area, so we were prepared.  It was 41 degrees and never warmed up during the marathon.  Thankfully the sun did come out, but the wind was tough from time to time.  Very COLD wind burst throughout the race.  I wasn't sure how big the race would be.... let's just say it was BIG.  There were 2X as many  half marathoners as full marathoners.  The race did not thin out any until after mile 8 and even then I don't ever remember being alone.  Lots of runners.  LOTS of CROWD support which was amazing!  It was one of the most organized marathons I've ran.  They say it's flat... BUT.. it's not... has one big hill about half way and then several rollers the last couple of miles.  So save your legs for the end! 

I felt really good running.  I like running in 40-50 degrees! I didn't care for the wind.  We all pretty much stayed together for most of the race.  I had to make a bathroom stop so then Ms Be, Ann, Felicia and Penny got ahead of us.  I knew Be and Ann were trying to get under 5 hours and Penny had a goal of not stopping to walk, etc.  Candy & Michelle had also stopped for the bathroom prior to me stopping so they were now behind us.  I hated having to stop because I wanted to run with the group.  By the time I waited in line to go my mile pace beeped 15! I was like OMG .. we've been running around 10:45 pace and now I've lost so much time here in line.  I had to run 4 10 min miles to catch up with Penny and them and when I did they were at an aid station.  Ann had fallen 2X! Penny had told Felicia and Be to go on and she'd take care of Ann.  So I stopped while Ann got a couple of bandaids and then us 3  were off again.    It's wasn't but just a couple of miles afterwards that Candy & Michelle text us and Michelle also had fallen!  Early in the race it was so crowded that you really had to watch your feet and where you were going.  Both Ann & Michelle had caught their toe on one of those reflector things that was in the middle of the road in several places.  I felt so bad for them.  Ann's chin kept bleeding.  She used her snot rag to wipe blood.  It looked like a bloody mess.  Penny and I tried to get her to slow down, but she was on a mission.  She wanted to catch back up to Be and break 5 hours.  We finally just let her go on.  I also ended up stopping again for the bathroom and caught back up to Penny.   Penny and I even walked through a couple of water stops.  It wasn't long before we caught up to Ann & Felicia.  By this time Be seemed to of have slowed down.  I feel like she was worried about her friend, Ann, and kind of lost her mojo... maybe not.. that's just my gut feeling.   Ann was happy now that she had caught up with Be.. we were around mile 18-19  I believe.... and then Ann kept going... getting faster!  I pushed to catch up to her and she told me she hoped she was pushing Be to push on.  If you know these two women, well you know that they are the sweetest, dearest, caring, people you'll ever met!  They are the real deal!  and they are BOTH tough as NAILS!  Soon Ann  was out of my sight.  We begin to hit those rollers at the end and all I could do was pray for God to give us all strength and to keep anyone else from falling ... and to get us ALL to that finish line.  🙏  We had so many people cheer for us during the race.  They LOVED our pink and our shirts that said "let's go girls".  💗

some still holding on to gloves and jackets.... the sun felt good, but the shade was COLD!

I ended up throwing away my old throw away sweatshirt that I started in... I tried to tie it around my waist.. but it was just too much with that fuel belt and sparkle skirt.. ha So glad I had arm sleeves. 

me and Felicia

Ann and Michelle

Michelle & Felicia

Be and Michelle...  Michelle said she was trying to get a picture with everyone before we all got separated running our own paces. 

I never realize how big that dang fuel belt is that I run with! GRRRRR..  but ever since my issues with dehydration... I always wear it for long races with plenty of supplies.  

Penny and I at the finish line! 

Here's what's amazing....  Ann fell 2X.... Ran with her chin bleeding like a stuck pig, knee scraped up, and elbow all scraped and swelling with a blue/black knot .... and guess what.. she finished FIRST out of all of us!  She finished in 4:52!  Oh and did I mention she's next to the oldest in the group at the young age of 65! I was so happy for her!  Penny and I both came in at 4:57, Be at 5:05, Felicia 5:14 (PR), & Michelle & Candy at 5:18.   We all run more the "social pace" which involves talking and laughing while running ... well, except for Be.. she usually pushes herself to be fast.  Ann knew if she could get under 5 hours she could qualify for Chicago and not have to do the lottery.  Susan who was running her first half marathon since her knee surgery came in at 2:59.  So very proud of her.  I'm really enjoying getting to know her even though she lives in Tn.  I'm sure she'll join us for more races in the future now that she's back to running.  

It was COLD when we stopped running.  Luckily when you crossed the finish line they directed the runners straight into the convention center where you got your medal, finishers shirt and a finisher mug.  They also had all the food inside.  So there was no need to stand out in that freezing cold wind.  The convention center was nice and warm. 😍   My only complaint was when we went through the food line, there were no more biscuits or pancakes! We only got scrambled eggs and a piece of sausage.  The coffee was nice and hot however.  It was nice being inside after a race when the temps are COLD.

While inside we met "Jellybean"... the little dog that ran the marathon in 4 hours 20 minutes!  We'll see her again in May at Flying pig.   I'm not sure how that little dog runs a marathon!  Her legs are so short! But her owners said she goes to the vet for checkups and she's all good.  I was just so amazed.   We were able to grab a picture with her. 😍

It was a COLD walk back to the hotel.  So cold and windy that we decided to just eat there in the hotel and not even try to venture out.  That winter storm was headed in.  We would get up on Monday morning and leave first thing to try to beat the ice / snow storm.  

We had such a great evening in our hotel.  Even though we had ran 26.2 miles, several of us were able to still dance! 😂  Some did some serious dancing.  Ms Ann had brought us all an individual champagne bottle with glitter.  Let's just say I bet the maids had fun the next day... glitter was everywhere... Like I said.. It was like a group of college girls on a trip.  I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.  We had a BLAST! 

They said..give me your sexy face....I don't have one! 😂

   

Our southern Bell.... Ms Ann! She is precious! Still smiling after falling 2X during a marathon! 

Our sparkle bottles of Water to match our pink theme.. 'Let's Go Girls"

The drive home the next day was not too bad either.  Once again Felicia and I rode in the very back.  We did start out in very cold rain, but once we got close to the Louisiana line the rain stopped.  We all made it home safely and got in our beds before the cold hit here in Mississippi.  The next day schools were canceled and I worked from home.  It was like 11 degrees!  So very  thankful that the storm didn't come in any faster.  I'm not sure what we would have done if we would have had to run in that stuff!  Poor Susan got stuck at the airport and didn't get to fly home until Wednesday.  She had to spend the night in the airport in Houston due to the storm. 😢

I will say this... these girls are breaking me out of my shell a bit...  I typically don't like huge groups when riding in a vehicle or spending the night in one room.... don't really like sharing hotels rooms with more than 2..... but I'm enjoying them and I made it just fine with 5 girls in one hotel room and 7 girls in one vehicle. 😁 They are growing on me. 😍😁😂😍  I know one thing.. it's cheaper to travel to all these races this way. 💗  

Inside the convention center... so glad to be done!

You didn't get your race shirt until you crossed that finish line.... they all said FINISHER.  I got a medium...but it's too small! So I'll probably never get to wear it, but maybe I'll use it for the next quilt I have made. 

Michelle showing off her bloody elbow. 

My bestie Felicia.. so proud of her and her PR! She had been saying she was on the redemption tour since Marine Corp Marathon...well, she did it! 

Ann showing off her bloody chin! 

walking back to the hotel afterwards

There was a little park area right by hour hotel... the race had some stuff out there that we didn't realize until we walked back to hotel... Felicia got to ring the PR bell. YAY! 

Scratching off that big state of TEXAS! 

Still got a ton of states to do!  I wish I had thought about this back when I started running...  I've ran so many races... but very few states!  As of today, I've ran 34 marathons in 12 diff states within 3 diff countries and 48 half marathons in 8 diff states.  My goal is to do more races in states that I have not ran in to complete this map.  Most people end up with Alaska & Hawaii at the end.. I've got Hawaii...  but not Alaska.. maybe in 2025...??

This cool sign was outside in the park also and this sweet young guy offered to take our picture.  

Finisher medals... YAY! 

Looking forward to the next adventure .... 💓 #PPRF #Mark9:23