San Antonio Marathon

Yesterday I ran the San Antonio Marathon and although I did not have the race I was hoping for I did finish and I should be back at it in a few days. Before I get into the details of the race I wanted to share my feelings on the pre and post race activities.

We arrived in San Antonio around 1:30 and you could see that it was total chaos around the Alamo Dome. There were a lot of roads blocked off and while I was trying to find a detour I found myself stuck in the downtown area and it just sucked. After 45 minutes I finally found some parking down the street from the dome. After we were yelled by a cop for crossing the street we finally made it inside for packet pick-up. This might have been one of the biggest disasters ever. They had a very small area set up for the pick up. It was so small that the lines were merging together. You could barely wade you way through the bodies. After getting my packet and arguing with the lady that was giving out the race shirts I made my way through the expo which was also a disaster. You could barely move or look at anything. Why they only had part of the dome open and set up things the way they did is really bizarre. The post race set up was just as stupid. For some reason we parked at the AT&T Center and were bussed over to the downtown area and then finished the race at the Alamo Dome only to have to wait in freaking line for hours to get back to your car might be the stupidest thing. We took a taxi just so we didn't have to wait. At the finish there wasn't much food and it seemed they were charging for the beer. Most races it is free. They also wanted you to pay for the finishers shirt. The Rock N' Roll people should call the event people from the Houston Marathon and ask them how to do a marathon.

Now for the race itself. (sorry about the complaining) When we got to the start it was very cold. I had a lot of debate over what to wear and I did not choose wisely. I wore thermal tights, a sleeveless shell, a thermal shirt and a long sleeve running shirt at the start. ( I am a sissy in the cold). I began running the race with Jarntip, Kyle and Crystal. When we got started I felt good and quickly pulled ahead of the other 3. I quickly got hot and had to start stripping off layers eventually throwing my thermal shirt away but I was stuck with the rest. I wish I would have just worn shorts and a running shirt. Around mile 4 I had to pee very bad so I stopped at a Port-O-Can. Shortly after I was back on the road and I took a Power Bar Gel and I had some stomach problems about 2 minutes later. I don't know what was in it but it did not settle well with me. I kept running at a decent pace despite my stomach but I had to stop around mile 6 to use the restroom. After I got back on the road I still wasn't feeling well and stopped at mile 10 and again at mile 13. All during this time I kept a good pace but I felt it taking its toll on me. I couldn't take any Cytomax as it seemed to aggravate my stomach and I really needed some energy. At mile 14 my stomach was still bothering me but I was through the worst as far my stomach goes. I kept going well until mile 19 and then things got really tough. My right knee starting causing me a lot of pain and I had to slow way down and eventually walk. I starting running again for a while and then walking and finally stopping to stretch until mile 23. That is when Crystal caught me walking. We walked together for about half a mile and then I just started running despite all the pain I was in. I pulled ahead of her and I was just trying to block out the pain. I wanted to stop and walk but I wanted to finish even more so I picked up the pace even more. I finally managed to get to the finish line and came in with a time of 4:27:41. This was my second marathon and it was a PR for me. I'm happy that I finished but I felt like I would come in closer to 4 hours based on my training. I am going back to the drawing board to tweak my training and I need to figure out why the gel made me sick. My next event is the Houston Marathon in January but I may do the Dallas Marathon in December if its still open.

I am pretty sure I will not do this race again at least not next year. It is two weeks before Ironman Cozumel and I don't want to take the chance of an injury. If the event gets straightened out then maybe I will do but it will take a lot of convincing to make me want to do this race. The course itself was good and it was nice seeing all my peeps from H-Town it was everything else that sucked.