Great 12 miler...

Too bad the training run was a 30K. One of the thoughts that I picked up from training for an Ironman is that once you are "done" - you aren't necessarily finished. Yesterday, my run lost some effectiveness because my hip muscles were not strong enough to sustain my gait. So I walked, and walked, and got grumpy. Then I thought, "Well, let's see what I can do because I'm still four miles out."

So I ate  [I didn't finish this post and found it in my drafts and found it much, much later.  In retrospect, I think it's pretty darn funny so I'm posting it.]  

Houston Marathon in 5:45:09

So good to finish one inside the time limit.  Had a similar training year to last year.  Last year, the weather was perfect.  This year, not so much.  The first two or three miles was a cold downpour.  I'm so glad that the new fabrics they have dry out.  After about mile 10, I was running pretty dry.

The miles clipped by pretty well.  I did a run/walk combo similar to my training efforts and was able to sustain the last half that way.

Many years, the sense of accomplishment doesn't really sink in at the finish line for me.  The feelings I have are more around relief from the pain or satisfaction.  This year was very different.  I think that last year taught me that one of the reasons I do marathons is that they are hard and that your race in some degree does depend on the events of the day and your God-given gifts.  Last year - perfect weather, lousy finish.  This year, lousy (start) weather and good finish.  I was very thankful to have this one.

I finished this year in much better spirits than last year and signed up for some online training.