Houston Marathon

Jesse has been talking about running in the marathon again for the past few years. He ran a few times after high school, mainly as a pacer to his friend Lamar. Two years ago, while we were still in College Station, he tried to convince me to run it with him. We trained together for about 3 weeks, and I said, "no way." This year he was determined. He registered back in October or November, and was training every day. He even convinced Lamar to run with him again!

Yesterday was the Houston marathon. Jesse was nervous and giddy all day Saturday thinking of everything he needed to do to prepare. He ate lots of carbs and pasta, drank tons of water and Gatorade, and stretched out all evening. We went over the map and agreed on meeting points for me to bring him Gatorade, power bars, action goo, etc. We were both ready.

Sunday morning, we had to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn. We left our house by 5:30 am and met Lamar to ride down together. They both seemed extra nervous this time and doubtful as to whether they would physically be able to complete the race. It was going to be a long morning for them, no doubt. This is right before they jumped out of the car to go stretch and begin the race, aka, the before picture.
During Jesse's training, he had worked up to about 15 miles, keeping a 9-minute mile pace. So, based on his pace, we planned where I would meet him at different mile markers. I was supposed to meet him at mile 8, 16, 20, and then the finish line. I made it to mile 8 slightly ahead of schedule. I saw the insanely talented runners, running 5-minute miles go sprinting by, and stayed watching for Jesse and Lamar until the slower 12-minute miles went jogging by. Never saw them. There were over 9,000 crazy people running this race, and we must have just missed them.

David, another friend of Jesse and Lamar's planned on meeting them around mile 16 to run the second half with them and help keep them motivated. He called and told me that he was going to try to meet up with them a little earlier, around mile 12. I headed on to the 16 mile mark where I was supposed to meet them the next time. David called again (while running, mind you) and told me they were at mile 15 and would be at 16 shortly. Sure enough, David and Jesse came around the corner, and I was able to give them drinks and supplies, and of course encouragement. Jesse was still smiling at that point. After they left, I suddenly realized that Lamar was no longer with them...I figured I would ask later.

I headed on to the 20-mile mark. It was very difficult to maneuver to all the different locations, as many roads were closed off, and many streets were already one-way streets! Not to mention I am not all that familiar with the area, and I have a horrible time reading maps. I would pretty much look for the string of runners, park where I could, and then try to walk/run wherever I needed to be. Same as before, I parked as soon as I could, and found a place along the 20-mile stretch. I could not find the marker, so I was not sure where exactly I was. David started calling at mile 20, wondering where I was. I asked someone, and they said mile-22. Oops. Well, it was close enough right? Then David called again, as they passed mile 22. Oops again. Turns out, I was closer to mile-23. By the time they got to me, Jesse looked absolutely beat and frustrated to boot. Sure enough, he was no longer smiling. Only 3.2 miles left, and I knew he would do it, even if it killed him!

I hurried back to the George R. Brown center, parked about 4 blocks away, and RAN towards the finish line. People were lined up on either side, as far as you could see, whistling and cheering on the runners. I somehow squeezed up onto one of the bleachers and had my camera ready, determined to see Jesse cross that finish line. Sure enough, I saw him coming down the lane (now David was gone), and started jumping up and down cheering as loud as I could. He actually SAW me in the crowd, and smiled, then sprinted in to the finish, finishing the race in 4 hours and 21 minutes. Pretty darn good for running 26.2 miles!!!
I met up with both David and Lamar afterwards, and we tried to find Jesse. Turns out David couldn't finish because he did not register or have a number. Lamar was hurting too bad, and dropped out around mile-17. Both were extremely supportive of Jesse, and we were all so proud of him. I did not get a picture of him afterwards with his metal around his neck, but it was pretty neat to see him beaming so big. What an accomplishment!