Spectating Houston: part 1

I had a truly wonderful time in Houston this weekend, enjoying the race atmosphere and celebrating my running friends' successes. The short trip started out right, when I got to my gate and found my two teammates Doug and Van. We sat together for the flight, sharing race plans (ok, I just ducked under their conversation), and took advantage of Van's free Uber ride to the convention center when we landed.

I picked up my packet in case I needed the number for access to anything, and the guys bought some throw-away gloves, before heading to the hotel. As soon as I got to my room, I got a text from Paige, and headed to her room down the hall to makes plans for the Eagles game. A group of us headed out to a sports bar, but ended up back in the hotel lobby since most places in downtown Houston were closed on the weekend. That was fine, though, because as soon as the game wrapped up, we had to join everyone else for a team meeting - last minute instructions for the runners (I sat in anyway to glean some wisdom!). Then we were off to a team dinner. We had reservations at an Italian restaurant for most of the group (some chose to do their own thing, which I get, race prep being so individual, but we still had 20+ people at dinner. Fourteen members were running the race). Doug, sitting next to me, was...making merry? Let's just say he was having more drinks than I would have pre-race, but he kept cheerily reminding us that he was only doing the half...and that he was undertrained, so it was going to suck no matter what. I firmed up spectating plans with a bunch of Power Miler spouses, and we all made an early bedtime.

And the actual race will go in its own post. But this is a good spot to put my philosophical thoughts: that is, it is very gratifying to see or help others succeed and enjoy the same activities you enjoy. And in that respect, the Houston marathon spectating experience was as fun as running it myself. Yes, I wish I could have run; yes, I'm annoyed that my typical marathon is 70+ degrees and a billion percent humidity, while Sunday was cold and dry. But overall, I thought spectating really enhanced my enjoyment of running, sort of made it complete. It's a thrill to do well racing; it's also a thrill to watch friends do the same. Nonetheless, next year, Houston...I'm coming for you!