The Houston Rodeo Run is one of the larger races in Houston. While its not the Houston Half or the annual Marathon – almost 10,000 runners and walkers participate every year. Its more of a “fun” run because it precedes the Rodeo parade downtown so there are lots of people cheering over the 1st mile. Even along the course, some of the Houston Rodeo committees are there cheering and helping everyone get to the finish. The run and the parade mark the start of the annual rodeo which consumes Houston for 3 weeks every spring.
Shelley (my Sunday running friend) and I decided early in 2018 that we would run the 10k and not the 5k. (Unfortunately, however, we didn’t really train for the 10k.)
The day of the race was hot (mid-70s) and humid (over 80% humidity). Given the later start of the 10k (9:20am) and the traffic & parking downtown, Shelley’s husband graciously drove us from their house to downtown. You couldn’t drive very close to the start because of the parade route, but at least we didn’t have to worry about trying to park.
The Starting Line
Shelley has run this race in the past, so she knew where to go and where to find the shorter porta-potty lines. After a pretty quick stop, we headed over to the start. I didn’t want to go too far forward, but we also didn’t want to get caught up in the 5k group. Fortunately they had large separate corrals with lots of room for the 10k runners. Before we knew it they were playing “God Bless America” and the wheelchair racers were off. (They save the Star Spangled Banner for the start of the parade.) We were next and there was a little shuffle to get to the starting line, but then it opened up pretty quickly.
The first 5k
The entire 1st mile of the run was on the streets in downtown Houston. With the fans lining the streets for the parade, it was like we were running a marathon. People were cheering like crazy and everyone was going pretty fast. I forgot to wear my running watch so I had no clue how fast we were going, but I think that it was much much faster than I usually run. I was ready for a short walk break by the time I saw the first mile marker!! With the heat, I was carrying my water bottle, but that really didn’t help much. Once we left downtown, we headed down Allen Parkway where the inclines started. Over the course of the race, there were 8 inclines and it was starting to get very hot!! I later found out that my 5k time was a personal best, 35:20 at 11:24 pace. I don’t know how I did this…but it must be true! I walked way more than I should have but maybe my running was too fast. I definitely was flagging because of the heat.
The second 5k
The second 5k was just miserable and brutal. Most of the inclines were on this stretch and even though I’ve done some hill training recently, I just couldn’t do it! I struggled up the hills and walked a lot! I don’t know why they did this weird out and back on Waugh road, but it wasn’t fun. I pushed myself as hard as I could, but even then I wasn’t running very much. Without my watch and without any music, it was difficult to stay motivated. Late in the race, just before the 6 mile marker, a woman in a bright yellow shirt ran next to me for awhile and helped me keep going…but I couldn’t stay up with her for the last bit of the run across the finish. I really didn’t believe it when I saw the race timer, as it showed me coming in with a PR! I think that it was a miracle. Final results were 1:18:25 with an average pace of 12:39. Whew… (Shelley finished a few minutes beforehand, as she graciously stayed with me most of the race.)
Post-race recovery
Once we received our medals and a nice cold bottle of water, we walked from the finish line over to The Dunlavy. The Dunlavy is a cool restaurant along the Bayou that was to be our meeting spot for Shelley’s husband. I’m not sure how long of a walk it was, but it felt good to simply walk for awhile and relax. We celebrated at The Dunlavy with lunch and grapefruit mimosas!! I had Avocado Toast with poached eggs and it was scrumptious! I’m glad I finished, but I need more training before my next 10k!! (I still have a goal to finish one this year with no walk breaks.) 
Oh….and on the way to and from the Dunlavy we were able to see some of the trail riders that were lining up for the Rodeo Parade!
