Go St Louis Half-Marathon

Go St. Louis Half-Marathon
Date: April 10, 2011
Location: St Louis, MO
Finish Time: 1:59:46
Pace: 9:08 min/mi

St. Louis has been a destination for me several times in my life and I've driven through the city countless times on our way to Arizona. As the city likes to say, it really is the 'Gateway to the West.' Face it, they even made an arch called the 'Gateway Arch' to make sure people understood this fact about the city. One of my good friends was living in St. Louis in April of 2011 and we decided to run the half-marathon through the city. I had a crappy race, but it didn't deter from the fun weekend we had.

When the St. Louis Marathon came around I had been bitten by the race bug. I ran a good race in Detroit in October the previous year and I really wanted to start getting better at races. I trained through the winter and talked to my friend Selby to see if I could come visit and run the race. Not only did he allow me to stay over, but he and his brother Freeman came to St. Louis and ran the half-marathon with me.

The race itself was fun. It was very crowded for most of the first 7 miles. The course wound its way through downtown with views of the arch, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, and several major buildings there. The weather was hot, already 70 degrees at 7 am and with so many people packed in, I wasn't sure what to expect. I ran with Selby for much of the beginning of the race, apparently even being cheered by my future girlfriend whom I didn't know. At about mile 6 I decided that I was going to start pushing my pace a bit. It was a mistake. 

The back half of the race is in a much wider section of town and the pack thinned out by that point too. There was also a hill to run out towards Forest Park. I knew I would be making the turn back to town before Forest Park and was fairly familiar with the roads as I had been in St. Louis on several other occasions learning the city and the neighborhoods. What I wasn't accounting for, and what I had been unable to train for, was that this particular day in April, the temperature climbed to 90 degrees, and in the exposed final miles of the race, I wilted. 

My pace slowed, I couldn't drink enough water, I had to slow to a trot and in most cases I walked. I knew it was smarter than trying to go for a faster time. I knew it was smarter than trying to push it in the heat. But I was disappointed. I coasted in the final miles and finished just shy of 2 hours. It was still a good time, but it was far off my pace set in Detroit and a very disappointing second race to try for better times. This was however, the race that planted the idea in my head that I could run a race in every state. It also planted the idea in my head that I could get my friends running too if they desired. 

Selby and Me at the Finish

Freeman and Me at the Finish

In addition to the race I had a nice weekend enjoying St. Louis. Selby took Freeman and I to a few bars that he knew in the Soulard district and we ate at a delicious restaurant called 'Winslow's Home,' a play off the American artist Winslow Homer, who was an existentialist. The restaurant has a farm outside the city where all its food comes from. It remains to this day, the best orange juice I've ever had.

Selby was sick for one of the days we were there which required Freeman and I to explore the city on our own. We also used our feet extensively. We used the light rail in the city, which I think is always an enjoyable experience to try public transportation. We found many different interesting shops and spaces to stop by and finally had a really fun time seeing the city and catching up as old friends. It wasn't a great race, but it was a great day. 

Breakfast at Winslow's Home