St. Louis Half Marathon Race Report

If you've been around these parts for awhile... then you might remember that I ran the St. Louis Marathon back in 2009. It was my PR for YEARS (like 4 years). Well, a few months ago, The KoB and Jeff mentioned that they were thinking about going to to St. Louis to knock Missouri off their states lists. DRATS! I've already got Missouri. But, at that time, I was still training to BQ in May at the Pig, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to try and PR at the half distance. Plus, I just didn't want them to go and have fun without me.  So, I easily convinced Melissa to go and do the Half and that's how we all ended up meeting in the lobby of the Drury Inn at 6:10am on Sunday morning to walk to the start line.

It was a cool, overcast day. Perfect conditions. We walked over to the start line and immediately hopped into the porta potty line. And waited. And waited. And waited. I had never waited in a porta john line that long before a race. By the time we were out, it was time to get into the corrals.

And this folks, is where I stop complaining. Yes, the expo shuttle situation was a clusterfuck and yes, there weren't enough  porta potties... but I can forgive all that because the rest of the race was very well done.

My goal for the race, was to run at least 10 miles at Marathon Pace (I might not be training to BQ, but I'm still hoping that maybe I can have a decent day at the Pig and thought this would make for a good workout). The race started and from the beginning, I felt easy and relaxed. The corral start worked perfectly. Sure, there were a lot of people, but most everyone was running the pace I was looking to run.

The course was hillier than I remembered, but they were the type of hills I like... long and gradual. I found myself speeding up on the hills, rather than slowing down.

Around mile 7, I started to feel an oh so familiar feeling in my tummy. I immediately started looking for a porta potty and didn't find one until just before mile 9. I jumped in, took care of business and hopped out in a little over a minute.

The rest of the run, I felt pretty good. The pace felt harder than I thought it should, but it felt doable. And the hills at the end. UGH.

I ended up finishing right around 1:50 and I was thrilled with that time. Even with the potty stop, I was able to run the pace that I was hoping to run.

Melissa found me (she finished before me, that bitch) and we made our way through the finish chute. TED DREWE'S ICE CREAM SANDWICHES = BEST POST RACE FOOD. Oh my god, it was sooooo good. We walked back to the hotel, changed clothes and headed back to the finish line to watch the guys finish.

The KoB had a really good workout and Jeff had a fantastic day!

Always classy.

Most importantly, see that ice cream sandwich in The KoB's hand?

Not the one where he is flicking the camera off. But the other hand.

We walked back to the hotel and got cleaned up to grab some food before heading home.