Markemmanuel

Matt and I finally met Jenn and Ash Sunday morning. They walked from their place to our hotel. We chatted for a few minutes about stuff and the GO! St. Louis Marathon Relay. We decided that Ash take the first leg, Jenn take the second, I run the third, and Matt finishes the race for us. They headed to the starting line while Matt and I jogged around the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.  It’s amazing how social media can connect strangers with common interests.

We returned to our hotel room after our jog.  We planned on taking a short nap before heading to the relay station but I was too antsy. We arrived at relay station #2. Matt looked bored and I felt guilty dragging him here.  I think he was concerned that he didn’t know how and when to warm up for his part of the race.  Ash found us wearing our blue Buffs. We waited for Jenn. I was afraid of missing my hand off with Jenn because it was so crowded at the relay station.  Both of them told me not to worry. I didn’t realize she took the longest leg.

We saw someone purple sparkly running towards us.  It was Jenn!  We got up, Mat and Ash cheered.  I just wanted to get out on the road.  I gave Jenn water and she handed me the timing bib.  Off I went.  I thought the weather was perfect standing there but on the road, it kicked my ass.  The heat and humidity took its toll and forced me to ease my pace.  It was a blessing as it gave me the time to enjoy the Forest Park and University City area.  It’s a very attractive area of St. Louis.  It’s another reason to visit the Lou again.  The hills weren’t as bad as I expected.  I felt the race I ran in March was a bit more brutal to this flat-lander.

At every aid station I took water and soaked myself in water.  I didn’t want to overheat.  I learned that lesson at the Illinois Marathon.  It wasn’t towards the final mile of my portion of the marathon, I started to wonder when I’ll see the trio. The heat didn’t destroy me but I didn’t want to get there.  I finally saw Matt and yelled that I pulled a Janet Jackson.  I accidentally had a wardrobe malfunction and pulled the belt apart.  I left I handed off the relay bib to Matt.  After I finished my leg, I felt miserable.  I didn’t know how miserable I was until I finished.  My brain was not function correctly.  My eyes weren’t registering light correctly.  I felt blank.  I’m so happy Matt left me some Sharkies to eat.  The heat kicked my ass.

Ash, Jenn, and I took the Metro Link to the final relay station.  We just got there just in time. Matt looked like all business when we saw him.  In fact, we were barely keeping up.  We crossed the finish line.  The finisher shoot was unusually long, winding, and desolate.  I wish they made it more compact so we can get our water, food, and immediately.  I hope they fix that next year. Matt looked like he was about to die after the race.  He told us he was trying to hunt down another runner to beat.  He and his GPS heart rate monitor confessed that he did sub-8:00 minute miles for two of his five miles.  Crazy.

Team Runner’s High Five finished in 4:42:37.

After the race, Jenn and Ashley invited us to Ashley’s home bar, Llywelyn’s Pub, in Soulard. We agreed to meet up with them after we check out of the hotel.  In the Soulard area, I was SOOO happy that they had easy street parking.  At Llwelyn’s, we talked about the race, future races, their neighborhood. I ordered a Llywelyn’s burger with rarebit.  Whatever is in rarebit is good.  It’s took hard to describe except it tasting good.  Matt and I  slowly recovered by drinking lots of water do to a six hour drive home. The girls did their part by drinking the spirited beverages.

The marathon relay proved to be an enjoyable time and I loved listening and watching Jenn and Ash interact.  It turned out Matt really enjoyed doing the relay.  I definitely want to head back to St. Louis to explore its streets.  I expect to catch a Cards game in Busch Stadium, visit the Budweiser brewery, check out a few restaurants, and photograph the neighborhoods I ramble through.  Would I run in St. Louis again?  Yes.  It’s a great course to run as a visitor and for someone that wants to do their nifty fifty. I’d definitely do it again if I do the nifty fifty.

Photos: @AshleyJane36

The March Madness Half Marathon is one of those local races that you hear nothing but good things about.  It’s known to close it’s registration in less than a day.  It’s a well organized race with the perfect amount of runners (capped at 1000?) and at an amazing price ($40).  I had to run this race. The moment registration opened, I registered.  Good thing I did.  A little bit after 6a, registration closed.  Eat your heart out Boston.

Goals

I wanted to evaluate where I am, not to establish a new PR, and work on my pace. Running at an even pace helps conserve energy for the last leg of the race.  It’s a good tool to reach greater heights.  An even pace develops patience and restraint so I don’t do something stupid or do something brilliant. I needed to evaluate my fitness on this challenging Northern Illinois course after being sidelined for a month and having a poor debut at the Korteloppet.  I wanted to know what I needed to get done this year to avoid the mishaps of last year’s marathon and makes strides. Finally, I don’t want to fall in the PR trap.  When a new runner starts racing, personal bests come regularly because great fitness improvements from just getting off the couch. Sooner or later, the personal bests become more difficult to obtain. New goals need to be made that focuses on a bigger picture.  The bigger picture is tuning my body so I can control and manage my mind and body during a race.

The Race

The race started at 8:35a.  It began to rain at 8:36a. Showers persisted until mile four.  It took a break and started pouring around mile seven. It’s a beautiful hilly course where the suburbs meet the countryside.  Yes, there are hills an hour from the Chicago area.  They are rolling hills capable of frustrating someone who runs nearly exclusively on the Chicago Lakefront Path.  Most of the hills were gentle.  Others were not so gentle.  Surprisingly, the hills didn’t frustrated me.  It was the weather that beat on my brain.

So I can to this race to work on my pacing.  Here are the results from my watch.

1. 9:06.6 – I completed my first mile exactly on goal.
2. 8:17.4 – I think the excitement of completing my goal during the first mile got me too excited.
3. 8:40.4 – I’m still adjusting my speed.
4. 9:14.8 – Back on track! The light showers lift.
5. 8:58.5 – A little too fast but doing well!
6. 9:06.8 – Perfection
7. 9:19.9 – The rain came back with vengence.
8. 8:57.1
9. 8:53.0
10. 9:32.5  – At this point, it started to pour. Oh and hunger pains started kicking my mental resolve.
11. 9:36.0 – Thunder started rumbling and a flash of lightening in the distance.
12. 10:02.0 – I was miserable at this point.  I’m soaked to the bone.  Water sloshed in my shoes.
13. 9:31.6
14. 0:54.5

The Results

My goal was to finish the race in 2:00:00 with even splits. My watch recorded 2:00:11.  Officially, I finished in 2:00:38.13.  I think this has been the most even race I’ve ever ran despite the hills.  I’m happy that I managed the race well.  I plan to attempt to run even splits again on a flatter course, the Illinois Half Marathon, at a faster pace, an 8:25 min split.

The Knowledge

I came to the race with sore calves after working on my form on Friday.  I also haven’t been consistent with my workouts.  During the Korteloppet, my entire leg cramped up and sudden cramps since then. Fortunately, I didn’t cramp up but my bum and my hamstrings felt sore. I found a few weaknesses.  My mood goes from great to bad quickly.  I identified my trigger.  It’s the hunger pain I get around mile 9 and mile 10. The weather during the race simply exasperated the situation. (I enjoy rainy training runs by the way.) I need to be proactive and prevent myself from getting hungry during a race.  I either have to keep my stomach full or run the half marathon in under an hour and a half. Another weakness I found are my tense shoulders.  It’s wasted energy.  When I caught myself doing it, I tried to shake it out. Overall, I’m surprised with the fitness I maintained.

I’m happy with the race I ran. I accomplished what I set out to do. I executed what a planned.

The race was everything I expected.  The volunteers at the race were great and were great cheerleaders.  Because I dropped only $40 of my hard earned cash, I thought they will not provide finishers medals.  I was so surprised when they presented each runner with one. I enjoyed the food inside Cary Grove High School.  I look forward to the soft pretzels next year.  This is one of my favorite races I’ve ever ran.

***

An Interestingly Awkward End

Something amusing that happened to me after the race. After being soaked from the pouring rain, I grabbed my gear in my car and headed into the school to change.  The men’s bathrooms had lines so I sought an alternative location to change out of my wet clothes.  I found the wrestling room without its mats.  Nothing was in the room but me and the concrete floor.  As I opened my backpack to swap out my clothes, a woman comes peeked in.  Another woman peeked in and tell her friends a guy is in the room.  Then four women come in and ask me if it’s alright if they change in here because the women’s bathroom has a line.  I told them that I didn’t care but will be quite an interesting story to tell.  They tell me they have nothing good to look at.  We all look at the wall (well I did at least) while we changed. They chatted to each other.  “What a day to run!” one says. The other replied, “It snowed last year.” I threw my two cents in. “I’d rather run in snow than cold rain.”

More women came into the wrestling room.  The first set of women were really cool and respectful about asking me to change in here. The second group of women acted like immature school girls. They freaked out about me being there, encircled their friend who needs to change, and kept on chatting.  The first group did what they needed to do and left.  When the second group started talking about towels and stuff, I hurried my sore self up and got out of there before I’m accused of something.  I’m near sighted anyway and left my glasses in my car.  I couldn’t see anything.