Because they were only a week away, I flew with Alan to Springfield, MO. I dropped him off for the weekend with my sister and her family (she has three kids) so he could spend some time with his cousins. Then I flew to Denver for the marathon. Once finished, I flew back to Springfield to stay with Stephanie for the week leading up to St. Louis.
The Race: St. Louis Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, October 27, 2013
My Training Plan: For a majority of this training, you can see the plan for the Denver Marathon. Because I was training for back-to-back weekends, I ran several long runs on back-to-back days to try to simulate running on fatigued muscles. Most notably, I did an 18/13 and a 20/15 on consecutive Saturday/Sundays. Between the two races, I did one easy 2 miler and an easy 3 miler.
Weather: It was COLD to start off. I think it was in the upper 30s, but both of my feet were frozen to numbness by the time we started. It took a good 2 miles before I could feel them normally. But by the end of the race, it was in the upper 50s and sunny. I was getting a little hot toward the end.
Running Attire: I wore the exact same outfit as I wore in the Denver marathon. I had my black running tights, long-sleeved purple running shirt, Liz shirt, iFitness belt, and Delaware marathon running hat.
Who I ran with: This time I had a running partner, my sister Stephanie. This was her third marathon, and I had run with her during her first last year. It was great running with her again!
The Course: The course had some rolling hills, but none that were so steep they were unmanageable. There was a lot of concrete and slanted roads, which didn't make for the best running surface. There were some pretty views as we went through several parks (most notably Forest Park), including a lake, some fall colors, and buildings in the background. There were not as many fall colors as I would have expected, but there were some really nice looking bright red and yellow trees here and there.
Organization: The organization was great, as usual for Rock 'n' Roll marathons. The water stations were well stocked with both hydration and volunteers. The GUs were a little far apart for my taste (mile 7 and 19). The race started on time and the corrals were well spaced. It wasn't too crowded even with the half and full marathons starting at the same time. Everyone was well placed in the corrals based on their expected pace.
The expo had a lot of great stuff for kids. This was especially important, since we were dragging four kids with us. They had a Brooks area that had a mountain climbing game for the kids, a gait analysis, a shoe ride that was supposed to be similar to one of those bull machines that you have to try to hold on as long as you can before it knocks you off, and a passport game that the kids could do to get a free prize. There was a Geico booth with the gecko mascot that the kids could get their picture with. There were a lot of good samples and vendors, but I was a little disappointed that LaraBar wasn't there.
Swag: They had the normal Rock 'n' Roll swag, with nothing special. Just a shirt, medal, and bumper sticker. The shirt was a tech shirt and specific for men and women, which is nice. And this one actually had a pretty cool design on the back.
Starting Line: There were lots of porta potties at the starting line. They also had water and bananas (I actually looked for them this time). They also had all the tents set up already so you could scope out where they would be after the finish. Again, there wasn't a lot of signage as to how to get to the gear check, but there were signs once you got there. I loved that we were able to find a couple of heaters to stand next to as we waited for the start of the race. One of the vendors even had a little bon fire set up in their tent that runners could gather around. The corrals were also well marked.
Fans: The fans in St. Louis were very good, and there were a lot of them. There were a lot of spots for fans to congregate, and the bands helped a lot too. I loved that there were speakers set up along a long, boring stretch right after the half split to keep the music within ear shot the whole way. They also had a lot of DJs, which I actually prefer because they don't take breaks when I'm running by like the bands always seem to do. I did notice that some of the bands here were set up to play music while they were on break, so the runners would always have something to listen to as they ran. That should be a requirement for all the bands!
Finish Line: There were lots of goodies at the finish line. I got a banana, pretzels, and PowerBar. They also had clementines/tangerines and fruit cups. For hydration, they had water, Gatorade, chocolate milk, and one beer per runner. Outside of the runner area they also had Jamba Juice energy drinks that both runners and their families could take.
As usual for the Rock 'n' Roll marathons, a band was playing on a big stage at the finish line for all to enjoy. They also had a tent where you were supposed to be able to get your finisher time, but the site was down when we got there. I'm not sure how long it was down or if it ever came back up for the later runners.
Results: Official chip results were 4:12:42. Pretty good for the second marathon in eight days.
By mile 22, I was feeling good again. This part of the course had a lot of the concrete, though, so it wasn't the best running surface. But I put on a smile and powered ahead, although at that point "powering through" really meant maintaining a 10 minute per mile pace. Stephanie said her feet were hurting. I could feel the second toe on my own right foot (which is annoyingly longer than my first toe) was hurting a little as well. I put on my best encouraging attitude and pushed us forward. I probably could have gone a little faster than we did on those last miles, since my tendinitis seemed to have let up.
Travel/Tourism: We arrived in St. Louis on Saturday morning around 11am. I had a room booked at the Embassy Suites at the airport, but it was so booked solid (the World Series was going on in St. Louis that weekend also) that we couldn't check in early. We fit seven of us in one hotel room. The room had two queen beds in a separate room with the bathroom off that room (I would have preferred if the bathroom was outside the suite room, but it still worked out fine). The couch was a pull-out couch, so we were able to fit six in beds and one on the couch cushions on the floor. The room wasn't a big room overall, but it was worth it if you have a lot of people staying in one room. There was a mini fridge in the room, so I was able to bring my breakfast stuff for the race, since the hotel breakfast didn't start until 7 on weekends. The breakfast at Embassy Suites almost can't be beat for a free breakfast. Hot, some made-to-order (think omelets) breakfast. They had the usual breads/pastries, cereals, juice, yogurt, fruit, etc. that you get at a free breakfast also, but they had breakfast potatoes, eggs, and bacon too. They were very accommodating when we asked for extra towels and sheet and blanket for the person on the floor. They also had a promotion code that allowed you to get free wifi, and parking was free. The hotel offered a shuttle to the airport and Metrolink, which we used to get us down to the race start line.
Metrolink took about 30 minutes to get downtown from the airport (which was our closest stop). We looked up the fare ahead of time on their website, and they said it would cost us $2.25 to get downtown. When we got to the station, however, the cheapest option was a 2-hr pass for $4 each. It's a good thing I had my credit card and that they accepted it.
On Saturday, after picking up our race packets and going through the expo, we are lunch near the hotel at a place called Lion's Choice. Lion's Choice is a roast beef restaurant that also has hot dogs, barbecue, some other sandwiches, and frozen custard for dessert. Their roast beef is amazing. It is seasoned in a way that makes your mouth water for more. The kids' menu gives you the option of a entree, two sides, and a drink. Beware that the roast beef sandwiches in the kid's meals are very small - much too small for a kid over maybe 5. The kid's cones are also pretty small. But Alan had a hot dog, carrot sticks, and applesauce and had plenty of food.
After lunch, we headed downtown for some sightseeing. We went to the Arch first, which was very cool. It Costs $10 for adults and $5 for kids 3-15 and takes about an hour to get up and back down (between standing in line and looking and the tram up and down). There are some beautiful views and interesting architecture. Get there early to make sure you get a spot. The place stops doing tours at 5, but tickets will sell out by 3:45 on a busy day. There is also a museum that you can go through while you're waiting for your tram trip time.
After the Arch, we went to Union Station. It is an old train station that has been converted into a shopping area. It looks like it used to be really busy and cool, but that most of the good shops had moved out and there isn't much left. It is really anchored now by the Hard Rock Cafe and Landry's Seafood restaurants. There is a Train museum on the top level that supposedly tells the story of union station, but the rest of the place looked so empty and a little run down, that we decided to leave without going there. The museum looked pretty small anyway. Outside Union Station, between Hard Rock and Landry's was a fish pond where you can feed the fish. The shops inside Union Station close at 9pm, but of course the big restaurants stay open later.
We left Union Station, after I got my Hard Rock shirt of course, and headed back toward the hotel. We ate at my traditional pre-race place, IHOP, for dinner. Kids eat free on weekends with each adult purchase. It was a perfect place to get a good carb dinner with a large group.
Following the race on Sunday, we stayed back at the hotel to let Alan take a nap. After the nap, we went back out to explore another part of the city, Forest Park. Forest Park is a public park located in western part of St. Louis, and is apparently the seventh largest urban park in the U. S. It is home to the St. Louis zoo, art museum, science center, history museum, and The Mury (which is some sort of outdoor theater). Unfortunately for us, the Zoo closes at 5 on Sunday, and by the time we got there it was about 4. The zoo was nice, and mostly free. Some exhibits are pay, like the petting zoo and seal show, but admission to the actual zoo and the parking was free. It was easy to get too. Some of the animals weren't there, and not to return until 2015, some to return in the summer. The Science center closes early on Sundays too, at 4:30. The older males in our group went to an IMAX show in the Science Center that started at 4 and lasted 45 mins, while the rest of us walked around the zoo.
After the zoo and Science Center closed, we decided to check out the local pizza at Imo's pizza. Imo's has original St Louis style pizza, which is basically crust as thin as paper, cut into squares. It was good, but I prefer thicker crust.
We then headed to Ted Drewes to try out the local custard. It was delicious, and they had so many options.
I'm sure there are a lot of other places we could have visited in this great city while we were there. There's so much to do and so little time.
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