The Runs: Marathon #19 - Alabama

As I said in my last blog, Alabama became my 19th state because a fellow 50-Stater convinced me to try marathons on back-to-back days, and Mississippi/Alabama actually had an official back-to-back event (complete with a shirt and plaque) that logistically allowed for the races to be run in the same weekend very easily.  Even though the race cities are 188 miles apart (about a 3-hour drive), the Alabama race expo stayed open until 9pm so back-to-backers had time to get between the cities and pick up their race packets.

This would have been a great race if it weren't for the free pasta buffet at the expo.  There was something in the buffet that made more than a dozen runners (that I talked to) end up with food poisoning.  I was up most of the night Saturday night, every hour (from about midnight on), in the bathroom.  My roommate and I were basically alternating.  I was in there, then she was in there.  I don't think either one of us got much sleep.

When we got to the start line area (after stopping at a gas station for some Imodium), we discussed with some other runners and found out that a lot of the other runners had the same problem.  Everyone who we talked to who had the stomach issues had eaten at the pasta buffet at the expo.

The Race:  Servis1st First Light Marathon, Mobile, AL, January 12, 2014.

My Training Plan:  Since this was the second of two races on consecutive days, I had no time to train in between races.  So my training plan was the same as the one for the Mississippi race, which was explained in my last blog.

Weather:  The weather started out cold - low 40s - but ended up quite nice - mid-50s.  It was sunny with a very light wind.

Running Attire:  It always frustrates me when the weather changes from long pants/long-sleeved shirt weather to shorts/t-shirt weather over the course of a marathon.  I never know what to wear.  I ended up wearing running tights and a long sleeved shirt with a t-shirt underneath.  I got warm by around mile 3, but stuck it out until my first porta potty stop at around mile 5 (I can't believe I made it to mile 5 before having to stop- more on that later).  While I was stopping anyway, I took off the long-sleeved shirt and tied it around my waist.  I also completely discarded my gloves that I was wearing, which I regretted a little later when we got into a cool, shady spot a little further down the course.

Who I Ran With:  This time around, I was mostly by myself, although I ran with a few people for short parts of the race.  Toward the beginning, I ran with a fellow Marathon Maniac who was carrying a tambourine on his back.  I also ran with a guy from Nashville off and on for a few miles toward the end.

The Course:  Don't come to Mobile expecting a flat race.  The course wasn't nearly as hilly as Jackson the previous day, but it wasn't flat either.  The first 10 miles or so were rather flat, with very minor hills here and there.  But miles 10 through 20 had some decent rolling hills.  There are two hills throughout that span that are pretty significant.  I believe the first was around mile 11 where it goes straight up into a neighborhood.  There was another hill in mile 14 that was memorable.  Mile 18 is around the botanical gardens and has a huge hill which also includes a heavily banked curve.  Running straight up, around a curve, on a slanted road was probably my least favorite part.

The roads in Mobile are much better than Jackson, although there were some parts where the asphalt looked like they took gravel and glued it all together.  There was almost always a spot on the road that was flat enough to run on without fear of IT band issues in your future.  Sometimes, however, this was in the inner lane of a four lane road where the coned off lane they wanted you to run in was slightly more slanted, but the traffic was light enough that you could run right around the cones on the flatter part of the road and still feel safe (if that makes sense).

As far as scenery goes, there really isn't anything memorable.  There were some nice neighborhoods, a college campus, and the botanical gardens, but nothing that really stood out.

Organization:  The organization for this race was good.  I say good, because for the most part, the race was great, but there were some water stops that didn't seem to have enough volunteers, and because my mind is tainted by the contaminated pasta bar.  The thing that really got me was after the race, the race director was asking us how it went, and we told him about the stomach issues with the pasta bar.  He completely denied responsibility and basically told us that is wasn't the expo food that made us sick.  In fact, the initial email that I got back from him after the race when I reported it said that they weren't even going to look into it further because they determined that it was a virus and not connected to the food.

******* Soap Box *******
A virus??  Really?!?  That is a ridiculous assessment!  There is no way that that many people from so many different areas of the country could have contracted a virus in that short of a time frame if it wasn't connected to the food.  We had only gotten into town an hour before going to the expo.  Viruses take time before the symptoms show.  Every person that I talked to that got sick, ate at the expo.

(Note that after I reported it to the Alabama health department, they seemed to take it a little more seriously and sent out a survey to all runners to find out how many were affected.)
******** Stepping off Soap Box.  Back to your regular race review *********

The expo was very small, but that's to be expected from a race that only has about 1,200 runners.  The volunteers were great, and it was easy to navigate through the expo with the signage and volunteer instructions.

I mentioned earlier that the back-to-back was an official event.  They even had a sign at the expo that listed the names of all the runners that were doing both marathons.  I think there were about 150-200 that were doing it.  I was very impressed by the little extra touches they put into welcoming the back-to-back runners.

The water stops were spaced out well.   I think they had Powerade instead of Gatorade, which made me very happy.  I don't like lemon-lime (which seems to be the signature flavor at every race), but the Powerade lemon-lime is a lot better tasting than the Gatorade version.  There were even some stations that had different flavors.  I got red at one of them.

They also had two porta potties at every water station, which probably would have been more than enough if there wasn't the food poisoning issue going on.  My roommate said that she had to stand in several long lines to wait for porta potties along the course.  I didn't have as bad of a time.  I had to wait for the first one, but the second one I stopped at was open.

I mentioned that there were some aid stations that didn't seem to be fully staffed.  There was one that I had to grab the cup off the table myself.  The first one that had food (bananas and some other things), I didn't even know there was food until I was already passed it - there wasn't anyone actually handing the food out.  They were just sitting on a table.  At the second one that had bananas, I had to ask for a banana, and one of the volunteers went to the table to get it for me.  The third one with food (mile 18, I think) was very well staffed and had just about anything you could want (gummy bears, M&Ms, pretzels, bananas, oranges), although I don't remember if they had gels.

Another opportunity for improvement is the pre-race communications.  The emails that went out before the race were a little confusing, as it had registration information at the top of it.  It made me wonder if I had forgotten to register.  The website, however, did offer a little more information than the Mississippi website.

One thing I can't forget to mention is that this race is not chip timed.  This is the first marathon I've done that isn't chip timed.  The race is very small, so it doesn't take much time to get from the very back of the start line to the actual start, but if you're looking for every second, you may want to start toward the front.

The race course was well marked out.  There wasn't a single time that I didn't know where to go.  At the cross streets the police were good about ensuring the runners had priority over the cars.  Although it is not a closed course, I never felt unsafe or unsure of where I was going.

Swag:  One of my favorite things about smaller races is the swag.  For whatever reason, the smaller races always have better swag than the big, expensive races.  This race had your typical (long-sleeved unisex) technical shirt.  The medal was handmade by the organization who benefits from the proceeds of the race.  It's not fancy, but has such a nice personal touch.

The back-to-back runners got some additional swag.  We got another long-sleeved unisex technical shirt with the back-to-back logo and the two states.  We also got a plaque that was handmade by someone from the same organization that benefits from the race.  On the back, it has more information and a picture of the person that made the plaque.

Starting Line:  The starting line was right in front of the Holiday Inn.  I highly recommend the Holiday Inn as your hotel if you decide to do this race.  It is so convenient to both the expo and the race start.  It is also easy to find your way back to the hotel from the finish line, since the building is easy to spot from a distance.  The runners were able to hang around in the lobby to stay warm before the start.

The start was very low-key.  They didn't have an arch that you run under or anything like most races.  There were some banners on the side of the road (the same banners that directed you to the expo the day before), and a chalk line on the road that indicated where the actual start was.

Fans:  Fans are lacking at this race.  While there were fans here and there along the course, there really weren't a lot of them.  But if you come to a race of a thousand runners expecting to see huge crowds of people, you have the wrong idea anyway.  The fans that were out did seem to cheer for all the runners instead of just looking for their runner.

Finish Line:  For a low-key, small race, I was impressed by the finish line.  They had an announcer cheering for the runners as they came in and calling out the times.  The photographers were at the finish to get that shot of the runner crossing the finish line.  They did the old-school tracking of runners by tearing off the bottom of the bib as you went through the finish shoot.

As far as hydration and food goes, they had cups of water and Powerade at the end.  They also had a buffet line with barbecue sandwiches, red beans and rice, and coleslaw (although I was very hesitant to eat any of it after the food poisoning issue from the food the prior day).  They also had oranges, bagels, and toast.

There was a little concert going on when I was going through the food line, but I couldn't tell if it was an official concert or if it was just some guy who set up shop and was playing his guitar and singing.

The thing I was most happy about was that the medical truck had Pepto-Bismol.  Isn't that sad?  The thing I remember being the happiest about (other than my time) was the anti-diarrhea medicine!

Results:  3:55:05 - Yeah, that's right:  I did a sub-4 hour marathon with food poisoning the day after running a marathon.  I never thought that would be possible!  Maybe I should do 26-mile easy training runs the day before every marathon.

How I felt:  Well, you've already heard about the food poisoning stomach issues.  I won't go into the gory details, but I did have to visit the porta potty at around mile 5 and again at mile 18.  I was actually surprised that I didn't have to go more often after the night I had, but I guess the Imodium worked well for me.

Other than stomach cramping along the course, I felt pretty good.  I did have my tendinitis issue start to bother me around mile 8, but it didn't flare up as bad as it had the day before.  At that point, I decided that I was going to run every even mile all-out and use ever odd mile as a recovery mile.  The strategy paid off, as I was really able to focus on one mile at a time instead of thinking about how much further I had to still run.  By the end of the race, my "all-out" was probably much slower than at first, but I felt good enough to do the last two miles at a pretty good pace.

Travel/Tourism:  I wasn't in Mobile long enough to really tell you much about the tourism of the city.  This was my second visit to Mobile and my third visit to the area.  I visited Mobile back in 1999 when ECU played TCU in a bowl game there.  From what I remember, Mobile is supposedly the city to hold the first Mardi Gras, and there was a lot of Mardi Gras stuff around this time (Christmas tree decorated in Mardi Gras colors, a Mardi Gras mask on a sign at one of the water stops, etc.).

Like I mentioned before, if you are coming for the race, I would recommend the Holiday Inn from a location standpoint, as it seemed to be the best location for both the start and expo.  I can't say for sure how nice the rooms are, since we didn't stay there.  But the lobby area was nice.

We stayed at the Wingate by Wyndham, which was nice and pretty accommodating.  They are about 15 minutes (5 miles or so) from the expo/start area and are right off the interstate.  They allowed us to have a 2pm checkout, and didn't push us too hard to get out by 2 when we were still finishing getting ready.  They have an airport shuttle, so my roommate was able to take that back to the airport.

Mobile is an easy drive from Atlanta.  The normal drive time (if you aren't stopping due to food poisoning or to stretch your legs after running two marathons) is about 5 and a half hours, and it's all interstate.  I was driving on a Sunday afternoon/evening, so I can't say what traffic would be like during normal time, but I didn't have any traffic problems.

I didn't use the airport, but my roommate did, so I know there is one that at least has some sort of flight toward San Diego.  I have no idea how big the airport is or how easy it is to get in and out though.

Overall, I really enjoyed my back-to-back experience, although I wish I had more time to explore the cities and states where I was running.  At least exploring a city for 26 miles on foot is a pretty good way to see the immediate area.   And between the two - Jackson or Mobile - I would choose Mobile in a heartbeat.

*******************Update since posting**************************
Since this post was first published, a few things have happened.

The race director sent out a mass email to all participants with a survey from the health department to find out how many runners were affected by the pasta dinner issue.

The race director called me personally to reassure me that they were taking the complaints from the runners seriously.  He mentioned that my email to him was one of the first he had gotten about the incident, and he wasn't prepared to answer questions at that time, as they didn't have any definitive information and were just starting to investigate.  Apparently, there was a virus going around Mobile the same time as the race that had similar symptoms, and some people from the Mobile area who had not eaten at the pasta bar were getting those symptoms as well.  They were trying to figure out if they were two different incidents or the same incident.

The health department is actively investigating to find out of it was the fault of the expo vendor or perhaps a manufacturer that they used to purchase ingredients for the pasta dinner.

With the race director's attention to this and his reassurance that they were taking it seriously, I feel a lot better about the organization of the race, and believe this will likely not happen in the future.

Marathon #18 - Mississippi

Because running a marathon in all 50 states can become expensive (probably an average of about $1,000 a pop), I decided to do at least one marathon that was close enough to drive so I could try to keep the cost down this year.  Mississippi fit well into my schedule, so I chose the Mississippi Blues Marathon for my 18th marathon.  I signed up for the race as soon as I was finished with the back-to-back weekends and knew I wasn't injured.

I felt like I was taking advantage of all the volunteers along all the races I was running, and had only volunteered myself at two races in the past, so I decided to volunteer at the race expo for the Mississippi marathon the day before the race.  I figured I would just drive over early, volunteer, pick up my packet, go to dinner, and be ready to run the race the next morning.

Shortly after I had signed up for the Mississippi race, one of the 50-Staters sent out an email to the group asking if anyone was doing the back-to-back Mississippi/Alabama marathons (back to back on two consecutive days - Mississippi on Saturday and Alabama on Sunday).  I responded that I had planned on running Mississippi, but hadn't planned on doing the back-to-back....but that I could be convinced if I had someone to room with and split the costs.  She agreed, and the crazy goal of marathons on two consecutive days began.

The Race:  Mississippi Blues Marathon, Jackson, MS, January 11, 2014.  This race is a smaller race, with about 1,100 marathoners and 2,400 half-marathoners/relay runners.

My Training Plan:  Because I was doing back-to-back marathons, my training plan consisted of several back-to-back long runs.  When I had trained for the back-to-back weekends, I also did back-to-back long runs, but not quite as long as I did for the back-to-back days.  My longest weekend was a 22-miler (in 45 degree rainy weather - not the most ideal) right before an 18-miler.  I also did a 20-miler before a 15-miler.  I did these runs 3 and 4 weeks before the races.  My entire training plan, from the weekend after Las Vegas (eight weeks before) consisted of back-to-back long runs on weekends.  Even while tapering, I still did back-to-back long runs, although they were shorter.  For example, the last weekend before the race, I did an 8-miler on Friday, a 10-miler on Saturday, and another 8-miler on Sunday.

As far as my weekday runs, I shifted the mileage so that I wasn't increasing by more than about 10% week to week and every third week went down in mileage so that I wouldn't get injured.  So my weekday runs could be anywhere from 5 miles to 8 miles, depending on how far I was going during the weekend.  I only ran four days in any given week, with cross-training on other days.

Weather:  The weather for the race was nearly perfect.  The start was about 55 degrees and the finish was around 60.  It was sunny.  The wind was a little strong, especially toward the end.  But you almost couldn't ask for much better weather.

Running Attire:  When I saw it was going to be so nice, I decided on shorts and a t-shirt.  I did bring a throw-away shirt to wear at the beginning of the race, but ended up throwing it away by mile two.  I had my purple and pink shorts, Liz shirt, Delaware Marathon hat, iFitness belt, and Brooks Revenna shoes.  I chose the Brooks shoes because I don't like them as much as my Asics, and I wanted to wear the good shoes for the harder race the following day.

Who I Ran With:  As I mentioned before, a 50-Stater emailed me to ask if I wanted to run the back-to-backs.  Her name is Shirley Grimm, and she's from San Diego.  The race had pacers, so we decided to run with the 5 hour pace group - an hour slower than I normally run.  The hope was that if we ran an easy race the first day, we would have fresh legs (as fresh as you can have after already running a marathon) the following day.

Our pacer was Tom Perri from Minnesota.  He is extremely experienced, as most pacers are.  He has run 267 marathons and is in both the 50 States Marathon Club and the Marathon Maniacs.  He did a wonderful job of keeping us on pace and also provided us with advice about some other marathons in other states along with advice for how to successfully complete the back-to-backs, which he had done in the past several times.  It was great to run with him and with the group.

I met several other people along the way that were sticking around our pace.  Sherri Beermann from South Dakota is also a Marathon Maniac.  She ran with our group for a little while and finished shortly before us.  We met some girls from Dallas who stuck with us for awhile.  It was fun to be able to share race stories.

The Course:  HILLY.  That is the best word to describe it.  The hills pretty much never ended.  I honestly didn't like the course much.  The streets were everything they were advertised as - plenty of potholes and uneven surfaces.  There were a lot of slants in the road as well.  I was looking at my feet more than anything else to make sure I didn't fall, so I didn't notice too much of the scenery we were going through.

We did go through some nice, southern neighborhoods, and passed one lake along the course.  One of my favorite parts of the course was near mile 2 or 3 when we went through the college.  The college's marching band was playing and the dance line was dancing to encourage the runners along.

Organization:  The organization on this race was very good for a race its size.  The expo, while small, was nice.  I volunteered at the "trouble booth" for those who were either picking up for someone else, those who couldn't find their registration, or who had other issues.  Rob Simmons was in charge of registration, and knew almost every answer to every question.  He's been doing this for seven years, and was able to help almost everyone who had any problems.

The water stops were well stocked. I never had any problems getting water or Gatorade at any of the stops.  There were enough volunteers, and they were all very friendly.  I never questioned where we were going on the course.  It was well marshaled and marked.  The had two Cliff Shot stops along the way, although by the time we got there (the 5-hr paced runners), they had run out of most of the flavors.

There were a few negative things I would say about the organization.  The first is their policy to require a notarized signature if you are going to be picking up a race packet for someone else.  I have never seen this before.  Some races are very strict in that the runner is the only one who can pick up their race packet, but I have never seen where someone else can pick up for you, but only with a notarized signature.  And they were very strict with this rule.  No exceptions.

To counter that negative, they did offer race-day packet pickup to all participants who couldn't make it to the expo the day before.  The race-day packet pickup was convenient to the start and was an hour before the start of the race.  You have to get their early enough to get parking anyway, so if you couldn't be there in person to pick up your number, or if you didn't have a notarized signature, you could still get your packet the day before.

The other negative thing I would say is that the pre-race communication could use some improvement.  The website is beautiful, but it has no information on it!  There is more information about blues music in general than about the race itself.  We didn't get an email with any information ahead of the race either.  The Facebook page and Twitter did have some limited information, but overall, pre-race communication was lacking.  This is an area they can definitely improve upon.

Swag:  The swag was very good, as is typical for a smaller race.  The "shirt" was actually a fleece pullover.  There were some problems with the zipper with some of the pullovers, but I just put my zipper to where I can get it on and off and don't move it.  (This is another area of improvement for next year - the quality of the zippers on the pullovers.)  The race swag bag was a very nice tote with pockets and a separator in it.  There were several people who asked if they were being sold, as they weren't running the race, but wanted the tote bag.  We also got a blues music CD with music from some Mississippi local blues bands.  One of my favorite things was a harmonica with the race logo.  I gave it to my son as a gift from my trip when I got home, and he loves it.

One of my favorite things about this race is the medal.  This is not just any medal.  It was ENORMOUS, sparkly, shaped like a guitar, and comes complete with a pick.  Definitely my favorite medal of any that I have gotten thus far.

Starting Line:  The starting line was well marked and right in front of the place where the expo was held.  As such, people were able to get a good idea of where to park and how to get there.  Parking was free all around the start area on the day of the race.  We got there around 6, and there was plenty of parking at that time.  People getting there closer to start time may have had some problems, so I recommend getting there a little early.

With the race-day packet pickup, there were some places to go inside to keep warm before the start too.  We went into the museum where they were doing the packet pickup and sat around until it was about 15 minutes before the start.  The start line was easy to get into.  There were no corrals, but the pacers helped people to find the best place to start.  The race has chip timing, so it didn't matter how far back you started.

While I was inside staying warm, I got to meet Patrick House, the winner of the Biggest Loser's season 10.  I am such a huge fan!!

Fans:  The fans here are lacking.  If you are looking for a race where you have great fan support, don't come to Mississippi.  There were pockets of good fans, especially around the relay points, but most of the fans were looking for their specific racer and not cheering for the "random strangers."

Finish Line:  The finish line was fairly good for a small race.  They had a stage set up, but by the time us slow 5-hour marathoners came in, there wasn't anyone playing.  As far as food goes, they had red beans and rice, bananas and oranges, really salty (like give you a heart attack salty) tomato soup, and cookies.  They also had pizza, if you got there faster than 5 hours.  When we got to the food tent, there were about 10 pieces left, and they were taken pretty fast.  I feel sorry for those who were coming after us, as they didn't really have a good variety of food.

As far as hydration goes, they had plenty of water, but ran out of Gatorade.  They had enough chocolate milk, at least while we were there.  I don't know if they ran out of it later.  They also had some limited cans of Pepsi products as well as beer.

Results:  4:55:35  It's weird coming in at 5-hours or later, because it seems like the finish line atmosphere is completely different.  Most everything (food-wise) is almost gone and there are a lot fewer people who have stuck around to see the late comers.

How I felt:  I had energy the entire way, although toward the end I definitely could feel the toll that the pounding of the long time on the road was taking on my body.  My tendinitis even flared up a little bit in the last few miles, which it has never done before while going so slow.  But after the race, I felt fine.  I wasn't really sore much.  My left ankle was bothering me a little, but for the most part I felt good the whole race.  It's nice to slow down sometimes, enjoy the company, and just enjoy running.

Travel/Tourism:   I honestly wasn't in Mississippi long enough to do much of any touristy things.   The drive from Atlanta is about 6 hours, so not too bad.  I left early, so I missed Atlanta rush-hour traffic, and the road went south of Birmingham, so I didn't hit any traffic there either.  Shirley said the airport itself was easy to get into.

We stayed at the Fairfield near the airport, which had a free airport shuttle.  The hotel was nice, but didn't want to let runners have a late checkout.  The hotel was about 15 minutes from the start line, but it was easy enough to get there.

The drive between Jackson, MS and Mobile, AL had almost nothing.  It was either farmland or open space almost the entire way.  It was even hard to find anywhere to stop for bathroom breaks.

Not much to see in this state during our trip.  I'm sure there are things to see if you have time to stay in the city longer, but with the back-to-backs, there wasn't time to stop and smell the roses.

New Years resolution

How many people actually make a resolution and stick to it for the entire year?  Have you ever actually done that?  Apparently only about 8% of people keep their New Year's resolutions.  I'm sure it's true.  I see it every year.  The gym is packed in January, still full in February, but by March it's as dead as October.  Only the true gym rats (like me) make it last the second or third month.

So this year, I have decided to do a new resolution every month.  I figure, it's hard to keep something up for 365 days, but how hard could it be to keep it up for 31 days?  If I decide I like it, I can keep going, but I'll have something new to focus on in the next month.  This is what I'm thinking:

January will be the month of abs.  For the entire month, I will do at least 10 minutes of ab work right before bed.  Maybe I'll increase the time each week, and I'll probably switch up the exercises, but every day I will do at least 10 minutes of ab work.

February will be multivitamin month.  I will have a multivitamin every day for the full month.

March is meatless March.  I'm going to attempt to be a vegetarian for the entire month of March.  I figure this will expand my menu.  I can experiment more with vegetables, pastas, beans, etc.

In April, I'm going to attempt to go gluten-free.  My sister says she has a lot of recipes she's used for my brother-in-law when he tried to go gluten-free for health reasons.

In May, I am going to do at least 30 minutes of conscious cardio every day.  When I say conscious cardio, I mean that I can't get to the end of the day and say, "well, I probably did 30 minutes if you count all of the times I was moving.  It took me five minutes to walk from my car into the office..."  No.  I actually have to be purposefully doing 30 minutes of cardio for it to count.

June will be strength training month.  I will do strength training every day.  Maybe I'll get a one-month CrossFit membership.

During July, I'm going to attempt to not eat any fast food.  I define fast food as a place that has a drive thru and/or where they don't take your order at the table.  So Cheeseburger Bobby's would be fast food.  They don't have a drive thru, but they don't take your order at the table or expect you to tip.  Steak n Shake would be fast food (although they are NEVER fast) because they have a drive thru option.

August I'll do P90X or Insanity every day.

September will be no sweets month.  No cakes, candy, brownies, cookies.  I'm going to attempt to eat as little sugar as possible, live like a diabetic (since it runs in my family and one day I may have to do this anyway).  The only sweet thing I will be able to eat is ice cream.  I can't give up that.

October will be push up month.  I'll do 25 push ups in the morning and 25 push ups at night every day.

November will be food diary.  This is perfect since November is the month where the holiday endulgences begin.  If I have to write down everything I eat, maybe if won't eat as much as I would normally.

December will be a low carb month.  I'll attempt to eat as low carb as possible, close to a South Beach diet.  Again, this will be helpful during the holidays so I don't over eat.

Sounds simple enough, right?  Who wants to join me?  You can do anything for 30 days at a time.  Let's make 2014 the year of health and successful New Year's resolutions.

Shoplifter Pride (Part Two)

The last post was inspired by a conversation that my Sunday School teacher had with another person, who is a homosexual.  The man's comment to my teacher was that Christians single out homosexuality of all the sins listed in the Bible.  He quoted 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 which says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

"Why," he asked, "is so much emphasis put on homosexuality in the list?"

Everyone is a sinner:  Christians and non-Christians alike.  Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, we have been born with a sinful nature.  That means we were born with sinful tendencies.  I have things on the 1 Corinthians list that I struggle with (shoplifting is not one of them, by the way.  That was just used to make a point).  But I'm not proud of my sin, and I'm not asking for people to change their views or accept my sin as okay and allow me to keep on sinning.  Instead I ask God for strength to overcome those sinful tendencies.

Does God like that we are born with a sinful nature?  Absolutely not!  That is why he made a way out for us through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.  Becoming a Christian doesn't eliminate the sinful nature, but it gives you strength to stand up to those temptations.  We will still fail from time to time, but we aren't proud of those failures.

Pro-gay people tend to lean on the thought that homosexuality isn't a sin.  They quote various "contradictions" in the Bible as proof that either the Bible can't be trusted or that times have changed, and we have to change with those times.  Christians view the Bible as the moral authority and believe it is the word of God, given to various people to write down so we could have a glimpse into His very being.  So called "contradictions" in the Bible must be taken into context.  The Old Testament (or old covenent) was made with a specific group of people, the Israelites (or Jews as we call them today), in order that they might stand out among the people of the time as a people set apart to God.   This was a very rule-based covenent, where the Israelites had to follow God's many rules in order to stay in favor with God.  The New Testament (or new covenent) was made to all people, Jews and Gentiles (that's anyone who isn't a Jew), so that God can have a relationship with all of mankind (if they choose to accept that relationship).  This is a very relationship-based covenent.  Even the early church had trouble determining what rules from the Old Testament needed to be followed (read the book of Acts to see the struggles the early church had to determine what part of the law still had to be followed by the Gentiles who accepted Christ).

In both the Old Testament and New Testament, though, homosexuality is listed as a sin.  It was called an abomination in the Old Testament, and whole cities (Sodom and Gomorrah) were destroyed because of that sin.  There are no contradictions when it comes to homosexuality in the Bible.  Just because the Pope says "it's okay to be gay" doesn't mean God has the same view.  And it is God, not the Pope, who will make the ultimate judgment as to who is accepted into heaven.  In Hebrews 10, it says, "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries."

The reality of the situation is that people who commit the other sins on the 1 Corinthians list usually aren't proud of their sin.  In fact, they often are ashamed of it and try to stop the behavior.  Take "drunkards" for example.  We have Alcoholics Anonymous and detox programs that help alcoholics rid themselves of their sin.  They aren't organizing pride parades and saying they're proud to have this affliction.

What did Jesus have to say about homosexuality?  Jesus was mostly silent on the issue, maybe because it wasn't as prominent in his time.  Although the "sinners" Jesus ate with could very well have included homosexuals.  But he never condoned any of the behavior of the sinners he associated with.  On the contrary, his message was always "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."  Think of the story of Zacchaeus.

"And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham."  (Luke 19:2-9 ESV)

Jesus accepted Zacchaeus as a person, even though he was a sinner who had defrauded much of the population in order to get rich.  But he didn't accept the sinful behavior that Zacchaeus had participated in.  Instead, he praised Zacchaeus for repenting of his sin and turning from his sinful ways.

So it should be with homosexuals.  Okay, so you were born with sinful tendencies toward people of the same sex.  But that doesn't mean you should be proud of that and continue in that sin.  Instead, you should repent and ask God to give you strength to overcome those tendencies.  

So to answer the man's question from the beginning:  we aren't singling out homosexuality on the 1 Corinthians list.  The homosexual community is singling it out by refusing to repent, continuing in their sin, and being proud of it.

1 John 3:6 says, "Those who live in Christ don’t go on sinning. Those who go on sinning haven’t seen or known Christ."  When people repented of their sin to Jesus, he said "Go and sin no more."

Shoplifter Pride! (Part one)

When I walk into stores I have this uncontrollable desire to take something that doesn't belong to me.  It's nice that other people pay for their items, but that just doesn't appeal to me.  It doesn't matter how attractive you think the sale price is, it isn't as appealing to me as hiding it in my pocket and walking out of the store without paying.

I can't help it.  I was born this way.  I was born with this desire to take what isn't mine.  I think I would know if I made a choice or not. I’m the shoplifter. You’re not. You don’t know. I never made a choice. I was literally born this way. You have no idea what it took for me to come out and admit how I am. I had a hard time coming out of the closet, because I tried too hard to change myself. I thought it was normal to pay for things at the store. But then realized there's no stopping it. I can’t even change myself. You can ask just about every shoplifter, and I know for a fact they’ll answer that it’s not a choice. Why would you argue against the ones that would actually know? That's like asking a dog what barking means, then saying they’re wrong.

God made me this way, and He doesn't make mistakes, does He?  If God is perfect, and He made people shoplifters, either God made a mistake or being a shoplifter is okay to God.  Since He made me this way, He must be okay with me shoplifting.

It's hard enough accepting who I really am without people criticizing me for things I have no control over.  People need to get over their fear of things that are different and start to learn to accept each other.  Isn't America about tolerance?  Well, it's time to demand tolerance for people like me too.  

This is a free country, and my shoplifting practices are my own business.  We don't need the government to tell us we can't live like this. It's time for the shoplifters and thieves to unite and demand equal rights.  We're people too.  We shouldn't have to hide this from others. Today I am starting a new SLRT community for shoplifters, robbers and thieves.  We deserve the same rights and tolerance as those who choose to pay for items.  

We should probably come up with some sort of symbol that we can wave proudly to let everyone know that we are shoplifters.  Maybe a dollar bill in the shape of a crescent or a broken rose or something.  We should also show our pride by organizing parades and march through the streets of major cities demanding tolerance and equal rights.

It's time to be proud of the sins we're committing and demanding that others change their views and accept us for who we are.

Marathon #17 - Nevada

The movie Titanic came out when I was in high school.  My friend saw it before me and told me how amazing it was.  She built it up to be this fabulous movie, the best ever made.  I think at the time it had the highest revenue in an opening weekend or something like that.  Anyway, I went to see the movie and was extremely disappointed.  It wasn't as amazing as my friend had made it out to be.  Sure, it was good.  But I didn't think it was some amazing movie that deserved the hype it was getting.

My last stop on the 2013 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series tour was Las Vegas.  I had very high expectations.  I had just run two Rock 'n' Roll marathons, which were fairly well organized.  The Rock 'n' Roll series has a good reputation.  I went into the race expecting good things from the organization.

The Las Vegas marathon was the Titanic of marathons for me.  I expected great things, but was hugely disappointed.

The Race:  Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, November 17, 2013

My Training Plan:  There was really no time for a training plan for this race.  My last long run before this race was the St. Louis Marathon three weeks before, so between races I pretty much just tapered with some easy running.  I did no speed work in between.

Weather:  With the race being in the evening, the weather was different than I had ever experienced.  Normally, you start cooler and end warmer, so you can wear throw-away clothes at the beginning.  This time it started out at 65 degrees and ended up in the mid-50s.  The sun went down instead of coming up, so you couldn't count on the heat of the sun to keep you warm.  It was extremely windy the day before, but luckily the wind had died down and it was negligible during the race.

Running Attire:  Since the weather was predicted between 55 and 65 degrees, I wore my short sleeved LIZ shirt, purple and pink running shorts, iFitness running belt, and Delaware marathon bright yellow running hat.  I wore Brooks shoes for the first time in a race (I usually wear Asics).

Who I ran with:  I ran with absolutely nobody, and everybody, at the same time.  Usually I pick up some runners along the way, but this was not the kind of race where you talk to anyone.  There were way too many people to strike up a conversation, and when you're dodging runners or concentrating on not falling in the dark, it's hard to talk.

The Course:  The was probably the straightest marathon I've ever run so far.  It started heading south at the bottom of the strip and turned north to run up the strip.  Eventually (maybe around mile 8 or so), we turned off the strip into some very dark roads.  At this point, it was so dark, you couldn't see the people around you or where your foot was about to land.  (I really wished I had my headlamp!)

There were way too many people for this course.  On the strip, we were forced onto a two lane section of the road, and there were so many people that I was still weaving through people until around mile 8.  (Usually by mile 2 or 3 people have settled into their pace.)  I'm sure I wasted more energy than necessary weaving through so many people in the beginning.

Shortly after the marathon and half marathon split, the marathon went through Old Vegas, which was the best part of the course!  The lights and music were so inspiring, and there were crowds lining both sides of the road, high-fiving and cheering the runners along.

Then we turned onto MLK Blvd.  I hate to say it, but just about every MLK Blvd that I've been to in any city is pretty much the ghetto.  I will say that it was well lit, there were plenty of cops, and I never felt unsafe.  But it was definitely not the best part of town.

The course is very flat.  The hills are so gradual that you don't realize you're running up them until you turn around and run back down.  There were a lot of out-and-back spots, and even one spot where you ran down a short road and around a cul-de-sac off the main road.

Organization:  I expected much better organization from a Rock 'n' Roll than I experienced.  I would only give them a 3 out of 5 stars, and that is probably being generous.

The best part was that the Expo was well organized.  They had a lot of good vendors with samples (although they were more the "eat-them-there" samples rather than the "take-them-with-you" samples that runners like).  They had three fun photo opportunities:  a picture where you could pretend you were running across the finish line tape (at 2:04), a picture where you could dress up in rock and roll gear and pose with a Las Vegas show girl, and a picture at the Mazda booth where it made you look like you were going really fast (they blew air in your face).

Another somewhat decent thing about the organization was the website and the mobile apps.  They had a lot of information, although I never got an email with my final race information.  I had to actually go onto the website to know I had to print out my confirmation to pick up my race number.

Getting to the start and from the finish was another thing that they didn't do so well.  The start and finish were about 4 or 5 miles apart, and there were no shuttle services.  When going to the website to find out about "getting to the start" the only thing they had as an option was to take the train.  The problem is that the train is so limited in where it goes.  From the last train station to the start line was another mile or so anyway.

The course organization was poor.  See Starting Line for more information about the starting line.  At the first hydration stop that was supposed to have Gatorade, the Gatorade was only on one side of the road (which happened to be on the other side from where I was), and the volunteers were pouring water instead of handing it out (i.e. there weren't enough volunteers).

After the race turned off the strip, it got extremely dark.  There were a few generated lights set up, but not enough.  There were plenty of times where I couldn't see in front of me and some extra lights would have greatly helped.  The roads had a lot of reflectors and water ditches, so it was a little dangerous (potential sprained ankle hazards) to not be well lit.

Swag:  The race had the normal Rock 'n' Roll swag:  a technical shirt, medal, and bumper sticker.  The shirt said both marathon and half and didn't distinguish between the two, but they did have both women's and men's sizes.  They also had some pretty good pre-race and post-race party incentives (although I was too tired to take advantage of them).

Starting Line:  The first thing I noticed about the starting area was how hard it was to get in.  As I approached the entrance, there were lines of people waiting to get in.  Once I got to the entrance, I found out why - they were checking all the bags that were coming in with the people.  It makes sense, with the heightened security since the Boston marathon bombing.  But they needed more people to be checking the bags if they were going to block up traffic to do so.  Again, this points to the fact that they allowed way too many people to register for this race.

The second thing I noticed, once I finally got into the starting area, was that the gear check seemed very well marked.  Unlike the past Rock 'n' Roll marathons where there were no signs to find the gear check, this one had the gear check right as you were entering the starting area.  Very convenient.

After checking my bag, I went to find a bagel and banana - my typical pre-race food, which were supposed to be provided per the website.  Since this was an evening race (starting at 4:30pm), I hadn't had much to eat since brunch, so I was ready for something to take me through the race.  The bagels were available, but the fruit was completely gone.  Empty boxes from bananas sat in the tent where the bananas were supposed to be.  Even worse than that, I saw people who were obviously spectators and not runners eating the runners' food!

When I went to walk to my corral, the directions to get to the front corrals were not very good.  There were multiple times where I had to walk through flowers on a median to get around the other people in the higher numbered corrals to weave my way down to my corral #6.  And they were not really paroling the corrals.  There were people from much higher numbered corrals inside my corral, which no doubt contributed to the massive amounts of people I had to weave around at the beginning.  When you start in corral 6 and you almost run into people walking at mile 2 or 3, they were obviously not in the right corral to begin with.

Fans:  The fans were pretty good in this race.  With the bands and the strip and Old Vegas, most of the race had some people cheering you on.  Once you got out onto MLK Blvd, there was much less fan-base.  But the bands did help a little.

Finish Line:  The finish line took forever to get through.  I felt like I walked another mile after I crossed the finish line just to get to my checked bag.  Again, they didn't have bananas, but had apples instead.  (Who eats apples after a marathon?!?  And what race has absolutely no bananas?!?)

Other than the lack of bananas issue, they did have some good hydration and nutrition options at the finish.  For hydration, they had bottles of water and Gatorade.  They also had chocolate milk (love that!).  For nutrition, they had pretzels, bagels, and of course the apples.  They may have had more, but I don't remember getting anything else.  It would have been helpful if they had just packaged it all up into a bag and handed the bags to the runners.  It is very hard to carry everything when you've just run 26 miles.

They also had the mylar blankets, as usual.

Results:  When I crossed the finish line and pulled out my phone to stop my MapMyRun app, it said 4:00:13.  I was so disappointed in myself, because I was sure I had done just barely over 4 hours, and I knew I could have gone a few seconds faster if I had known that.   I couldn't believe it when I saw my official time:  3:59:59.  I had broken 4 hours by ONE SECOND!!  I'll take it.  Nevada, check!

How I felt:  This was definitely not my best race.  I guess I shouldn't expect too much when I try to run three marathons in a months time.  I started off feeling pretty good, although I was frustrated that I was having to weave through all the people constantly.   For those who haven't been following me prior to this, I get tendinitis or something in the back side of my left knee when I run fast that causes my left leg to want to lock up and makes me land on my left foot funny (actually breaking my foot back in May).  At mile six or so, my left leg started acting up.  I was able to control it, and once I got to the marathon split, it felt okay.  Around mile fifteen or so, the tendons on the back of my right knee started hurting.  I don't know if I had been over compensating because of the left one bothering me or what, but when I would bring my leg forward, behind my right knee would hurt.  This lasted most of the last part of the race.  It wasn't enough to sideline me, but it was enough to slow me down.  Then around mile 19, I got a sharp pain in my stomach, like someone had stabbed me (most women reading this probably know what that feels like - pretty much like period cramps).  I had to stop, so I moved over to the side and stretched my right leg while I was waiting for it to pass.

The last six miles, I pushed myself and tried to pick off runners, one at a time.  I followed one girl for two miles before I was able to pull ahead of her.  I saw one other girl who had passed me around mile 20 that I was able to pass back around mile 24.  I just kept focusing on getting faster and passing the people in front of me as I got closer to the finish line.  By the time I finished, I didn't have anything left in me, just how it should be.

Travel/tourism:  You always hear such good things about Vegas.  I hadn't been there since I was 20, so I was expecting to have a good time.  The problem with going for a marathon, though, is that you can't do anything in that city that doesn't involve walking.

The first thing I would recommend is to get a rental car.  I thought that I could just use the train the whole time, and I'd be fine.  However, there are a lot of things to see that are off the beaten path away from the strip, and the train doesn't go there, including the airport.  The bus from the airport to the closest train stop is $2 and not included in the train day pass.  I had to use cabs several times, and if I added up the cost of the cabs and the train pass, it likely would have been comparable to a rental.

I stayed at the Desert Rose Resort, which is a timeshare condo place between the MGM hotel and the Mandalay Bay hotel.  It was a short walk to the closest train station at MGM, although the walk was a little scary by myself at night, passing the Hooters Resort and Casino.

When I arrived and dropped my bags off at the condo, I headed to the Venetian, which is where my sister was.  I ate lunch at a burger place at the food court at the Venetian.  The avocado burger and fries that I got was extremely expensive for a food court place ($15), although it was pretty good.  I found that would not be the only expensive meal that I would get - in fact most of the meals I got were expensive.  Amy and I walked around and saw a candy place that sold caramel apples and cupcakes, and didn't post their prices.  We quickly found out that they didn't post the prices because the candy apple was $10, and more people probably buy it without knowing how much it is ahead of time.

The mall at the Venetian was really cool, and I found out that most malls on the strip (between the casinos) were very similar.  The ceiling was painted in a way that it made it look like you were outside - blue skies and clouds.  There was a little canal, just like Italy, with Gondola rides through the mall.  The mall had very high class stores like Coach and Louis Vuitton.

After the Venetian we went to the Expo to pick up our race number.  When we were done at the Expo (we stayed until closing time), I was so tired that I took the train back to my hotel.  I stopped by Bonanno's New York Pizza in the MGM food court on the way to my hotel to grab something for dinner.  I got the baked ziti with meatballs.  There was enough for two meals, but the pasta was only mediocre (Olive Garden is way better).

On race day, I took a cab to the original Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe, located outside of the Hard Rock Cafe Hotel and Casino.  It was also about halfway between my hotel and the Blueberry Hill pancake place, which was where I planned to have brunch.  

As is tradition, I wanted to get some pancakes for my pre-race meal (normally the night before a morning race).  I googled "blueberry pancakes Las Vegas" and found this local chain called Blueberry Hill Family Restaurant.  It said they made their pancakes from scratch and not from some mix.  After getting my Hard Rock shirt, I walked the rest of the way to the pancake place, which was about a mile and a half.

The food was very good.  The toast was thick, and I've never tasted such delicious hash browns.  The pancakes were thick and good also, although some of the blueberries from the topping were a little sour.  It was worth the walk, although it was a little tough to get a cab back to the strip from that far out of the city.

After the pancake house, Amy said she was going to be at Caesar's Palace, so I headed there.  This place was the biggest disappointment.  It looked so big and nice from the outside, but the inside wasn't as nice as some of the other places.  And there was absolutely no place to sit unless you were gambling.  After my mile and a half walk to the pancake place, I didn't want to do any more walking or standing until the race.  We ended up sitting on the floor.

After the race, we went to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.  They were about the only place still open that late, although they had a very limited menu.  I had a Cheeseburger in Paradise, which was ok (not as good as Cheeseburger Bobby's, but better than most other places).  They had a live band playing and a little dance floor where all the drunk people danced.

The day after the race, I went through the south side of the strip.  I started at Mandalay Bay and walked all the casinos (Luxor and Excalibur) inside through the malls that connect them.  Then I went across the bridge to New York New York and through that casino to MGM before going back to the hotel to rest.

After my nap, I went up one train stop to Paris Las Vegas, the Bellagio, and Aria.  




The Bellagio was by far my favorite of all the hotels and casinos.  I stopped to see the Bellagio fountains and the conservatory (which is a breath of fresh air, literally, among all the smoke-filled casinos).

I stopped at the Napoleon's piano bar to see some dueling pianos.  I love piano bars, but this one did not live up to my expectations.  The drinks were expensive and the guys didn't play anything good (in my opinion).  But they did know how to work the audience for more tips.

I flew back the next day.  The airport was big enough and easy to get through (although getting to and from there from the hotel was more difficult).

Overall, Las Vegas was a disappointment.  They have some great architecture and some interesting places, but Sin City is not the place for me.  Thankfully I have my sub-4 hour marathon, so I don't have to go back.

Marathon #16 - Missouri

When I bought the Tour Pass, I thought Denver and St. Louis Rock 'n' Roll Marathons were a month apart.  They were in 2012.  But in 2013, they changed them to be only a week apart.  So my next marathon was St. Louis, a mere eight days after completing the Denver marathon.

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.

How I felt:  I felt good for the first 10 miles (after my the feeling came back to my feet).  I had to stop at the porta potty around mile 8 though, which took about two extra minutes.  Around mile 15, my tendinitis started acting up, and we had to slow down a lot.  I'm sure I slowed my sister down at this point.  She could have kept going and possibly set a PR, but she stuck with me.  I had to stop to stretch, hoping this would help.  My leg kept wanting to lock up, and I didn't want to end up breaking my foot again.  I tried to ensure my gait remained consistent and that I wasn't over compensating on the right side due to the irritation in my left leg.

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.