Go! St. Louis Half Marathon Race Report

Thank goodness for a complete regimen of Tylenol Eight Hour (at 1 p.m., 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. this morning). If not, I might have posted a DNS - "Do Not Start".

After driving five hours from Junction City, Kansas to downtown St. Louis and having dinner with John DiMarco and his son, Ryan, from Sugar Land, I tried to jog across the intersection from the Hilton, where they were staying, to the parking garage. And my entire upper left thigh, especially on the inside, and my hamstring were trying to tell me that they had different ideas with me running today.

However, once I got to warming up before the race, everything seemed to be fine.

Yesterday in 44 degrees pre-race temperatures, I went with a long sleeved tech shirt with my 2003 DRC Half windshirt on top. Today, I tried something different.

I promised Jay Hilscher that I would wear my Texas Independence Relay shirt. Yes, it was cool and in the 40s; however, I sensed that it would warm up a little bit. It did, but the winds kept it from getting too warm at all. So, I had my TIR shirt and my 2007 Austin black gloves on. It wasn't too bad, and as I warmed up, I realized that I made the right decision.

I didn't see John or Ryan before the start; however, before the race, I saw somebody with Texas shorts on and while I thought I caught her name, it turns out that I didn't or she didn't finish.

I also met Stephanie Okerson, 24, from Indianapolis, Indiana, who was doing her first marathon. She was hoping to run 4:22. Her backup goal was in the 4:30s.

And no, I didn't see Pasta Party speaker Kristin Armstrong, 36, from Austin. She ran the half marathon and finished a ways ahead of me -- in 1:40:47. (We know that Adrienne can take her.)

Gee, you wanted to find out about my race? Is that why you came?

It wasn't as good as I hoped for; however, it was half marathon No. 49 and my 22nd state. If I were a Hasher, like Anna, it would be cause for a celebratory drink. Instead I did it later with another incriminating beverage -- Mountain Dew.

Clock time was 2:36:05 and the chip time was 2:27:00. My watch time was 2:27:01.

St. Louis, even though it was basically two out-and-back course (one to the south first-back north and then to the west-back east), was more difficult than Abilene, Kansas the day before -- and that had nothing to do with my time.

If you've ever been in the home to Budweiser, you'll know that the Missouri side of the Mississippi is fairly hilly; however, I think that they were advertising their "flat" course. I suppose it is to them. Don't misunderstand me: Huntsville is still one of the more difficult half courses that I've done.

It was an excellent event overall. You crossed the starting line - which as you can see took 9 minutes -- under a huge American flag raised by two ladder trucks from the St. Louis Fire Department. (Maybe Houston could take a cue here.) From there, you had a gentle downhill start before making a right on Broadway and heading south. Target destination? The Anheuser-Busch Brewery.

You made it to mile 3 right by the Brewery before making a one block detour to turn around and then passing mile 6 as you crossed over Interstate 64-40 or Interstate 44 to come back into downtown.

Mile 1 -- 10:27.75
Mile 2 -- 10:31.49 (20:59.24)
Mile 3/4 -- 21:47.62 (42:46.86)
Mile 5 -- 11:02.66 (53:49.52)
Mile 6 -- 10:55.98 (1:04:45.50)
Mile 7 -- 11:14.76 (1:16:00.26)
Mile 8 -- 11:22.08 (1:27:22.28)
Mile 9 -- 11:11.63 (1:38:33.91)
Mile 10 -- 12:28.39 (1:51:02.30)
Mile 11 -- 12:22.42 (2:03:24.72)
Mile 12 -- 12:05.18 (2:15:29.90)
Mile 13 -- 10:27.72 (2:25:57.62)
Last .1 -- 1:03.60 (2:27:01.22)

Mile 10 is where I bonked in a big way. I had a Larabar before I left the hotel, and I was going to take the other one with me -- and I didn't. I paid for it here. I grabbed a Gu before the turnaround that was shortly before the mile 10 marker. It took me to get through mile 11 for it to get into my system because most of mile 12 was uphill (and my time dipped).

The majority of mile 13, as you can tell from the time, was downhill. The last tenth of a mile came back uphill before a short downhill, a quick left and then a right before going into a wide straightaway to the finish.

After getting the obligatory post-race medal, food and beverage, I walked to the car, made a couple of phone calls, switched shirts, put on something a bit warmer, my baseball hat and then walked back over to a spot just after the 26-mile marker.

I wanted to see John finish. (I was going to the Nationals-Cardinals game later; therefore, I had time.)

I saw Ryan as he was in mile 13 (and I was going out). He had a great race. In fact, it was a new PR for him, but he didn't place in the top five. He finished in 1:32:13 and was 12th in his age group.

First, Stephanie came in with a time of 4:46:39. She looked happy despite not hitting her time. I just hope that she was able to run "all the way" liked she wanted to. (This seems to be a recurring theme with certain people I meet. :) Yes, I know that the object is to run and not live up to my last name.)

John was about five or six minutes behind Stephanie and finished with a chip time of 4:53:27. He said that it was the second fastest of the six that he has done in the last six months -- one a month.