Gulping from the Cup of Life: April 2011

Friday, April 22, 2011

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Spirit of St. Louis Marathon (Missouri)

April 10, 2011	Marathon 41, State #35 (Age 42)
St. Louis, Missouri	4:06:14

http://www.gostlouis.org/

Great weekend in St. Louis! Post marathon....I think currently it's 92 degrees! I was purposely not running hard or pushing myself and felt great up till mile 21. By this time the heat and uphill was all I could take, knowing that I couldn't break 4 hours without killin' myself I took it easy the last 4-5 miles.

I've not been sick for years and on Thursday night I had a horrible headache. Friday when I got to Denver my throat was killin' me and then missing my connection I didn't get settled into my hotel till 2am. I wasn't my usual self in that my adventuring was kept to a minimum. I walked 1 mile to expo, and maybe 3 more to the Arch, then decided to take a cab back to the room and laid low all afternoon watching the Masters tournament. Before the hotel I was recommended a St. Louis smokehouse called Pappy's. Damn good. I ordered the small platter and it fed me for lunch plus lunch again after the race today!

I'm very glad to have chosen Go St. Louis. I know there is new option with the R&R series, but this is a top notch race. Every last detail made this one of the top destination marathons I've ever done. There were no "killer" hills like the steep one in Little Rock, but that's not to say the course profile was not challenging. There were many long inclines and right when you thought there couldn't be another, there was! Not just because it was hot, but even for the hills I run, when they hit you in the last 4 miles they are never easy, especially combined with the heat!

Drury owns this town, every hotel here seems like it has the Drury name. I stayed at Pear Tree, and it was right in the middle of the expo and the start/finish line. Once I got here from the airport, there wasn't even a need for a car. The old Union Station was converted to a Mariott and shopping center.

Magnificent architecture! I'd never seen the Arch before. What a beautiful monument. Too busy to wait to ride the elevator up, nice museum underneath.