St. Louis Half Marathon

What a great weekend!!! I had a blast participating in the St. Louis Marathon Weekend. From packet pick up on Friday (great chance to hang out with everyone at the Expo) to our volunteering at the 5k water station to Jack's diaper dash to my half marathon, the entire weekend was awesome.

You can check out all of the pics at http://www.jstrassner.com/photogallery/stlmarathon

As far as results, Tommy and I did our 13.1 miles in 1:49:00. The course was fairly hilly and the temps were warm - the hottest day of the year so far. I felt pretty good considering that I ran a 1/2 marathon the week before and I was still working through some minor aches.

The best part of the weekend was spending time with everyone. It was great that so many people came out to support all of the events throughout the weekend. I truly got a runners high from participating. Sign me up for next year!

Track Club 1/2 Marathon

This was my first long race of the year. While I have been doing long runs on Saturday, this was the first one where time mattered. Not knowing how I would perform, I set my goal at just under 2 hours. After all, I completed my last 1/2 Marathon, Lewis & Clark, in 1:57:30 (8:58 avg).

I shot out of the gate and downed the first 5 miles in 40:00. I felt good but was dying to find a bathroom. Actually, this is why I think my time was so good - I was racing to find a port-a-potty anywhere along the route. Several times I thought that I saw one off in the distance only to find out that it was a mirage. At mile 6 I couldn't take it anymore. I ducked into the outhouse by the ballfields and AAA and took a 2 minute pit stop to de-hydrate.

Disapointed with the time loss but feeling physically much better I focused on working my way through the park. I kept calculating my time and figured that if I hit the last 3 miles hard then I could get in under 1:50:00. Only problem is that the last 3 miles are up Forsyth which is tough/uphill.

I reminded myself that this was my home course. I practice on this route consistently. I was determined to push hard and get in under 1:50:00. I felt very good. Cardio was not a problem and my legs seemed to respond to the hard push. I turned on the burners, waved to Kevin and Minah who were spectating, and crossed the finish line in 1:48:49 (8:19 avg).

I rocked today!!! All of the Saturday long runs paid off as I turned in my best 1/2 marathon performance ever. My left shin splint was acting up a little bit as a result of the extra effort at the end but my time was great. I rounded out the day with a 26 mile bike ride in the afternoon and fell soundly asleep at 9:15pm.

Looking forward to next weekend to see if I can replicate my success in the STL 1/2 marathon.