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That being said, we both dawdled on getting a hotel and that sucked. They were sold out until I called and it seemed that we were good. We stayed at the host hotel (Drury hotel) but they have 3. The one at the airport, the one at Forest Park and the downtown one. Little confusion here so let's get to it right of the bat.
I think of Forest Park as a park. Here it's both a neighborhood AND a park. So, when we booked a room at Forest Park, we thought it would be right there. Much like at Little Rock Arkansas where I had a 3 block walk. It wasn't. Learned that too late. It's about 2 miles away.
Since I was getting there much earlier than they were, we decided that they will rent a car. I rented one last time and anyway, if I would get it, then we would need to pay for an extra day so it made sense.
My flight was leaving at 6:25am Friday while theirs wasn't until 5pm-ish. Made for a VERY tiring day for me. Also, didn't help any that we forgot that daughter took the carry on to school with her. So, Thursday, I had to drive down there and pickup the carry on. Crazy day without all the extras... Woke up early Friday and Ubered to LGA and got here without a hitch. The hotel wasn't ready for me, so I left my stuff and took an Uber to the outdoor expo at Tower Grove Park. Got there early too and they weren't ready for me either. Yay... So walked around. Asked a few people where it was and got multiple directions so walked too much but it was a beautiful day so that's ok. Bottom line is, I found the bib pickup. Got it and then you walk a 1/4 mile down with vendors on either side until you get to the shirt pickup and then back again to leave. I walked to the botanical garden. I saw people in there but couldn't find a way in so I Ubered back, getting food and supplies on the way.
The weather here was weird. It got into the 70s yet still windy. That night there were HEAVY thunderstorm warnings and multiple warnings for Tornadoes. I have never seen one and tell the truth, if there was one, I would run downstairs to see it. I am not making light of the devestation of it. I just never saw one except on TV. Lucky I guess compared to people who have suffered by it. I did get a picture of a rainbow.
The news was ONLY about that and they did move the bib pickup to indoors and the storm did in fact move in. Little Rock did get it. I have heard of 11 fatalities so far there.
The thunder did get real loud. It was weird. I looked out the window and on one side, the sky was dark. The other side, it was light and had a rainbow in it. Later it was all dark. The Fred's flight had a lot of turbelence as it got closer. Fortunatly they had no delays or issues except being jostled around.
Went to sleep early. Woke up constantly, which I like, until it was time to get up. Did my thing but GI wasn't exactly there in the same spirit as I was. Didn't want to take the little blue pill. Wanted to take that the next morning for the Marathon. Race start was close so I thought about leaving a little before 7. I got pampered with Little Rock. It was then that my stomach decided to really school me. Nothing bad, but the pipes were open. Everytime I thought I was done, I wasn't. Finally had to be done and went downstairs. Got an Uber. On the move.
ETA was 7:20. I'm not happy about it but my fault. Got almost there and in the park, we had road closings. Wonderful. The guy said that Uber can't continue and I need to get out. He was nice but also very wrong. He told me that the race is up "that hill". Said thanks to Uber and ran up the damn hill. Nothing was there. As I ran up the hill, I did hear noise from the complete opposite direction but I trusted the dude. Top of the hill, there is nothing. Ran down the hill back to the dude and up the next hill. I'm freaking out. I stop cars. I beg for a ride. Nothing. Some people didn't even stop. I get to the top and nothing there too but someone told me that I need to go down the next hill. The noise was coming from there so it made sense. So, sprinted down the hill, on the muddy grass. Don't fall! I get down there and still more to go. I see 2 people walking and they told me I was headed in the right direction. It's 7:28 and I hear the National Anthem. How bad is this gonna get?!? I run. I'm at the right place. Hoping GI will hold out.
I'm in the corral. It's a VERY kid friendly 5K. I'm behind a ton of kids. I move up the corral as the race didn't start yet. I thought I did a good job. I'm not near the front. Still a ton of kids. Fortunatly it's a chip start. I start and I'm weaving around people. Finally, I go back to the muddy grass and pass about 70 people. Finally I can run. It's cold and VERY windy. Sucks.
I leapfrog with this guy and I assume his kid. It was cool.
Fortunatly, I looked at the map before I started so I got some feel for the course. All I know is that there are 2 out and backs. Bad in terms of wind but it's something. My watch didn't start for some reason so, I'm just looking at the race mile markers. I knew I had to finish the second out and back before thinking about the finish. Done with that. I hear a mom (perhaps) tell her kid that we are almost done. Makes sense. I was running with a dude for a little bit but he left me before I heard her say that. Now that I hear her say that, I'm trying look for when to push. It's time. I push and finish. I got something like 25ish. Not my best. Actually not terribly happy with it but there's a marathon the next day so perhaps it's ok. I get my medal and soome food and go look for an Uber. On the drive back to the hotel, I look up my results and ... 3rd for age. What?!? I email the race but got an "out of office" reply which makes sense so I message them on FB as well. I get a reply from both asking if I an pick up from the awards tent at the Marathon. Cool!
I join the Fred's for breakfast after I shower. Nice.
When I checked in, I asked about a late checkout. Checkout is normally 11am but they offered 12:00. A little more persuasion and I got 12:30. It's still not ideal but I figured that we would deal with it on Saturday. Smart decision. Mikey and I go talk to them and we got 1pm. Still not ideal with Maria and all but it's already better.
So, Maria has a potential Miniscus Tear which is why she was doing this race. Makes sense, right?
Went with the Fred's to packet pickup and went back so I can do Laundry and chill out. Later I got Subway for late lunch/early dinner. Went to sleep early.
Talking about hotels: The Drury Inn was the host hotel and they had 3 options. The one at the aiport - NO THANK YOU. Learned my lesson in Indiana. The one Downtown by the finish which was crazy expensive and the one at Forest Park which was a little cheaper and I thought was closer to the start. My mistake. We did Forest Park so had to rethink our Sunday.
Really there were 2 options.
Option 2 is more expensive perhaps (I don't know how much parking is) but since we really need to get back in time for the hotel/shower, it made sense.
Woke up and met downstairs. Ubered to the start. At least this time I know where we need to be so it was a little easier and less stressful. Hung out at the start. I went to say hello to Julia. Love Julia...
We met a woman named Kristi who was standing next to us. Her bib number was 69. Obviously quite a few things were said.
We started and I pulled away. Mikey was gonna stay with Maria the whole time. This last 2 weeks, everytime I asked him a question, his response was "I'll carry her on my back". Oy!
I pulled away. Plan was to finish and depending on where they are, to either Uber alone or wait for them. None of us really wanted to get on an airplane smelling horribly.
I don't know why really but it may be due to the proximity (distance and time) but I kepy comparing this race with Little Rock. This is my opinion based on my own observations but they were confirmed by the Fred's.
Friendliness: No comparison... People at Little Rock (runners) were WAY nicer than in missouri. I always talk to people and in Little Rock, most people answered my "Good Morning!" and "looking good". Here, I got 3 hellos back. Even those without headphones were Meh.
EMS: Little Rock was full of EMS stations and they were each manned by a few people. Vaseline popsicles were always available. Here, I saw 3 EMS stations and they were very stark. The first was manned by 1 person who was sleeping/resting on the stretcher. Not very inviting. I get that it can be boring but dude... Seriously?!? Can't you get into it just a little bit?
The course: Once again, hands down, Little Rock was nicer. It is what it is. Each course has nice spots and not nice spots but overall, Little Rock was NICER. By the way, jumping the gun, the course here definitly had some ugly sections but I'll get to it soon.
Nonetheless, I am glad I did it and as always, I enjoyed myself.
Let's start... Initially we were in Forest Park and there were some tight places. Aid stations were very plentiful and had Gatorade and Water. No issue there. Thank you to all the Volunteers...
We then hit a city type area and also the Trolley section on Delmar Blvd. I liked that area even though you really had to be careful with the tracks in the street. Spoke to a fellow Maniac who was doing her 84 Marathon and working on her 2nd round of states. Left her. Hooked up with Meghan (spelling?) and we ran together until mile 11. I'll come back to mile 11 in a minute.
This race was kinda big (not huge). It had something like 1,400 in the full and also concurrently had the half, the 10K and the Marathon Relay. The relay was broken into 4 non-equal sections, so it was a little weird suddenly crossing a mat and a bunch of people screaming until you realized it was a relay switch. I should also tell you to look at the map and the elevation map... It was rolling hills until mile 18ish.
At mile 11ish, was where the halfers split from us. They went left while we and the relayers went straight. Said my goodbyes and continueed. I had a feeling something was up because a group of runners behind us said something like, should we go faster at 11? So I kinda had a clue that we were about to say goodbye.
I don't recall where it was exactly but suddenly it was clear that we were in a "bridge 2 areas together" type of place. We ran in between buildings that were shells. You could see that they were empty shells with nothing inside. Perfect place for a serial killer to hide their victims bodies or perhaps a perfect killzone for Dexter. I would NEVER NEVER NEVER in general life run through there. What I did do, was go to the side and pee. I didn't have to go badly or anything but why carry extra weight and I wasn't going to stand in line for a porta-pottie like Mikey did apparently. He said he lost 8 minutes on that line.
Thankfully, we went through that section and we entered the Gateway Arch National Park. This park is beautiful. Hopefully, I'll find some nice shots that people took. Of course, this included yet one more hill even though according to the elevation map, the hills should be done by now.
The Arch itself was beautiful and many runners stopped to take pictures. Not me... At one point, a hawk came sweeping down and I said something outloud and a few people looked. It was cool. One of the guys who looked and commented was named Kong, as in "King" he explained. We ran a little together when suddenly 4 people came out of the bushes screaming Jeanie!!! Jeanie was happy to hear/see them but of course kong and I commented on how they only had 1 task. Later, everytime I saw Jeanie, I of course yelled out.
Sometime after mile 17 (but before 18), the halfers rejoined us and we ran with them on a straightaway. A fellow runner asked me to scream a womans name out and she was happy I did that. She and her friends ran that aid station. They were Indians (not native Americans) and that was cool. I don't remember her name anymore.
Anyway, our little run with the halfers was short-lived as again they split us. Halfers to the left, the rest straight and to the right. As we split, I glanced to the left and saw it. If you look at the elevation map, there is a little uptick at the very very end. PLEASE do NOT let it deceive you. It was NOT a little uptick. It was a very nasty, steep but short hill to the finish. Did I mention it was steep?
This next section was the pits. Horrible and yet ugly and yet, boring. It was a 4 mile out and back. You go from 18 to a little past 22 and head back. Looking at the map, it suggests that we run by the water and that it's flatish. Nope. Part of it was running by a wall and the smell wasn't great and some more little rollers. Boring. Snoozefest.
I did see 2 EMS people sitting on a gator just talking. A little while later, a woman running back, had blood streaming down her face. The head is very vascular and it doesn't take a lot to bleed all over the place. I'm sure that is a cool picture. Anyway, remember the EMS people sitting on the Gator. I suddenly hear an engine behind me and I glance back. The gator was going at full speed and then it veered to the grass and was burning rubber there. Out loud, I just said "that's not good". Of course no one replied. Except for Megan and Kong, not too many people willing to talk...
Later a volunteer on a bicycle who was patrolling this out and back told me that a runner "went down and needed CPR". Remember the Gator I just mentioned? Yup. Now, people often misuse the word CPR but I hope whomever it was is ok.
Finally got to the last aid station, turned around and officially hit mile 22. My watch and the course markers were mostly ok with each other so that was good. I did talk to 2 relayers as we kept leapfrogging each other. They had on the back of their t-shirts a name followed by the word peep as in "Gitta peep". When I was behind them, I was contemplating if they just really like those Easter Peeps (Easter is almost here and race day was Palm Sunday) but once we turned around and I saw their fronts, it hit me. They were wearing shorts that said something like about running hens or somesuch. Get it? Hens... Peeps... Made sense and I talked to them. They were nice. As I said, we leapfrogged each other.
When I hit mile 23, my jaw dropped. I saw Maria. I couldn't believe it. Only 2 miles behind me... And??? Where is Michael? Remember how he was going to carry her on his back etc...? He was about 100 yards or more in back of her. I was shocked. I continueed.
I knew what to expect. Keep going until mile 26. Breathe! Go 0.1 more and then 90 degree, right turn into a nasty nasty nasty hill for 0.1 miles.
Mile 26 had a little elevation. Got over it. Breathe. Went 0.1 miles. Breathe. Turned right and into the hill to the finish.
At this point, let's pause for a moment and think. There are 3 types of runners at this point:
Pretty sure, you can figure out what I did. I made the turn and attacked the hill passing people during this effort. This did not go undetected and people were screaming and clapping yelling "look at this guy" which of course only made me push more and so I did. I finished. Where are the medals?!? Seriously?
Got water, made a turn and they were there. Got my medal and went to look for the award tent to get my 5K award. Spoke to Mikey. Time to get an Uber when I noticed a runner talking to someone in a tent. I waited because I wanted to know where was the best place to wait for an Uber and OOPS! Glad I stopped here. I totally forgot that I also get a backpack and I think there was another medal maybe? I don't remember. Cool.
Got into an Uber, got my shower, got dressed.
The Freds: I didn't know this but Maria's plan was to walk once she got to 22 and so she did. She also walked up the nasty hill. Once she completed, her knee gave out. She was only able to walk by putting her left leg forward and then with her hands picking up her right leg and pushing it forward. Did I mention that in order to get an Uber, you had to walk up another hill? Funny, right? They also made it just in time for a shower.
We left there and went to Wendy's near the hotel but it was understaffed and they stopped taking orders and kinda yelled at us. It was weird.
Different Wendy's served us food but the manager there was a little off too.
On the highway, we saw a cloud of black smoke and a car that was on the shoulder engrossed in flames. I called 911.
Made it to the airport and breezed through TSA and all. Joked around with them too. Got to the Gate and chilled out talking to other runners.
Then American Airlines (YOU SUCK!) annoyed me. Really ruined my day. Instead of counting carryons, it was a small airplane, they decided anyone in zones 6 and up, must check in their bag. Annoying. I got on the plane and there was plenty of space still left and the plane was not even full damn it! Bastards. Still, my luggage didn't get lost and came out of the carousel pretty fast so it is what it is. Donald picked me up and that was that...