Go! St. Louis Half Marathon Race Recap
| April 16, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under 1/2 Marathon, FitFluential, Running, Training |
My 2nd half-marathon is officially in the books! Chris and I woke up at 5:15 yesterday morning to get ready to head down to the starting line. Annica met us at our hotel and the three of us made the mile walk together. Luckily the weather in St. Louis cleared up overnight so there was absolutely no rain which was awesome! The temperature was around 67* at starting time with a wind advisory haha.
I thought the Go! St. Louis had more than enough porta potties at the beginning. We got down to the start at 6:25 and all of us were able to use the restroom before heading to our corral. I had talked to Katie about meeting up before the race too. She was by the corral marker but we couldn’t push our way to it. Luckily we spotted each other as we moved forward to the start and we were able to meet up.
I feel like we may have been in the wrong corral to begin with. I had put a 2:00-2:15 finish time and we were with the 11:30 pace group. Mistake #1. I spent the first 2 miles dodging people trying to find a groove. I also noticed that my Garmin was measuring about .25 ahead of the 2 mile marker. By mile marker 4 I realized the mile markers were 0.5 miles off. While this was frustrating, the markers were pretty accurate by mile 7.
One thing I wasn’t prepared for was the hills that this race had. Online I read about “rolling hills” … to be rolling hills implies that there will be stretches that are flat. Well apparently in St. Louis is means you go from incline to decline back to incline. It seemed as if many of the hills would never end. The last stretch of the race had you running uphill IN to the wind. WHY people think it’s ok for an uphill finish is beyond me.
Now … I bet you’re wondering if I met my goal of 10 minute miles. Unfortunately I didn’t. At around mile 6 I stepped poorly and my right foot landed in a hole. I immediately felt shooting pain on the top of my foot and from there on out every step was agony. I thought about stopping multiple times but just kept going. Continuing to run an additional 7 miles while obviously injured probably wasn’t one of my brightest moments, however, finishing this race meant a lot to me so I pressed on.
MY FINISH TIME: 2:22:22 (21 minute PR!)
CHRIS’ TIME: 2:03
When I crossed the finish line and saw Chris is when the tears fell and the pain just too much. We made our way to the family reunion area to see my mom and Emmie. I may be smiling in this picture but boy my foot was throbbing!
Chris was my knight in shining armor and somehow snagged us a cab back to the hotel to save me from having to walk the mile back. At the hotel we quickly showered, slipped on our compression socks, checked out and headed to meet some fabulous people for lunch! Kristen made us reservations at Schlafly Bottleworks. One of the really cool things about Schlafly is that they grow a lot of their own produce in an attached garden and things that they don’t grow they try to buy locally. AND being a brewery they brew their own beer … which we were happy to partake in .
Chris and I both got Hefeweizen. I LOVE a good wheat beer and this one hit the spot. The citrus taste was there and it was super light.
For lunch I had the Turkey Burger … Natural turkey burger on a toasted wheat bun with spinach, cheddar and tomato jam with Billy Goat chips on the side. This burger was absolutely delicious. It was juicy and seasoned superbly. The most surprising thing about it was the tomato jam! I was really skeptical about it but I am glad that I had it on the burger. It was amazing 
We had such a fun time hanging out with Katie, Kristen, and Kristen’s husband. Annica had to make the drive back to Columbus and was missed! I am so glad that some of my bloggie friends have become my IRL friends. It’s just too bad we are moving …
Overall I would be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t disappointed in my half performance. I REALLY wanted to meet my 10 minute/mile goal but today just wasn’t my day. I will hold on to the fact that I have a 21 minute PR and shoot for the 10 minute miles for my next race
Thank you all for your tweets, Facebook messages, and texts to boost me up! It meant a lot
Have you ever been injured during a race?
Congrats Madeline!!! Sounds like you did great despite the circumstances.
I have run one half before and like yours, there were rolling hills for like the first 5 miles that I was really not prepared for. Certainly makes you more mentally tough
So nice that the race was a family affair. I hope you get a chance to rest your legs!
Congrats on the race!!! You did awesome!
chelsey @ clean eating chelsey recently posted..fun facts friday
You did GREAT getting a PR and pushing through to finish. I understand the frustration of an injury and pain getting in the way (especially when caused by a misstep) but you still accomplished something great and don’t let one missed goal take away from the overall awesome achievements. And that just means something to shoot for in another future race. You rock!
Great job!! There’s always next time to squash a 10 min/mile…and then it does just that, makes you run another!! You still did amazing, girl!
char @ char eats GREENS recently posted..bringing back breakfast + important things to note
proud of you for finishing!!!!! hope your foot feels better asap!
Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean recently posted..Birthday Weekend
You are AMAZING for training with an infant and working so hard towards your goal. It is pretty impressive that you kept pushing on and finished….great job!
Caroline recently posted..Spring-air, playground workouts and new life on the "farm"
GREAT job girl!! That post-race meal looks amazing, and tomato jam sounds heavenly. I hope your foot feels better soon, you still finished your second half AND PR’ed so way to go!
Caitlin recently posted..Fashion Friday
Congrats girl! Great job pushing through and finishing! Hope your foot feels better!
Carissa recently posted..How To Stop Your Sweet Tooth
Nice job – rolling hills are my nemesis! I actually ran my last half injured. Do not recommend doing that one. Hope your foot is ok
Heather (Where’s the Beach) recently posted..Fun Facts Friday – An Athlete’s Home
Congrats on a major pr!
Jess recently posted..Say it, Do it! {Adjustments Needed}
great job! My race was quite the disaster too yesterday. (injury plus awful heat!) But you did it and still PR’ed! good job!
Heather Montgomery recently posted..The One Where We Got Rear Ended
UGH so sorry to her about your foot, but honestly – you did AWESOMe for being in pain for over half of the race. and how freaky that your time is straight 2s! that made me giggle a little.
now this just means you need to add another half marathon to your summer goals
(im a bad influence arent i!) ha
that little restaurant sounds EXACTLY like the kind of place I want to open up in the bay area some day (dream big, right?
)
hope it doesnt turn out to be a stress fracture!
(and end very ADD comment)
charlotte recently posted..Life Lessons from 13 Weeks of Training for 13.1
That is a huge pr, congratulations! So sorry about the foot pain… I hope it heals quickly. I definitely understand the frustration of not getting your goal time, but am learning to enjoy each race for what it is. You’ll get that 10 min/mile run yet!
Laura recently posted..Sprint for spring 5k report
What a great strong run! Amazing that you were able to stay so focused despite hurting. Great job!
Good luck on the PCS
Congrats Madeline!!! 21 minutes is huge! and with a sore foot?! Great job!
Isn’t Schlafly great?!? I love that place! Hope the move is going well:)
I am so impressed that you fought through your pain and made it to the finish line! You were not far off from your goal time so you should be super proud and it is clear you will kick but the next time. If I was close to you I’d give you a hug!
Congrats Madeline! I’m so sorry you’re disappointed by your time but a 22 min PR is HUGE! Especially considering the hills and your foot. I really hope your foot heals quickly, girl <3
Jen recently posted..Best Body Bootcamp: Week 6
Hope your foot is ok. You ran a great race despite the foot issues.
I’m so happy we’ve been able to meet up a few times before you move on. Hopefully you will come back and see us or maybe I’ll find a reason to make my way down there.
Congrats again! You and Emmie (and Chris) are always welcome here. See you soon!
Katie @momslrb recently posted..I’m Breaking Up with Diet Dr. Pepper
My Go! recap is up…just in case you’re interested
http://www.momslittlerunningbuddy.com/2012/04/go-st-louis-half-marathon-recap.html
Katie @momslrb recently posted..Go! St. Louis Half Marathon Recap
Congrats on your race. Wow, 21 minute PR. That is awesome.
Shauna @ Balancing Bites recently posted..Workout of the Week
Way to pull through! I’m sure that took a TON of mental strength to keep going. Awesome job!!
Adrienne J recently posted..to eat meat or not to eat meat?
Congrats on a HUGE PR!! You should be so proud but I can totally understand the frustration of injury. I really hope that your foot is OK. Take care of yourself!!
Christine @ Love, Life, Surf recently posted..Supposed to be Race Day
Congrats on the PR!!! definitely inspirational! (i’m training for my first half right now!)
Danica @ It’s Progression recently posted..the Enjoy Your Food challenge
Way to go momma!!! A 21 minute PR!?! You rock!!!
And rolling hills to me, living in the mountains, is up and down, up and down. But I often hear people think of them the same way as you.
Hope your foot is doing better!!!
Melissa @ Live, Love, & Run recently posted..Monday Runspiration – 14 Weeks Out
AMAZING job!!!! Great work lady!
Koko @ Koko Likes recently posted..Weekend Breakfast
Congrats on the 21 minute PR at the Go! Half. It seems almost like cruel and unusual punishment to finish going against the wind and uphill, but it does make the finish that much sweeter! Supposedly most of the half marathons here in St. Louis involve rolling hills. Sorry I didn’t get the chance to meet up with you, I ended up texting during the race and my phone died right after I finished! I hope your foot is recovering quickly!
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