The Race Continues

It was a tough weekend, but there were still things to be done. Not the least of which was the All Star 5K through the concrete canyons of St. Louis. Grandma always said that "work is a prayer" and while running isn't necessarily the textbook definition or work, it is to me. Decision made, it was still time to run.

The setup wasn't the best, running on a couple of burgers from a Plan 9 BBQ, and a BigMac and fries (yes "emotional eating" for sure) tied into 5 hours of sleep, but it can be done, not recommended but possible. Lining up in the shadow of St. Louis' permanent "All Star," Stan Musial, we were getting ready to run. I had good friends along side and along the run, my best friend, my wife was waiting along the course as well. I was ready to run and feeling pretty good. After what seemed like forever, the honorary speeches were over and "Sweet Lou" fired off the air horn and we were off, kinda.

Since there were 8,000 people signed up to run/walk it was tricky to get everyone through the starting gate and it was more of a crawl than a run. However, it did start to thin out after the first 5 blocks and after the hi 5's from Fredbird there was some room to get into a little bit of a rhythm. I found a couple of army ROTC's to keep pace with and was doing alright, a little winded after the first mile but still doing alright. Grabbed a little bit of Gatorade while rounding the half way mark and thought I was making good time.

Running through the streets of St. Louis you'll never know what you're gonna see and well the next sign I saw may have been real, may have been imagined, but was in a deli for tuna or at the very least fish. I choked up. (The one food, and this may seem a little weird, that I associate with grandma is tuna salad sandwiches) I had to stop. I didn't stop completely, kept on walking at least, with the fear that I would not be able to start up again. I was able to start up, but I wasn't able to figure out my rhythm that I had through the first part. I found a second ROTC group, of Marines this time, and was determined to stick with them. I did up until about the 2.5 mile marker and then they were just too fast, Semper Fi. Second stop of the race.

I had to walk a bit just to catch my breath but a couple of other runners gave me a little push to turn the corner and I started up once again. Finally I turned the corner saw the America's Center, my wife and Michael and I was determined not to stop again, 'home' stretch. One last turn and there was Fredbird, Petey Pirate and Junction Jack, the last two being run over by runners, and "The Heat is On" blaring from the speakers. The race clock said 32 minutes. I would have to wait and see how much time it took to herd us through the starting blocks to see if I beat my time. By now my dreams of a NKR 'New Klick Record' were pretty much shattered, but I at least wanted it under 30 minutes (10 minute mile).

Luckily the "chip" time was less than the clock time and I finished in 29:08. Good enough I guess but it still leaves room for improvement. The race continues and sure enough I'll keep running it.