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By BrianFlash, on March 29th, 2010
It was a big mileage weekend – two long training runs on Friday and Sunday sandwiching the Undy 5000 – the report you’ve all been waiting for!
Friday after work, I groomed the toe nails (piggie that got none on the left foot was a little short – oops) and went out for two hours of pavement pounding. It was fairly cool out and I wasn’t much interested in straying too far from home, so I literally ran on every stretch of asphalt in the area. Chesterfield Parkway – check; Baxter Road – check; Dejournet Road – check; Chesterfield Manor Drive – check; Conway Road – check; Justus Post Road – check; Chesterfield Farms Drive – check; etc. etc. Also found time to run by The Awakening twice! My Garmin GPS map is a mish-mash of lines, but I got the job done. Nearly 13 miles on a very easy run – my heart rate rarely broke 150.
Saturday morning I was scheduled to run the Undy 5000. Now, truth be told, I didn’t run in underwear, but in sleep pants. Or, what they’re known in the business, jammies. The Undy 5000 is a series of races inspired by the success of Susan G. Komen breast cancer runs that benefit Colo-Rectal Cancer Research. So, if you have a great cause and a reason to have me dress in a costume, I’m there! Here I am pre-race posing with the Siteman Cancer Center’s mascot, presumably a colon polyp:
I know, hard to believe that a colon polyp can be so lovable, but there is photographic proof. Around 1200 runners and walkers came out for the 5K and the 1 mile fun run. The course was a hilly little loop around Forest Park. Surprisingly, many of the runners sported some version of underwear. A couple examples are below:
The guy in the red shorts that say “Got Gas” has what appears to be a set of claw marks on his back. He is pretty irresistible to women in that get up, so that’s probably how he got the claw marks. The young lady in front of him has a VERY tiny bra and panties on, but she chose to put them on over her tights. Not so good for the rest of us 
This race was open to all – strollers, dogs, iPod wearing joggers, walkers, etc. Even the dogs got in the spirit of the occasion.
It was quite chilly Saturday morning. Pretty dreary and windy and a race start temperature of 44 or so. But there were a few people who braved the race with a minimum of clothing. Including a young man who started at the front of the pack wearing a tee shirt and what can only be described as a generous thong. When the gun went off, he led us out of the gate and I saw more hairy butt cheeks then I really wanted to see. Luckily it didn’t last long because he was running plenty faster then me.
A quarter mile into the race, my right shoe untied. Nice preparation for the race idiot! I had pulled the racing flats out for the first time since last fall, the same shoes that have laces notoriously known for not staying tied. So after a few second break to retie and double tie, I was off again. That little break seemed to cut into my rhythm though. I just couldn’t seem to get comfortable after that. My long slow runs are definitely taking the edge off of my speed. Of course, the two hour run the evening before, the hills and the wind didn’t really help either. Mile 1 was 7:02 (including shoe tie break) while Mile 2 was 6:51. But that was about it. I suffered thru three in 7:24.
The lightly clad winner passed the finish line in 16:59 after ditching his shirt for the last tenth of a mile. You can’t see him that clearly in the picture above, but this is a family blog – no need to show that moon up too close! Second place is the guy in black while third is in the foreground.
A group of Marines jumped into the race right before the start wearing nothing but their boxers. They acquitted themselves well, all finishing in the top 20. Here are a pair of them (mixed with some walkers on the left):
My final official standing in the race was 29th place and a time of 22:08. That’s 58 seconds slower then my PR, but probably about as good as I expected to run. However, I was robbed in the official standings. I crossed the finish line about 5 seconds or so ahead of a young lady. When she crossed, a race volunteer came up to here and said she was the first winner finisher. I turned and congratulated her on a good race, all the while thinking, “Yes! No women beat me in the race!” When the final standings came out though, my 29th place put me four places and 33 seconds behind the top finishing female. Wait a second – let’s go to the photographic evidence:
There I am in my yellow jammies, clearly leading #681, the best placed woman. This is just approaching mile 3. Check what she’s wearing – grey top and black tights. Now, in the next photo you see me at the finish line (in a gun time 22:14) and she has not reached the finish yet – that’s her behind the kid in yellow under the red flag.
The official results have her with a gun time of 21:39, chip time of 21:35. I’m probably going to file an official protest with the Undy 5000 national organizing body or the International Athletic Association Federation. Solely to make sure the integrity of the run is protected of course.
But the race itself was still very good. Lots of good snacks at the finish, vitamin water, Fiber bars, and bananas. After the race Kathy and I went over to see Jason’s new house. That was his excuse for not running – working on getting ready to move in. What a slacker.
But he made up for it on Sunday. We met at Forest Park at 8 AM for a 3.5 hour slog. Luckily, it was cold and raining the entire run. Half of each lap around the park included head winds and rain in the face. This is the kind of weather that builds character. After lap two, I told Jason that lap 3 would be my last and he accused me of being a pansy. So I stayed out there for the full 3.5 hours. I covered 21.44 miles while Jason stayed out there until he finished 22 miles. The training table was in full force, including Fig Newtons and salted potatoes. Unfortunately, the rain kind of destroyed my signage, so the publicity value was lost. I got home, took a shower, and then the sun came out for the afternoon. But I was too tired to enjoy it and just took a nap instead 
A very good 38 mile weekend!
By BrianFlash, on March 26th, 2010
No, not the study of meteors, but the prediction of weather.
I was touched by everyone’s concern for me, running in the heat of a St. Louis March. Honestly, it isn’t that bad, but my main focus was to be the first blogger of the year to complain about the heat. Mission accomplished! However, I really did change my workouts in response, leaving the hill repeats to wait until the cloudier day.
About South Africa – it is in the ‘other’ ‘other’ hemisphere so the weather there is all crazy. Going into summer here, they are heading into winter. So, the end of May there is like the end of November there. But conveniently, their winter is comparitively milder then here in St. Louis. I’ve been told to expect 45-50F at race start, warming to as high as 70F by finish. I was joking about it snowing during Comrades and the great Bruce Fordyce responded (indirectly of course – amazing how this stuff gets spread around on Facebook) that the race did have a light dusting of snow one year at the start. My Comrades running pals then accused me of jinxing the race. I’d pretty much love a 45 degree start and cloudy weather, but I’m heat acclimating as we speak so I’m ready 
The Schedule:
Tonight – 2 hours easy run after work
Tomorrow – Undie 5000. See you at the Muny at 9AM!
Sunday – 3.5 hours in Forest Park. The Team Flash training table will be set up next to the trail near the athletic fields – probably an early start. Anyone who has commented on this blog is welcome to take a treat from the table, but it would be nice if you would also give a little encouragement to one of the Team Flash members toiling around the park.
Monday – day off and full weekend report right back here on the blog.
By BrianFlash, on March 24th, 2010
Yesterday as I’m driving home from work, my luxury yacht tells me it is 68 degrees. And my eyes tell me we have a clear blue sky with only light hints of wispy clouds. How am I gonna run in that!? It’s like an oven out there. So I decide to do my recovery run instead of the normally scheduled hill repeats, even though all I’m recovering from is a day off.
So, I took off on an e a s y sixty minute run. My goal – to keep the heart rate in zone 3. The results – success! Avg HR 145, while covering 6.26 miles. Slow pace, but that’s all that my heart would take in this oppressive heat. During the run I spooked three white-tail deer. They were on the side of a subdivision hill grazing away with cars buzzing by, but it took me running by to scare them into the underbrush. Stupid deer – did they think I had a shot at catching them? The second oddity of the run was that for nearly the entire route (an out and back from my house to The Awakening), I ran by post-it notes of various colors all with ‘Prom?’ written on them. For the life of me I can’t think what this was all about, but Kathy probably guessed about right when she said, “Teenagers are insane.”
Tonight I had to pay the piper and get those hill repeats in. You know the drill, 20 minutes warm-up, 10 x 2 minute hill repeats up Mt. Flash with 2.75 minute recoveries, and a 20 minute cool down. It was as warm as yesterday, but the clouds and breeze made it feel much cooler – almost bearable. Everything was great until I reached the bottom of Mt. Flash and realized that I’d be facing a solid head wind during each repeat. Well isn’t that nice? This is the first time during my hill workout, that the wind decided to blow from the southeast. It sucked. My average up-hill pace was 7:30. Last week (when it was cool and not windy) my average pace was 7:06. But its done. Only two more hill repeat workouts on the training plan before Comrades!
Finally, the Undy 5000 is coming to St. Louis this Saturday. This series of brief races (see what I did there) is to benefit colon and rectal cancer research. While it was suggested that I participate while wearing a thong (God no – no one wants to see that) instead I’m running in my SpongeBob SquarePants jammies. They are loose fitting cotton pants so the potential for chafing is enormous! It should be quite a scene man – hopefully I can talk Kathy into coming down and taking pictures. I expect to see you all down there at the Muny upper parking lot at 9 AM!
By BrianFlash, on March 21st, 2010
The human body stores enough glycogen to power you to about 18-20 miles or so. In order to run a 56 mile race, you’ve got to take in some calories along the way. My estimate is that I need to ingest roughly 3500 calories during this run in order to keep on the road. There is no way I can eat 35 Gu packets, so I need to figure out what else I can eat and what goes down without creating any problems.
Like any race, Comrades provides food along the way. Candis, the South African author of Reluctant Runner, detailed the goods some time ago. Nothing real exotic – bananas, oranges, Gu, sodas, cookies, chocolate, and, traditionally, salted potatoes. My idea for the next seven weeks of long runs is to train to eat while running – while eating foods similar to what is available. Then we can get an idea of what we can and can’t stomach and what provides good fuel.
Saturday morning was training table long run number 1. Jason decided we needed to start early. I agreed – getting up at 5 AM provides significantly less misery then running in the rain for 3.5 hours. We did that last year in the Go! St. Louis Marathon and it sucks. Here’s the foods I was able to cobble together for this run:
No salted potatoes and I forgot the fig newtons but I also had Gu packets, sport beans, and shot bloks to fill out the training table. I brought way too much food to the park, but I thought my training table setup might lose a little food to other Forest Park runners. Because in an act of totally shameless promotion, I put the training table right next to the path and added signage to drive people to the blog. So – if you have come to the blog because you saw our training table in the park welcome!
Here’s the table and I at 6 AM Central Daylight savings time. It was freakin’ dark out there:
We set up the table and then took off. I ran with Jason using his nine minute running/one minute walking routine that he is planning to use for Comrades. We ran an eight mile loop of the Go! St. Louis course, then came back to the park. I went clockwise and Jason went anti. My goal was 3.5 hours while he was in for 20 miles. You can tell marathon season is upon us – the training teams are out and many individuals were spotted going more then one lap around. The training table was excellent. I powered down two Gatoraids, a fun sized 3 Musketeer bar, a bag of pretzels, and a soft breakfast bar. 465 calories and no food issues other then my calorie rate is a little low. That’s only about 20 calories a mile and I need to eat about 60 calories a mile. So the training has to continue!
On Sunday, I went out and did another 9.3 miles. Totally unsupported, water only, no calories. A second piece of this whole training to eat thing is not eating during ‘short’ runs. There is a theory that the glycogen storing capability of the body improves if it is trained (which makes sense). One way to train the body to use this energy more completely is to not eat during shorter runs. So, for all runs less then 18 miles or so, I’m using water only. So that becomes another way to compete with Jason – we each can brag about how long a run we’ve done totally unsupported. Right now, Jason is ahead – he’s done an 18 miler unsupported. Impressive!
By BrianFlash, on March 17th, 2010
I haven’t been tagged and I’m not tagging anyone – just sharing some oddball facts about myself. What a cheesy way to get another post out…
- It took me at least 25 years of organized baseball and softball before I finally got the career cycle (single, double, triple, homer). I was always a punch and judy hitter and never could find that home run. But during a lovely late summer day in Mexico, Missouri almost two years ago, my vintage base ball team, the St. Louis Unions took on the Graceland Ghosts. Late in the game I laced a drive (using a wooden bat hand made by my dad) between the center and right fielder with two men on. On my horse I went. I’ve got a slow horse, but the ball went far enough (assisted by the downhill slant of the outfield) to let me circle the bases. Turned out we needed those three runs, winning the game by two.
- I have a secret passion for cricket. This started when I was in the UK several years ago during test match time. The game is mesmerizing. I’ve been watching the Indian Premiere League (go Dehli Daredevils!) recently to get my fix. Good stuff. “That was a wicked googly!” Someday I’m going to find someone to let me take a turn at bat. Probably will get a golden duck.
- I’m running the St. Louis Undy 5000 in Sponge Bob Square Pants jammies on March 20. And there is very little truth to the rumor that I wear those same ‘sleep pants’ to sleep in.
- My favorite breed of dog is Great Dane. Not a real surprise since I had one for six years. Too bad they don’t really have enough energy to be good running dogs…
- I want to run the Jungfrau Marathon in Switzerland. Kathy and I have stayed in Lauterbrunnen twice and it is officially one of my favorite places (at least in the summer – the winter might be a little different). This marathon starts at Interlaken and finishes in Kleine Scheidegg, after climbing over 4500 feet in elevation over the 26 miles (most of the climb in the second half). It is unlikely I’ll set a PR. But the relaxation afterward!
- I’m 7/8 German and 1/8 French. I got all the best characteristics from the Germans and the one best characteristic you can get from the French if you know what I mean, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more!
- I still have this crazy idea about Kathy and I quitting work, moving to our farm in Southwest Missouri, building a home and barn, raising draft horses, and running a bed and breakfast. Sounds like a lot of work and not much money which is keeping me from embarking on this escapade.
- My personal best in the one mile run is 4:53. I did this 25 years ago and still can’t understand how my current personal best in the one mile run is only 6:04. I still feel like I’m 17 years old…
By BrianFlash, on March 14th, 2010
While checking out the paper for info on the St. Patty’s Day run in St. Louis, I discovered that they had run out of timing chips. For any race day registrations, no timing chip would be available. Crap – I’m all about the official time so I decided to ditch the race. The rainy coolness Saturday morning made sure I wouldn’t regret the decision. Over 11,000 runners showed up to contest the five mile race with the winner clocking 24:12. My time probably would have been approximately double that
Saturday night however, Team Flash was the proud recipient of four tickets to ‘August: Osage County’ at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. We couldn’t turn these tickets down since they were in the Fox Club, the super elite boxes reserved for the ultra cultured bourgeoisie of St. Louis. Here was our chance to rub elbows with the moneyed power in St. Louis!
We had a quick dinner at Miss Saigon and then went over to the Fox. We had a special parking spot reserved for the luxury yacht right next to the secret side entrance away from the normal play-attending rabble. One of the beauties of these seats is that you get table service in your box while watching the play. Dinner was fairly light, so I ordered a Fox platter, a plentiful array of assorted appetizers. Our drinks arrived, but the platter didn’t arrive until the house lights had dropped and the play began. It is DARK in the Fox while a play is going on. You literally could see nothing of our platter, much less the appropriate sauces provided.
I blindly reached in and grabbed what felt like a won-ton. A crunchy bite confirmed. But this thing was really crunchy. Amazingly crunchy. Each chew resounded in my head. Kathy’s glare back at me confirmed that the crunchiness wasn’t confined to my head – it rang out through the boxes. How the heck was I going to finish this lovely tidbit without disturbing our fellow attendees? I tried to hold it in my mouth, hoping that the saliva would soften it up a bit. No good – this won-ton’s crunch would not die. So I had to just crunch it down. By this time I’m pretty sure I’ve alienated all the power elites in the adjacent boxes. Needless to say, none of them stopped over during the intermission to offer us any secrets on how to join their little club.
At the first intermission, Jason gave me the won-ton eating secret. Wait until the audience laughter, then tuck in. That would have been good advice if offered sooner, but that’s the breaks. During the intermission we finally could see our food and we stepped up and finished it off. I think maybe the Fox should rethink their idea of bringing food to tables during the play – or at least deliver non crunchy alternatives.
The play was very good – it was a dark comedy about a very dysfunctional family. It lasted three hours, but moved quickly. It really wrapped you up in the story. The lead actress, Estelle Parsons, is most famous for playing Roseanne’s mom on her TV show. She’s 82 years old – she did an amazing job and it is impressive that she is performing every night at that age!
As always, Team Flash had a great time out on the town. And maybe some more culture powered its way into my sports loving brain…
By BrianFlash, on March 12th, 2010
It turns out, there is a large (10,000 runners) St. Patty’s Day run in St. Louis. Who knew? The course is a five mile loop from the site of the old Busch stadium out to the edge of Forest Park and then back.
At the last minute, Team Flash has decided to participate. I’ll be outfitted in my Team Flash jersey with a www.runningteamflash.com message pinned on the back. Jason has declared he is ‘kilting up.’ I didn’t break it to him that a kilt is Scottish but I’m guessing he will be far from the only one who sports a skirt. Kathy is also lacking in green running clothing, but she’ll make do somehow.
Since none of us has ever run a timed five miler, PRs will be run. Maybe I can find a green hat and a red beard…
By BrianFlash, on March 9th, 2010
Here’s the synopsis of my marathon recovery:
Taking a hot shower
Driving a car home for seven hours
Sleeping six hours
Working at a desk all day
Sitting on the couch after work
Sleeping six hours
Riding four hours in a car
Standing on a concrete floor all afternoon observing a manufacturing line
Sitting in a hotel room chair typing on my computer.
So far, that hasn’t really helped my legs feel better. Who’da thunk it?
By BrianFlash, on March 8th, 2010
Team Flash descended on Little Rock, Arkansas this weekend to participate in the race weekend they planned for us (race tagline – It’s a Natural). Kathy ran the 13.1 distance while Jason and I took on the 26.2. This race was a nice change from our two previous marathons – Marine Corps and Disney. There were about 5000 runners in the marathon, the half, and the relay combined so it was a relatively small race. And what a great change! The logistics for getting to the start and getting away after the race were all beautifully easy. No ridiculous crowds, no trouble parking, no heavy traffic getting to and fro. We discussed this race on the way home and it has probably moved into first place in the Team Flash favorite marathon rankings. I definitely won’t be scared of attending other smaller races if they are run anywhere near as well this one was.
There was also a refreshingly friendly attitude from pretty much everyone we interacted with during the entire trip. I’m not sure I can live among people that are this friendly, but for a visit it was enjoyable and charming. The race organizers had the same kind of attitude. They act all strict in their printed race instructions. “No iPods, strollers, dogs or you will be disqualified.” “If you are running the half or the relay you must wear this extra tag on your back or you will be disqualified.” “If you leave the course, you will be disqualified.” But in person, it is more like, “We ran out of the extra tags – you don’t need them.” “Headphones – don’t sweat it unless you are planning to win the race.”
We drove into Little Rock on Saturday and went to the expo. The expo was quite small, but we were able to stop and talk to our Comrades’ comrade, Bart Yasso. He was pretty animated talking about Comrades. His training plan differs a bit from mine though. He runs a marathon every other weekend and doesn’t run another step. He said he does a little elliptical and a little biking, but that’s it. His chronic Lyme disease forces him to train gently. Of course, on this training he is banging out four hour marathons.
After the expo, we took a look at the Clinton Presidential Library. This is an interestingly designed, non-photogenic, metallic building with a huge amount of interior space and not all that much stuff in it. But it is contemporary American history. While viewing Clinton’s Cub Scout cap and some childhood drawings Jason came to the realization that he would never be President of the United States because, “I don’t have any artifacts of when I was kid.” One of my favorite items in the entire museum was an essay written by Hillary when she was a sixth grader. She penned the classic line “I want to be either a teacher or a nuclear physics scientist.”
Post library, we checked out Central High School. This is where the confrontation between the governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus and Dwight Eisenhower played out. Federal troops were sent in after Faubus used National Guard troops to keep black students from attending the school. It seems incredible to me the President needed to use military troops on our own soil to uphold a Supreme Court decision! As an aside, the school itself is pretty impressive. It was named most beautiful high school in 1953 and I wouldn’t be surprised that it is still in the running today. They just don’t build schools like that anymore. After our sightseeing, we checked into our suburban hotel, had dinner at a local bar-b-que place, and then an early night.
On Sunday, the running gods reemphasized an ongoing lesson. Running a marathon (or even a half marathon) is very, very hard. The human body (and I) would be much happier if the marathon was 32K long.
The weather was glorious. Lightly cloudy and 47 degrees at race start. We ate breakfast in the hotel and chatted with a few other runners. One extremely nice woman (reference friendliness) gave Kathy a bracelet that got her into the post race perks tent. The main perk is a free massage but they also had special food and drinks and they treat you more like a VIP.
We drove in and were able to park for free about five blocks from the race start. I used my Disney marathon space blanket while waiting around, but didn’t really need it. It did draw a few people over to comment about the race this year. Like about how much fun the race was (the sleet in your face was fun?!) and how cold it was (right on brother). Using the porta-pots required almost no waiting and there was no crush or hurry to get to the starting corrals. Little Rock was militant (in a friendly way) about making sure you got in your correct starting corral – just another reason to love the race – they enforce the rules that make the runners’ experience better.
The confetti cannon started blowing millions of paper streamers onto the course and off we went. In short order, I caught up with the 3:40 pace team and planned on settling in for the race. The guy leading the group was an trail runner and very personable. He gave me advice on training (stay off the pavement) which I will ignore because I like the roads and he discussed strategies for running in ultras (don’t worry about the distance – just keeping moving the feet). Around mile 5, I checked my watch and noticed our last mile was a little slow. Our pacer had no worries – he said we’d get right back on and we’d be good to go. But I decided I needed to pick it up a bit. It was not very likely that I’d be negatively splitting this race due to the serious hills early in the second half of the race.
Mile 1-5: 7:53, 8:01, 8:23, 8:14, 8:43
Mile 6 the slowness continued and I thought I should pick it up a bit. So I left the comfort of the pacer behind and struck out on my own. These were pretty basic miles for me. I just ran and tried to keep a reasonable pace going. Part of our course took us up a nice little rise to the capital building and then in front of the governor’s mansion. It turns out, the governor was out front waving to the runners! I didn’t recognize him, but that’s pretty cool.
Miles 6-10: 8:33, 8:24, 8:15, 8:21, 8:16
At this point, I interrupt this race report to report that the first 6.66 miles of this marathon are my official entry in the “Global Warming, My Ass!* 6.66 Mile Run” sponsored by Razz. Those were my fastest 6.66 miles of the run – my time was 55:20. I assumed that during mile 7, I ran with perfect pacing so I multiplied my time for that mile by .66 and added to the remainder in order to calculate my time. I’m super good with math like that.
Right around mile 11 or so, I heard someone behind me tell a fellow runner that they were trying to ‘keep up with that guy.’ Meaning me. The runner caught up to me and I made a throwaway comment about how I hadn’t lost her yet. She answered emphatically, “No way!” So we starting chatting a bit. Turns out Jennifer was going for her Boston qualifying time (3:45). My pace was a bit faster then that, but she kept up and we chatted on and off for a couple miles. At the half way point, I broke the electronic tape at 1:49:38, 22 seconds ahead of 3:40 pace. I was still feeling pretty good – good enough for me to jokingly ask a group of spectators how many runners were ahead of me. They responded with the morale draining “A lot!” I started girding my loins for the advertised hills. It didn’t take long to find them. Whoa! It turns out there were only two of them. The first began at 13.5 miles or so and was fairly short. But it was immediately followed by the second hill that went on for over a mile. It curved around, so you couldn’t see the top of the hill. Jennifer told me to go on ahead somewhere near the end of this hill. Hey, it wasn’t like I was holding up – I just couldn’t run any faster! But I did push just a bit harder thinking that as soon as I got over this bump in the road everything would be OK.
Miles 11-15: 8:15, 8:11, 8:24, 8:34, 8:39
So with two miles of up hill done, you’d think the downhill would also be two miles or so. Well, you’d be wrong. The course jammed all the downhill into a short half mile stretch. That baby was steep! So now I have just a hint of what I’m facing in the second half of Comrades – going down steep hills after running 30+ miles. Adding insult to injury, here comes the 3:40 pace team. Team might be a little too strong a description at this point. The entire group consisted of the pacer and two other guys, one of which sported a running shirt with “Finish Strong” on the back. They were flying down the hill, so I latched on. When we reached the bottom of the hill, I expected them to pull back to an 8:20 pace again, but no. We kept cruising at a very quick sub 8 pace. It didn’t take long for them to lose me. Off they went down the road. I did what I could to keep up a decent pace thru mile 18, but that was pretty much it. After that it was all about damage control as fatigue rapidly set in.
Miles 16-20: 8:29, 8:09, 7:53, 8:42, 9:13
The course headed northwest to the turnaround point. When the heck were we going to turn around? I passed a single volunteer at mile 20 ringing her cow bell and still we ran further from the start of the course. Finally, I got to the turnaround point. Less then 100 meters from the turnaround, I see Jennifer coming up to the turn. She gave me a quick lie “You’re looking good” but I’m sure she was thinking, “I’m getting ready to bury this dude.” That was no lie – she caught me around mile 22 or so. And my bonk was complete – mile 22 was my last sub 10 minute mile. At mile 23, a guy asked how we (he and I) were doing. I told him I wasn’t doing very well. But his goal for the race was less then four hours and I said that it was in the bag – we’d only have to do 13 minute miles to beat that. We then approached an overpass. I walked and he ran away from me. Then another overpass and more walking by me. Those last couple miles were hurtful. Near the end of the race a runner/walker asked me if I was the sole member of Team Flash. Perfect opening to promote the blog! And a great excuse to walk a bit further. But I finally sucked it up and ran to the finish.
Miles 21-26.39: 9:17, 9:28, 10:44, 10:19, 11:35, 13:33, 10:33
Final time – 3:56:31, new personal record by 10 minutes! So I am able to move up one more corral for Comrades. Because running a marathon is very hard, I didn’t get my goal, but I did have significant improvement. Team Flash as a whole was disappointed with their efforts – Kathy did the half in 2:23 and Jason completed the marathon 11 seconds under five hours. He was greeted by Bart Yasso at the finish though – after Bart finished the marathon, he started his public address announcing of the finishers and greeting them as they came in. I found out later that Jennifer did get her Boston qualification time (3:44:51), coming in 9 seconds early. Now that is a plan executed – great job!
Kathy got her post race massage while waiting for us to finish. We all got our free food and sat for a while commiserating about the course and our difficulties on it. Literally, my only complaint about the entire race experience is that they handed out cups of water and Gatorade at the finish instead of bottles and when you exited the food area you couldn’t get back in. And I really could have used some more liquid while waiting around. But that is an unbelievably nitpicking complaint about a race that was really stellar in almost every way. I could easily see me running this race again and again.
One last thing – Little Rock’s medal is impressive. In fact, they advertise the biggest marathon medal in the business. I was completely shagged out when I got to the finish and one of the volunteers put this dinner plate around my neck. Frankly, I thought it might cause me to fall over! But I stiffened up and made it out of the finisher area where I promptly collapsed on the grass. Here’s the medal (with my hand to help show scale):
By BrianFlash, on March 4th, 2010
The most popular running location in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area has to be Forest Park. This large green space in St. Louis in the place to be, hosting large numbers of runners nearly all the time. Also, it seems that every running group hosts either races or training events there. There are many different trails and roads spread throughout this two square mile haven. Jason is the resident Team Flash expert on these trails since he runs on them almost exclusively, but the rest of Team Flash joins him at times, particularly for the longer weekend runs. One of the most popular routes is the trail that roughly follows the park perimeter; that’s the one that Team Flash wears out on those long runs. Picture quality is due to the throwaway camera provided by Disney
We typically meet at the History Museum and then make the fateful decision – clockwise or counterclockwise. I think clockwise is easier, but the last time Jason and I ran the trail, we went anti, so that’s the direction I’m taking you. The trail starts flat and straight paralleling Lindell Boulevard. This stretch was ‘The Pike’ when the World’s Fair was held in Forest Park in 1904. All the food and amusement booths were along this stretch. The clockwise runners frequently use this stretch for speed work because it is straight, flat, near the end of their run, and a great place to impress the babes. So you’ll see people just flying along here. I always justify their speed by saying very quietly to myself, “They haven’t run 14 miles today so that’s why they are so fast.”
  At the Lindell/Skinker intersection, the path takes a sharp turn to the south and follows Skinker Boulevard. This is my favorite street name in St. Louis for obvious reasons. The trail continues nice and flat, but that is deceiving. In short order you come to the hill. This is a nice incline, about 1/3 mile long and 3.5% grade. At the bottom of the hill, you can take the Jason detour which heads you around the Art Museum. This adds about 1.5 miles to the route and forces you to climb the hill twice. We’ll be taking advantage of this extension frequently in April.
After cresting the hill, you are treated to a shot of Americana – the largest Amoco sign in the world. I estimate this baby is 30 feet high from bottom of ellipse to top of ellipse, but it might be taller then that. Of course now it is over a BP station, but there you go. The trail then heads back east. This is the rolling hill portion of the trail and the section that goes thru some forested areas. This is very nice in the summer – providing a nice break from the sun. After running by the St. Louis Zoo (one of the last big zoos to offer free admission) you go thru the newly installed tunnel under Hampton Avenue (sorely needed – this was about the only spot where cars threatened pedestrians regularly. Then you pass Aviation Fields, a set of sports fields and approach a fairly nondescript building hosting the St. Louis Police Mounted Unit Division. This building may hold horses now, but it was originally built as a hanger for an airfield. Trivia Fact: The first US president to fly in an airplane, Teddy Roosevelt, took off and landed from this very spot! Now the distinctive roof line of the St. Louis Planetarium comes into view. This entire section of the route is up and down rollers, so the pain sometimes cancels out the nicety of the scenery.
Time to head back north. There is a statue of a Tyrannosaurus Rex taking on a Triceratops just past the planetarium. Then the path goes past the public fishing ponds and the Steinberg Ice Rink. Even in the winter, I see people fishing there, but I never see anyone actually landing a fish. Maybe the act of fishing is the fun, not actually hauling in lunch (not that I’d eat a fish out of a pond in the middle of an urban area). In the winter when the ice rink is in operation, you get the sweet melodies of calliope music. Then the trail curves back to the west. This part of the trail is back on the flat again, going past a statue and cannon, the Park Visitor’s Center, and then back to the History Museum. 5.7 miles done!
The trail is separated in most places featuring both a wheels path and a foot path. The footpath is mostly tightly packed crushed gravel, but is paved in some places. During winter thawing, everyone heads to the wheels path to stay dry and the Lancers find a different place to ride. There is a ton of traffic going both directions on the trail so personal safety (at least in the day) is not an issue. You will often see training groups out running – everyone from local high school and college runners (I was chicked by an entire college cross country team last fall, but they probably hadn’t just finished running 12 miles) to the TNT folks and the Fleet Feet training teams. The visitor’s center provides all weather bathrooms and water fountains, but scattered around the trail are water fountains and bathrooms available when the weather warms. No need to carry water if you don’t want to. Also, when St. Louis starts heating up, a local fitness shop will show up and hand out Gatorade or its equivalent.
This trail has almost everything you would want in a normal (non adventure) type path. There is a bit of construction at the moment around the zoo which is forcing the wheels and feet people together, but it is for a good cause – separate paths all the way around. Nice varied terrain that helps you keep from getting bored and lot’s of options for route extensions. Team Flash rating – four and ½ feet on the five feet scale. No question, the best path to run on in the St. Louis metro area.
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