Alive and Running

Last year I ran the De Soto 5K Fall Festival race and took third place in my age group. I ran the race again Saturday, over four minutes faster than last year, but didn't bring home the hardware, finishing fourth. Though I was disappointed I didn't place --other runners I think are learning the race is a good one for picking up a trophy--I was very happy with my time. Improving by four minutes is as good as winning a trophy.

The De Soto 5K capped a busy three Saturday stretch of races. The first Saturday I ran the St. Louis Firefighters 10K, the next Saturday I ran the Run for the Hills 5k, and last Saturday I ran the De Soto 5K. I'm now a year back into serious running, and my times are starting to return to my Buffalo running days. I keep planning a trip there to run a race with some of my first running friends.

The Sunday after the Run for the Hills 5K I ran the Lewis and Clark Half Marathon in St. Charles. The route started at the Family Arena, then meandered through historic St. Charles to the Katy Trail, where we ran along the Missouri River past the arena, and finally up the Page Bridge Hill to the highway back to finish line inside the arena. The long steep Page Bridge Hill was at the 12-mile mark. As you can see in the picture to the right, I stopped momentarily to walk a few steps, but as soon as I realized the photographer was there, I ran the rest of the way up the hill. Can you believe a photographer would pick such a place to take pictures? But at the final stretch leading up to the finish line I was at full sprint.

My goal was to be ready for a marathon this fall. But I don't think that's possible. 18 miles would be comfortable. The other eight miles would be hell. So rather than being miserable, I'll continue my methodical training, adding distance, gaining a few seconds here and there, and aim for a warm weather marathon somewhere this winter.