I started off OK, planning to do a .75mi run/.25mi walk combo through the first 10 miles or so and then go from there. This combo had worked well on my long runs so I was pretty sure it would work for me today. Unfortunately the lack of sleep and poor eating (both Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning) made for some rough times. I knew I was going to be in trouble when my stomach started growling at about the 1 mile mark (OK, now it's going to accept food when I'm in the middle of a race?!) I had my Gatorade with me so sipped on that hoping it would help. I also took one of my gels a little earlier than I had planned.

I got through about 6.5 miles doing my run/walk combo before things started to get hard. I ended up walking most of mile 7 and then started back with the run/walk but the ratio had dropped to about 50/50. It was also starting to get a little warm at this point. The temp wasn't too high but the sun was out and there wasn't much shade on that part of the course. Once you get across the bridge over the MO river, you're at about the 8 mile mark and make a right turn to do a 3 mile loop and then the last 2 miles go through downtown St Charles back to the riverfront where the finish is. I thought if I could make it through that 3 mile loop, I could easily finish the last 2 miles to the end. I stopped trying to time my run/walk intervals and just ran when I could and walked when I needed to. The frustrating thing was that my legs were feeling fine, no cramping or anything like that (just a few hot spots on my feet), I just had no energy at all. I could have very easily just laid down in the middle of the road and took a nap. I managed to get through the loop and was headed back toward the finish line. There were a lot of spectators out on the course during the last 2 miles and that helped a lot. I borrowed a little of their energy to get me through the end of the race. The best part of the whole course was right after the 13 mile marker. There were a bunch of guys there handing out little 5 oz cups of beer to the runners. I happily accepted one and it tasted good! I ran across the finish line, got my medal and went to find food.

Sleep and eat better the 2 days before the race!

Found the food tent and got a granola bar, some cinnamon bread and water. They also had cookies, fruit and frozen banana ice cream bars. Picked up my drop bag and found a place to sit and stretch before heading over to the shuttle bus to take me back to my car. Went home and took a 2 hour nap.


Not enough long runs. I had been dealing with some shin splint issues off and on over the summer and didn't do as many long runs as I should have.