20M in Forest Park
During my April trip to St. Louis I fit in a 10K race in Forest Park and was pleased to come away with a PR. Needing to get in a long run, I headed back to get in my first long effort on pavement in many months. It is one of the biggest urban parks in the country, with a 6M perimeter loop and a variety of connecting trails on the interior.
Austin’s 100+ degree days continue without a break so I was thrilled to get the chance to run outside without the heat. St. Louis had other plans and my run fell in the middle of a 3-day heat wave, with highs nearing 100 to go along with “generous” humidity. To mitigate the conditions as much as possible, I was up by 5am and on the trail at 6am. St. Louis buddy and fellow marathoner-in-training Brian Rockette dragged himself out for the early start and got me through the first nearly 7 miles, showing me the complete outer loop and bit more. Thanks Brian! That left me with about a half-marathon of miles to go, which I muddled through with the help of Ira Glass and the rest of the This American Life family.
After the hard 7M tempo run that finished about 12 hours before I started the 20M, my legs were tired throughout but I was able to get through the long run without having to dig too deep. The heat, even early in the day, wasn’t much fun and the 3:37 the run took required 10 gels, 2 Advil, and 3 salt tabs. All in all, a decent outing, and I didn’t have much post-run pain or fatigue, other than what would otherwise accompany a long run on little sleep.
Kind of Like Fun 