Ahhhhh, home

I had one of those weekends that, despite the travel involved, didn't feel like it went by too quickly. Sure, I would have loved to spend a few more days at home in St. Louis, especially today attending the Cards home opener with the rest of my siblings but overall, it was good and fun and full.   One of the elements about life in St. Louis that always has me wondering if I could go back is that you end up driving a lot of places.  Mostly because everything is so spread out and there aren't a ton of mass transit options, although Metro Link has done wonders for the city thus far.  I've become accustomed to not having a car and walking most places when a subway or bus isn't required.  In fact, I prefer walking most of the time.  And so I was especially excited that upon arriving on Friday, auto transportation was not an issue... the sisters and I walked up to a local bar & restaurant to inquire about a softball team sponsorship and ended up enjoying a few drinks and some dinner there.   We then walked over to little bro's place which is a convenient handful of blocks from there.   I almost felt like I was back in NYC  :)  Tim's place is awesome b/c it's so close and we have a million memories there as it used to be the home of my aunt and uncle.   It also boasts a sweet yard with a cool fire pit and hot tub ...and, as you can see, some nice custom touches.

Saturday morning we headed out to cheer on mom and dad walking a 5K in Forest Park as part of the Go St. Louis!  marathon weekend events.   They were both looking very chipper and strong and even stopped to give us some serious running poses... dad's words were "get low"  hahahaha...

Beth, Erika, Monika & I walked in the last 1.1 miles with them and rewarded ourselves with breakfast at the pancake house.  YUM!   After a visit to the expo and a short run we were enjoying some of my favorite pizza and making plans for the next morning. 

Sunday morning came way early and after debating how I'd get my needed miles in and trying to see some of the STL HM as well, I had a plan.  Dad, our designated drop-off driver (DDD), left us near the starting line to the STL marathon, half-marathon and relay events... we checked bags, hit the porta-potties and lined up.  A gorgeous day was unfolding.  Soon enough the anthem was sung and the gun went off.  Erika and Beth were just behind Monika & I as we settled into a nice comfortable pace.  I planned to run the first 10 miles with Monika and when she turned around to head towards the finish line of the HM I would stick with the full peeps and get a few more miles in with them before leaving the race course altogether.   It was a great way to run 22.25 miles and not be solo the entire time.  And it all turned out quite well although the temps were a wee bit warmer than I would have liked, they didn't hurt too much.  Thoughts about the run:

• I should have drank more earlier, I was carrying my hand held and didn't want to run out of liquids before I found a water fountain in the park.  Around mile 16 I felt a little overheated but probably could have avoided this with more liquids earlier
• Fueling during the run was spot-on, fueling the two days before were notsogreat
• I really enjoyed the relative quiet after splitting off from the HM peeps near mile 10, running along Forest Park Pkwy under Kingshighway was a nice break and really reengaged me
• Although I was technically a bandit to the race (though I didn't take any gel, water or gatorade from the aid stations) all of the volunteers were extremely supportive and helpful - this event is organized very well!
• It was fun to start the run downtown, take in a ton of local scenery and end up running right back to my parent's house

With just about a half a day left until I boarded my plane back to NYC, the family and I wasted no time in cooking up some good eats, playing a bit of outdoor beer pong and enjoying both individual cupcakes and an awesome cupcake cake made by mom to celebrate Erika's b-day... (that's red velvet for those interested)

And that brings both my weekend and another week of training to an end.  With less than 3 weeks until the IL Marathon I ended Sunday with my highest weekly mileage ever, 75.1 miles!   Time to back off now, rest as much as possible and keep myself strong and healthy.   Thanks for the wonderful times Pfeiffers!!!