On November 8th, I ran
the MO’ Cowbell Marathon in St. Charles, MO.
I chose this race so I could try for a second Boston qualifier in
Missouri. It’s one of four states I needed
to complete a second circuit of BQs in every state.
My last race didn’t
exactly inspire confidence. I’m capable
of running fast enough for a BQ, but it takes my best effort and a relatively
flat course. This race has an easy
enough course, but I still needed to pace myself well.
I also had to avoid
bathroom stops. That’s easier said than
done. For the last 20 months, I’ve been
taking a medication that affects my digestive system. Sometimes, I’m OK. Other times, I have problems as soon as I
start running. Thankfully, I didn’t have
any issue in this race.
St. Charles is in the
greater St. Louis area. I flew to St.
Louis Saturday morning and arrived just before lunch. After a fast-food lunch stop, I drove to the
ExMo’, which was on a college campus in Cottleville.
Packet pickup ended at 3
PM. That’s awfully early for people who
are flying in from out of state. I was
able to get there early in the day, but I knew some runners coming from
California who couldn’t count on getting there in time. I picked up their race packets in addition to
my own.
The race shirt was a
thick hooded sweatshirt with a zipper and pockets. I get a lot of T-shirts, so it’s nice when I
can get something different.
After Sally and Dawn
dropped by to pick up their race packets, I went out for an early dinner at a
pizzeria that was walking distance from my hotel.
I was able to get to
sleep early, but I only slept for half the night. Then I woke up and couldn’t get back to
sleep. At 5:00, I finally got up, so I
could take my time getting ready.
Despite the relative lack of sleep, I felt OK. My hotel started their breakfast service at
6:00, so I was able to eat a light breakfast.
The race started at the
north end of Frontier Park. From my
hotel, it was a little more than a mile away.
The race started at 7:30, but for people driving and parking, they
recommended arriving before 6:30. I
chose to walk.
I found the weather to be
challenging. On one hand, the overnight
low was in the mid-30s, and it was still be in the 30s when I left the
hotel. I was going to be outside for a
long time before the race, so I needed to dress warm enough. I have circulation issues, and if my legs get
too cold for too long, the blood vessels begin to constrict. On the other hand, it was going to warm into
the upper 50s by the time I finished, so if I dressed for 30s, I would get hot
as the temperature climbed into the 50s.
I packed multiple
clothing options, so I could make a last-minute decision on race morning. I went with the cheetah outfit. That’s my warmest pair of tights, and the hat
is warmer than it looks. I also had a
Tyvek jacket that I could wear until I got warmed up enough to take it off and
tie it around my waist.
I tried to time my
arrival to give me just enough time to get to my start corral. That way, I wouldn’t need to make a bathroom
stop in the start area. I ended up
getting to the start area quicker than I expected. The bathrooms lines weren’t too long, so I
made a last-minute bathroom stop after all.
It might not have been necessary, but it gave me peace of mind.
My goal was 4:05, which
is the qualifying standard for my age group.
I needed an average pace of about 9:20 per mile. As I worked my way through the start corrals,
I noticed they had pace groups. That was
a pleasant surprise, as the race website didn’t mention anything about them.
I spotted a 4:00 pace
group for the marathon and a 2:00 pace group for the half marathon. They were lined up together. I lined up right behind them.
After we got started, I
could still see the 2:00 pacer, but I no longer saw the 4:00 sign. I’m not sure what happened to the 4:00
pacer. A 2:00 half marathon is the same
pace, so it didn’t matter too much.
When I looked at the
elevation profile, I didn’t notice any hills in the early miles. It was a big wake-up call when we made our
first turn and started up a steep hill.
This hill was only one
block long, but it forced me to drop back from the pace group. I ran up the hill at my own pace, but I fell
way behind the group.
After the course leveled
out, I got back to my previous pace. I
could see the group ahead of me. I was
running the same pace as them, but I was following at a distance.
Soon, we turned and ran
down a steep hill. Without even trying,
I caught up to the group again.
Another runner asked the
pace leader what pace he was running. He
said 9:05 per mile. The pace he actually
needed to average was 9:09, but he wanted to get a little ahead of schedule, so
he could give some time back later in the race.
I knew there was a long gradual hill at around 10 miles. I assumed he wanted to be able to go slower
there.
His pace was 15 seconds
faster than my target pace, so I didn’t know if it was a good idea to stay with
the group. I was originally only
planning to run with them for the first mile.
The pace felt sustainable when we weren’t going uphill, so I continued
to run with the group.
By the end of the third
mile, I was starting to feel perspiration under my jacket. I got a little bit ahead of the group, and
then I took it off and tied it around my waist.
I assumed that would slow me down, but it didn’t. I was still in front of the group.
By now, we were far
enough out of town that we were surrounded by farmland. We were at the northernmost edge of the
course. Over the next few miles, we came
back into town.
Miles six through eight
were a lollipop (i.e. an out-and-back section with a loop at one end). This were the first place where I saw faster
runners coming back on the other side of the street.
The aid stations all had
water and Gatorade. Some also had
gels. They usually had tables on both
sides of the street. At some aid stations,
volunteers standing in front of the tables were handing out cups of water or
Gatorade. At others, they put the cups
on the tables, and we needed to grab them as we ran by. There was one aid station, in the middle of
the lollipop, where volunteers came out to the middle of the street to hand
cups to us. I was able to drink at this
aid station without slowing down.
I’m assuming the pace
group slowed down a little at that aid station, because I got out in front of
them again. For the next several miles,
I was running on my own.
I paid close attention to
my pace. I was continuing to run miles
in 9:04 or 9:05, so I knew I wasn’t getting too far ahead of the group.
One thing that stood out
at this race was how everyone else seemed to stay in one lane all the time,
even though the road was closed to traffic.
Going around turns, I did my best to run the tangents. Nobody around me seemed to be making any
effort to do that.
After the lollipop
section, we made a right turn. Everybody
in front of me went all the way to the far lane before turning. I angled across the street more gradually. After the race, Sally mentioned to me that
she had the same experience. She was
running the tangents, but most people around her weren’t.
Through the first eight
miles, my pace was consistent. In mile
nine, I slowed down. The last part of
that mile was slightly uphill, but I think I slowed down mostly because I allowed
myself to relax a little. I was still
going faster than my target pace of 9:20, and I was still ahead of the 2:00
group.
Early in mile 10, I
turned a corner and saw a long hill in front of me. It was gradual, but it was uphill as far as I
could see. I knew this hill was coming. It was the only hill that stood out to me
when I looked at the elevation profile.
I picked up my effort a
little as I made my way up the hill.
Mile 10 was faster than mile nine, although it was still slower than all
the previous miles.
Going up that hill, I
felt like I was working up a sweat. I
finally took off my gloves.
The next mile started out
uphill, but we eventually crested the hill and started running downhill. I sped up quite a bit in that mile, even
though the first part was uphill. Mile
12 was even faster. That was my fastest
mile of the race.
Now we were coming back
into the downtown area. Halfway through
mile 13, I recognized the street we were on.
When I saw people ahead of me turning a corner, I realized we were going
to go back up a steep hill that we had run down earlier.
I was on a good enough
pace that I could afford to slow down going up this hill. I ran according to my effort and didn’t worry
about losing time.
I was about half a block
into the hill when I heard the 2:00 pace leader telling his group about the
hill. This were about to turn the
corner.
I was still ahead of the
group after the hill, but they eventually caught up to me when we came back
downhill. They were almost done with the
half marathon, and they were making their final push.
Just before 13 miles, the
people running the half marathon turned right to run to the finish line in
Frontier Park. Those of us doing the
marathon continued running straight for one more block before turning onto a dirt
and gravel trail that went closer to the river.
At the halfway mark, I
was on pace to finish in 3:59. My goal
was still 4:05. Finishing in four hours
would be nice, but I didn’t know if my current pace was sustainable for 13 more
miles.
There were fewer runners
around me now, but they seemed to be running a consistent pace. For the time being, I made a point of keeping
up with the runners right in front of me.
Now, I was averaging about 9:10 per mile, which would still be fast
enough to break four hours if I didn’t slow down at all. To break 4:05 and get a BQ, I could afford to
slow down to about 9:30 per mile.
I was getting splits from
my watch way before I reached the mile markers.
Every few miles, I checked my total elapsed time as I reached a mile
marker. At 15 miles, I was about two and
a half minutes ahead of schedule for a 4:15 finish.
After passing the 15-mile
banner, I noticed there was a 24-mile banner on the other side of the
trail. That’s when I realized the second
half of the race was going to be a long out-and-back. A couple minutes later, I saw the lead
runners coming back on the other side of the trail.
My focus now was getting
to the turnaround point. For the next
couple of miles, I continued to run at the same pace.
I soon realized that I
was running into the wind now. It wasn’t
a strong wind, but the pace felt somewhat more tiring. The good news is that the headwind kept me
nice and cool. I was dressed warm, so I
was worried I would start getting hot in the second half of the race.
Just past 17 miles, I
reached a point where runners coming back were still on the dirt trail, but the
runners who were outbound turned to leave the trail and run along the shoulder
of a road. Here, it was slightly
uphill. This hill wasn’t nearly as long
as the one in mile 10, but it slowed me down.
Worse yet, it made my legs sore, even though I wasn’t pushing to stay on
the same pace.
I thought we were done
with the hill when we turned onto another road, but that road was still
slightly uphill for another block. Then,
finally, we turned onto a trail that took us toward a bridge over the Mississippi.
Because of those hills,
mile 18 was my slowest of the race. I
slowed to 9:37 in that mile. That might
still be fast enough for a 4:05 finish, but I definitely wasn’t going to finish
in four hours. Now that I knew that, I
could focus on the more important goal.
At the 18-mile banner, I
did another time check. Over the
previous three miles, I gave back four seconds, but I still had a cushion of
almost two and a half minutes.
I was no longer running
into the wind, which was a relief. With
the wind at my side, I still felt relatively cool.
The bridge over the
Mississippi was long, but relatively flat.
I was still on this bridge when I saw a pace group coming back. It was the 3:30 group.
Dawn was a few minutes
ahead of that group. She knew what I was
wearing, so she easily spotted me. I was
watching my footing, so I didn’t notice when she went by.
When I came off the
bridge, I started down a cloverleaf ramp that took me under the bridge. I knew I’d eventually have to come back up
that ramp. I wasn’t looking forward to
that.
After crossing under the
bridge, I had to come back uphill briefly, but that wasn’t as bad as I thought
it would be. Then I continued east
through Maryland Heights.
I heard someone going the
other way call my name. I didn’t look up
in time so see her, but it was Sally, who also easily recognized me in my
cheetah outfit.
I’m not sure if it was
before or after Sally that I saw the 3:45 pace group coming back. That gave me a better feel for how far it was
to the turnaround.
In mile 19, I sped up to
8:55. I was trying to pick up the pace
after a slow mile, but I was surprised to speed up that much. That was my fastest mile of the race, and it
made me wonder if a four-hour finish was still possible.
When I reached the
turnaround, my focus changed to getting back to the bridge. Before I got there, I reached the 20-mile
mark. I figured out that I would need an
average pace of 9:00 per mile to finish in four hours. I was getting weary enough that I doubted I
could hold that pace for one mile. I
definitely couldn’t do it for 6.2. On
the other hand, the pace I needed for 4:05 was almost a minute slower. I kept that in mind when I ran back up the
ramp to get onto the bridge again.
When I crossed this
bridge for the first time, it seemed flat.
In this direction, it seemed like the first half of the bridge was
slightly uphill. My pace now was just
under 9:30. I worked hard to keep from
slowing down any more. The good news is
that the wind was still keeping me cool.
That wouldn’t be the case for too much longer.
After the bridge, we
began a long descent into the river valley.
It was long enough to include a couple switchbacks. I was happy to know that we would never have
to run this in the uphill direction.
That downhill segment was
easy, but I didn’t speed up at all. I
had settled into a pace of about 9:28 per mile.
That was fast enough.
Now, the wind was at my
back, but there were enough trees around us that I didn’t feel it yet. I also had shade, so I still wasn’t getting too
hot.
With about three miles to
go, we came out closer to the road. In
theory, having the wind at my back should’ve made the pace feel easier, but a
tailwind doesn’t do anything to cool you down.
I was exposed to the sun now, and that made me feel hot. I was lucky to make it this far before
warming up this much. With just a few
miles to go, I could tough it out.
I did another time check
at 24 miles. My cushion was now less
than two minutes, but I only had 2.2 miles to go. I could afford to slow down significantly,
but I was determined to hold my current pace.
With two miles to go, I
could see the Ameristar Casino/Resort.
It’s by far the tallest building in the river valley. By the time I got there, I could look to the
other side of the road and see my hotel, which was at the top of a hill.
I actually sped up in
mile 25, but I couldn’t sustain that effort.
Now, I just did the best I could.
I was fatigued, my legs were sore, and I was getting hotter by the minute.
As we retraced our route
through Frontier Park, we had to go past the finish line. We had to continue to the northern end of the
park before making a U-turn and approaching the finish line on the road. When I was within sight of the line, I was
tempted to sprint to the finish, even though it would only save a second or
two. Then I remembered that I would
still need to walk back to my hotel after the race.
I kept up a consistent
pace to the finish line. I finished in 4:03:51. That was good enough for a BQ.
The finisher medal design
reflects the fact that this is the 15th year this race has been held. It includes a small spinner. One side has the name of the race. The other side has a cow.
At least three volunteers
in the finish area offered me water. I
declined, so I could have better beverages.
I eventually drank some chocolate milk.
I also picked up some cookies and some Cheez-Its.
I made my way to the
results tent, where I found out I placed second in my age group. The age group awards were cowbells.
I met up with Sally and
Dawn in the finish area. They also
placed in their age group, so we all went home with cowbells.
The three of us were
hanging out in the beer garden until Sally and Dawn needed to leave to check
out from their hotel. I left as well,
before my legs got too stiff. I still had
to walk a mile to get back to my hotel, and the last part of that was uphill.
Every part of this race was a success. I got my second BQ for Missouri, I won an age group award, and I didn’t have to make any bathroom stops. Now it’s time to get some dinner.
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