Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis – DONE!

We now take a short break from National Stroller Running Day talk to give you a racing update!  Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis was this weekend and it couldn’t have been better.

I was a littler nervous because the weather has been pretty sketchy these days and I haven’t run as much as I would’ve liked but there was no other option.

Rock ‘n’ Roll made a St. Louis a remix challenge site meaning that that they added a 5K on Saturday.  After some fun at the Got Chocolate Mill Booth and all the rest of the expo fun, which E and I hit on Friday (I’ll tell you more about Friday in a separate post), I prepped for the race.

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Had some fun with my little man at the #rnrstl expo. I guess he was not as impressed. #teamchocolateMilk #finishstrong

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Race morning came at 6:00 am when my alarm went off and I started to mentally prepare to go after a PR even though I knew this course was pretty hilly.  As I was getting my hair tied back, a blearied eye toddler came in, it took one glance at my running gear to know where I was sneaking off too.  He quickly perked up and begged to go “racing with mama”.  I would’ve loved to tell him no but it was his birthday so I couldn’t.  I shifted gears and realized it was going to be some quality time spent together (and the stroller was already in the car).

I’m pretty sure we were the only stroller there but it didn’t matter, we held our own.  E even got his own medal!  I don’t even know what our finishing time was, I guess I should look.  It doesn’t matter we had fun, the hills did stink but the down hills were fun, I got a lot of “Wees” and “Go Faster Mama” so I pushed it as hard as I could, just to make the birthday boy happy.

Sunday morning brought crisper weather so I knew I needed to dress warm.  Mentally, I wasn’t all that excited about the race.  I knew I would probably be running alone which is NO fun but I knew I needed to do it.  After checking my gear at the VIP tent, I headed to the starting line.  I did end up seeing lots of friends. 

This course is so beautiful, it really is.  St. Louis has so much to offer runners, there is so much architecture and just amazing hidden gems that you will only see running this town.  It is, by far, my favorite course.  If you ever want to run here, pick this race! 

My pace was set from the beginning and I kept it consistent, it was easy, manageable and dare I say enjoyable?! I just got lost in the neighborhoods.  I live in this city, I knew these neighborhoods but I see something new every time.  Was it a PR?  No, but I’m not really into PR’ing halfs.  I just enjoy the distance. 

After the race, I was pretty tight and hungry so I was happy to be in the VIP tent where I could get a massage and some amazing food, not to mention some pretty good drinks.

 After enjoying some amazing mac ‘n’ cheese, veggies and an amazing brownie, I HAD to snap a picture before heading out.

A great day to race and a great result!  I’m feeling pretty good and ready to Rock Rock ‘n’ Roll Los Angeles next weekend.  I’ve never done back to back halfs so this is gonna be exciting. 

How was your weekend?  Looked like lots of races going on.  Did you race?  How did you do?