Hello from St. Louis!

I'm in the mid-west!  Let me catch you up on all things St. Louis.

I've been here since Sunday afternoon for the USDLA conference and thought I should update you on my running.  Conferences always put a crimp in workout time, and knowing that Mondays are always my long run days (because I don't have to start work until noon), I knew this Monday would be a challenge.  You might recall that last week I set a new one-day non-stop record with 17 miles.  Had I been home on Monday of this week, I would've been shooting for 18 miles without stopping.  Well, I wasn't home, and I didn't get my 18 miles in.  However, I'm proud to say that I did get in 16 miles on Monday...but not in one shot.  

The 2.9 miles came from a 6am group run that's a tradition at the conference.  It was fun but was more of a social gathering than a true "run" for me.  I hope I wasn't rude, but when we got back from the run, I hung around for a few minutes, chit-chatted, and then said "goodbye" so I could go out & get a few more miles in at a more "me" pace.  That was the 3.1 mile segment.  Alright, 6 miles done before breakfast; not bad, but I'm not done yet!  Sessions got over at 4pm, and nothing was really on the schedule until 7pm, so I figured I could get in a good 6, 7, or 8 more miles.  Check out this snapshot of the afternoon weather in St. Louis on Monday.

I know, I know...hot & sunny.  I should be in "heaven," right?!  Well, I did 6.5 miles, walked a bit, and then did 3.5 more to get up to 10.  Got 16 miles done that day over the course of 4 runs.  Not too shabby.

Today, Tuesday, was a "no run" day.  I don't particularly like those days, but I know my muscles & bones do.  It's important to have rest days, even if I'd rather be doing something active.  In the sense of full disclosure, though, we did walk a lot at the St. Louis zoo and to dinner at Pappy's Smokehouse.  Speaking of dinner, enjoy this small slice of food porn.

Yum!  Pulled pork, a vinegar-based slaw, and some delish potato salad.  The slaw was so-so, but the rest of it was super!

So the plan for tomorrow is to hit the hotel gym early, get some speedwork done, attend a few conference sessions, head home, and get another run in once I get settled.  It won't be a 3-run day tomorrow, but maybe I'll make up for that on Friday.  We'll see...