My run was interesting to say the least. "When am I going to run?" pretty much consumed my thoughts for a good portion of our 8 hour bus ride. Well, that and, "how do I pee in the bus' bathroom while going 70mph?" On Friday I had a small window of opportunity to run, so I took it. It was either run in the rain on Friday or run in much windier and colder temps on Saturday. Friday, while wet, was a good choice.I headed out to the Gateway Arch park and hooked up to the riverfront trail. Here's how to describe the view. Gateway Arch = cool. Anything north of the Arch = a dump. Well, they call it "industrial", I call it a dump. Not only that, but I didn't even see much of the river. I saw a helluva lot of the flood wall, but not much Mississippi River. So, a dump off to the left, a wall to the right. In the rain. With no iPod. Perfect. The only motivating part about the run was running over the Mississippi into Illinois. A multi-state run! After I ran around the "Welcome to Illinois" sign, I headed back. I didn't think being in East St. Louis was a great idea. Curiously, my splits got better at this point. All in all, it was a very wet run and my kids were in awe of me. It probably didn't hurt that I consistently told them how far I ran.
Student: Raz, I'm really tired.
Me: Really? Why's that? Did you run 13 miles in the rain into another state? Huh? Go to another session, punk.
Other St. Louis odds and ends:
- Had some high school drama right off the bat when we got to our hotel. It kind of set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Does it really matter who you room with? Tears were shed, phone calls were made to mommy and daddy. Welcome to St. Louis!!
- My kids did well. We placed in the Top 10 for the first time for Best Broadcast Program and 4 of them won individual awards. I was proud of 'em!
- There is nothing to do in downtown St. Louis. There's the arch, but by the time we got done with the conference the arch was closed. It's a nice town, but not really a hotbed of activity. This coming from a guy living in Nebraska.
- Went to a great Irish pub for some music and a Guinness. *note - the kids were at the convention's dance. It was a younger crowd, so their taste in libations was limited at best. There needs to be a law: If you're at an Irish pub, you do not order a Bud Light or shots of Goldschlager.
That's all for now. I'm glad to be back, though. I have a lot of catching up to do in the blogosphere.
13 comments:
The tears alone are the very reason I'd last .001 seconds as a teacher. That and the 8 hour bus rides with kids to exotic locals like St. Louis. :o)
Great work on the run and travel safe home!
Congrats to you & your kids! Glad they do good work & all, despite tears & calls to mommies/daddies.
Yes, congratulations. Those students must be very proud to have a teacher who's molded them into winners.
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but 12.76 miles and 13.00 miles aren't the same, right? Just wonderin'.
Now for a confession. The half marathon I ran on Saturday I assumed was suppose to be 13.1 miles. My garmin read 12.95 at the finish. And I didn't even cut into the corners on the route. Hmmm.
I honestly HAVE NO IDEA how you even do what you do. I say all the time . . .my kids are annoying enough, you can imagine how I feel about other peeps :-X Dayum they need to pay you all more.
CONGRATS to your kids ;D ;D
Topher-I'm calling it a 13 miler because my Garmin couldn't lock on until .25 miles into my run. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
Whining High Schoolers. Such drama.
Good job on the multi-stater.
Top 10! Great job on that and the 13 rainy miles.
A lot of runners were boozing this weekend. This does not shock me.
Glad you're back.
Running 13 miles over to another state does sound kinda far. Add in the rain and it's enough to impress me - and I'm a runner.
Great job to you and the kids for a Top 10 finish.
Yes, I do not envy your job...I thought teaching university labs was bad enough...good job getting your run in in the rain. I hate that!
There should be a no Bud Light law, period. But I guess there's no accounting for taste. Nice run. Congrats to you and your students.
Judging by these pictures, you and your sister...and Vanilla...look a lot alike.
Hang on - I've been to St Louis more than once. Anheuser Busch is headquartered there - it's some sort of local law that you must consume their products.
Trust me. I travelled there once with someone who drank Miller Lite. I swear to you that the bartenders and waiters washed their hands after serving him.
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