Training report from your middle-of-nowhere resident and marathan co-runner...
A lot of stuff has happened since my last blog-post. On the more noteable side, I moved to St. Louis in the end of June because my girlfriend started a new job here. I'm finishing up the job search myself...
That happens to leave a lot of time for training for marathons. And watching the noon-time local St. Louis news on the treadmill since it's too damn hot to run outside. (Those of you who remember the New York Governer's Race televised debate may remember a certain clown candidate whose platform was lowering rent in NYC....well If I were gonna found a political party, it'd be the "It's Too Damn Hot to Run Outside Party" and our platform would be air-conditioned gyms and treadmills for every American. I would hold debt-ceiling negotiations hostage for this stipulation, but that's neither here nor there).
Anyway, if you've ever looked down on St. Louis while flying high towards a bachelor party in Vegas or some other thing, and wondered what if anything you're missing, I'll recap the top three good and bad things I've learned about St. Louis in my short time here. Some is gleaned from personal experience, some from the local news.
Here goes, with both some comical and serious observations...
Top three GOOD things about St. Louis, so far:
3) Very easy to get around. This place has good roads and minimal traffic for a city of 3 million. Boring stat but important to everyday living.
2) Blatant 'homer' Cards announcers. Matt and I have an issue to resolve over my sports allegiances, and he may expound on that in some future post. But we have tentatively agreed that it is OK for me to cheer for the Cardinals and learn about them and *possibly* become loyal to them. Having 'homer' announcers helps, though I'll never understand how Bruins fans can like their color guy no matter what.
1) Everything is cheap. Really, really cheap. I can actually live here and save money for vacations or ill-conceived plans such as marathon running in other cities. Or casino trips. Suffice it to say, some smart developers basically built a casino in downtown St. Louis with a moat of Mississipi River water around/under it to get around some state gambling rules. Brilliant!!
Top three BAD things about St. Louis, so far (aside from obvious fact it is 1,000+ miles from nearest real beach):
3) This is a very small big city. People are just as likely to ask what high school you went to as any other question. This question doesn't matter in life unless you're trying to get accepted into a fraternity at a big state school. Even then...really??
2) Crappy pizza. For some reason, the locals love thin-crust pizza with some sort of citrus-y cheese. If there's a silver-lining, it's that a Chicago chain, the trendy 'Pi' restaurant, has a couple locations with deep-dish pizza. De-lish.
1) Violence. Don't look at anybody the wrong way within the city limits, it doesn't matter the time of day. You might have a bullet graze your ear, or worse.
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