Day 4,372—1 Runs until the Greater St. Louis Marathon: the Course Comparison II—

 

        Yesterday I was looking at the comparison between the courses and my times. It looks like the version of the race I did first, 2010-2014, is considered to be the most difficult, while the recent versions have been the fastest. My favorite version of the race was most likely in the 2014-2018 era while the trip across the Chain of Rock Bridge in 2021 was one of the most memorable experiences. That bridge is so long and looks so rickety. I have thought about going across that bridge again on my own, and every time I do, I just feel like I found it scary when I was doing it with a bunch of people, so I haven’t worked up the courage yet. I have a healthy fear of heights, but it doesn’t significantly affect my life. In general, I like being in high places, but being on bridges that sway in the wind, with few guardrails, can be challenging.

        I am going to cut this short because I got up a little later today and am not feeling great. Last night, I stayed up too late watching the latest Ethan Coen film, “Honey Don’t.” It was not a great movie, and it was pretty upsetting to watch with disturbing depictions of violence and sex. Nothing about it seemed unintentional, and it had a great cast, and the pace was relentless. Everyone talked so quickly, like actors in 1940s movies, but it left me wondering why the Coen brothers aren’t making good movies anymore. “The Tragedy of Macbeth” was okay, but I need to rewatch it. At the time, I remember thinking it looked beautiful and the cast was excellent, but many of the choices didn’t add up to a more impactful experience. Most of the time, I was just comparing the movie to other versions of the story I had seen. I thought it borrowed most from Orson Welles's Black-and-White version.  

        This run was just survival. I am not feeling 100 percent and got up late, so I let myself go a little slower and run fewer miles. I saw a couple of raccoons this morning. They seemed like they were just kids, running across the path I was on and then hiding in the woods.