Racin' in N'Orleans

Hi gang, Just in from New Orleans! Tom and I headed down there (flying through Chi-town *just* before the storm shut the place down) Saturday evening as he was running the marathon (his first in 13 years) and I was running the 5k and support crew.

PRE-RACE: Turns out there is a major medical conference in town this week and we got stuck waiting in line with all of them for a shuttle. Didn't get into the hotel 'till late. Tom discovered his Garmin batteries were dead & I decided I was hungry so we wandered into our fairly sketch-o-rific neighborhood (north on Canal Street) to find both. Found a Walgreens and stocked up on H20, granola bars, batteries, and gummy Curious Georges. After all that it was after 9 so we decided to order in... Dominos it is. Crashed on a full stomach.

RACE DAY: Alarm went off at 5am and we crawled out and got gear ready. Since we had arrived late we still had to go pick up our packets (which woulda freaked ME out big time had I been doing a marathon... but my man's from Hawaii and totally a *no problem* type). So- out the door to the Superdome in the pitch black. They were still just setting up the start/finish line when we got there. We got our bright purple mardigras race t-shirts (cotton short sleeve for me/high-tech long sleeve but one size too small for him and the half-marathoners). Tom realized he didn't have his knee band so we decided to go back to the hotel since there was still an hour till the marathon/half marathon start. Ran back from the hotel and stretched, people watched near the start. It was chilly but nothing like WINTER like where we'd come from. Tom was having issues getting hooked up with a satelite for his Garmin and was lucky the start was a bit late. And then at a little after 7am they were off!! Between the race t-shirts and the substantial TNT presence it was quite the sea of purple!!

A little before 7:15 we 5k-ers lined up (the whole time the marathon & half marathoners were still starting the race which was a little odd...). I stood next to and chatted with another woman whose husband was in the marathon. She mentioned she wanted her husband to do Goofy and I broke it to her that it was full... etc. etc. Then we were off!!

I haven't run a 5k in years and years and can't even remember what my PR. The first race I ever ran in 2000 was 33 and I know in Chicago at some point I ran 27 something. After the marathon last fall, ITBS recovery this winter, Disney in Januaray and now starting tri-training I needed a break, mentally. At the start I decided to JUST.RUN. So I did and it felt really good. I barely caught the first mile marker and looked down- 8:12:xx. Okay... I feel okay, and thought I just might be able to hang on. At the same time, I gave myself permission not to, if it wasn't going to happen. I just went with it. Didn't see any other mile markers which made that easier. The course was a lap around the dome, then down Poydras to a turn around, back to and past the dome, another turn around and then back to the finish in front of the dome. I started really huffing and I could totally feel that I was pushing but I decided to try to keep up the pace. I was hot and my shins hurt. I could see the stadium looming ahead for for-ever. Finally could see the final turn around. I passed this guy who'd started walking and cheered him on "you're almost there, man!!" but he didn't start running. There was this other tiny little lady in front of me with Lone Star running shorts and she started in with a walking break. I passed her, did the turn around and heard her start running. Determined not to let her pass me, I pushed it into what high gear I had left and took off. I was wearing my running skirt and was a tad worried about where it was going due to my longer than usual strides! And then I was at homestretch, with the bridge above and the photographer and there was no one else- JUST ME! And there was only 25:12 on the clock. So I booked it and flew in and finished!!

My final time was 25:15. I was *13th* in all the women... not age group... TOTAL!! When Tom told me that I freaked!! There were only 193 women total, but STILL!! totally excited. So back to the important race... I ran back to the hotel, showered in 5 seconds, got dressed, slapped a cap on and ran back to the dome to catch my man at the halfway point (he came in just under 2:01:xx. He looked good and I gave him some water and gummies. As he headed back around the Dome I walked to find a cab... that took forever too. Finally found one, got dropped off, and walked to mile 17. I only made it about 5 minutes before he did. It was in a lovely New Orleans neighborhood. Saw the man then sat down to wait for him to come back on the way back in. REALLY enjoyed cheering on the runners. It was a relatively small race (just over 1,000 marathoners) and not many spectators. It was starting to get warm and there were sparse water stops, so when Tom headed back past me I let him take my water bottle to fill up his. He looked hot and tired, but was still running strong. He passed and I headed out to find another taxi back to the dome.

Took a day and a half to get a taxi. I'd told Tom I might not make it before he finished, but I really wanted too and I got panicked when no one was stopping... and I didn't feel like walking the 4 miles back!!Finally, someone stopped and got me there, I ran the blocks through the stopped traffic and ran up to the finish chute about 60 seconds before he came hurtling through!!! He nailed, I mean nailed 4:00. I think officially 4:00:21. He was bummed because his hams had cramped up (was probably dehydrated after training in winter/running in summer) right after I'd left him. BUT he was happy to finihs strong.

POST-RACE: We headed back up to the upper Dome and were thrilled to find: red beans and rice, a serve yourself beer truck, subway, and fruit & bananas. Unfortunately the only water and gatorade was down at the finish line... so we were forced to tank up on beer. The medals were pretty hideous- Tom's is large with lime green enamel and mardi gras masks, mine is small with enameled mardi gras masks and both have the traditional purple, green, yellow neck bands. Okay, not terrible but the lime enamel is pretty grody. ANYWAY, this is getting long- it was a fun, fun day and the longer post race involved a lot (too much) delicious food- jambalaya, gumbo, fish, fish, fish, crayfish, crab, beignets, etc. etc. now *I* really need to run a marathon!!

Cheers for reading, we both recommend the race. jaclyn