So I conquered the Rock N Roll New Orleans Half Marathon and have the medal to prove it. AND I also have a PR (short for Personal Record, runner lingo). My time was 2:40:19 which is almost two minutes faster than my last half. That was a nice surprise since I wasn’t trying to do anything but finish the run.
New Orleans was interesting. Good interesting. Our Saturday early morning flight was uneventful. Lots of folks who were going for the race were on the plane. Landed, found transportation to the hotel and off we went. We check into the Inn on Bourbon St. It was lovely hotel located right on Bourbon St. We walked to the convention center to pick up our packets. It was a cloudy, windy and rainy day. I was a bit worried but the weather for Sunday was going to be 60 and sunny.
So after getting our packets, we walked back and I was starving. We ended up going to Palace Cafe on Canal St. I had the Catfish Pecan with white rice and brussel spouts. OMG. I am not a big brussel sprouts eater but these were SO GOOD! I doubt I will ever eat them the same way again. Everthing was delicious.
Then we went back to the room, hung out a bit and then we were off to discover the city. We decided to check out a big church that was close by. It was the St. Louis Cathedral. It was really pretty and well taken care of. Then we found the horse-drawn carriages. We decided to take a tour. Best $15 ever spent. The man gave us a great history lesson about the French Quarter. Glad he had blankets because it was getting really windy. (Weather was in the high 50′s, cloudy and windy.) He told us the ride was going to be about 30 min but it really was more like 45 min.
Then we went to look for the beignets. They were from Cafe Beignet. Yum, yum YUM! We sat outside. Even though it was cloudy, the area we were in was protected by two buildings, so we were okay. Plus they had a small outdoor heater going on. We were listening to a trio playing jazz. It was so nice. Then we went back to the hotel to get some much-needed zzzzz’s.
The run itself was great. The weather kept its promise: sunny with a slight wind. I was wearing a running singlet over a long sleeve base layer. After 2 1/2 miles I had to stop and remove the base. It was nice and warm. The scenery was beautiful. Once we hit the 8 mile mark, it just became a bit blah. Concrete and more concrete. But there was a group of people who were offering donuts and beer to all the runners. That was so cool. Once we passed the city area, we were in the French Quarter. More pretty stuff to look at. I hit my wall right before the 10 mile marker. It was getting warm and I was getting tired. So I walked a bit more. Then I kept alternating with walking and running. When I got to the 11 mile marker, I decided to just run. Kept telling myself “One foot in front of the other. Just like everyone else.” I think that mantra kept me going. When I saw the marathon turning off, I was like “Poor souls. They have 13 more miles to go.” But I kept going. Finishing was so sweet. Found my friend who also was not having a good run but she finished in 2:25. We got our medals, which rock. They have medal beads instead of a ribbon.
Then we went back to the hotel, showered, dressed and literally ran to Pat O’Brien’s. We had the biggest hurricane ever. It was so good. I also had Grits and Shrimp which was quite tasty.
Then it was time to go home. The family picked us up from the airport. Missed them so much. I think the kids missed me too since they were just clinging on my arms all the way home.
An easy race is next: Shamrock Shuffle, March 25.
