Mardi Gras Marathon, Ready, Set, Go!

I'm done with the planning part of the New Orleans marathon trip for February! We have a hotel! Since I'm new to this whole marathon thing, I didn't know what to do since the start and finish lines are in different places (MILES APART!) but now we have a plan. The hotel is a warm-up walk away from the start line and the race website says they provide a shuttle to drop us off near our hotel when the race is finished.


Now I just have to train to run a marathon. Gulp!
(This is what happens to people who sign up for races after going out to half price wine night at their favorite pizza restaurant! Running another marathon seemed like a great idea after half price wine night. The entry fee is paid so it looks like we better train!)

Did anyone else watch the Biggest Loser a couple of nights ago when they ran the marathon? This is always my favorite episode and it inspired me to do my first marathon. If the Biggest Loser contestants can run one, surely I can too!

This season I'm cheering for Ada! She is so tough and works so hard! She was sub 4:39 for her marathon pace! Outstanding!

The next big challenge...

Signing up for another marathon and forcing encouraging my husband to sign up for his first marathon seemed like a good idea at the time.

We have a little over 3 months to train for the New Orleans marathon and I'm already pretty terrified nervous about it.


I know we can finish it but it's still scary!

When we signed up, we didn't realize that the start and finish lines are about 4 miles apart?! Boo to that! Who planned that?! So now the question is... where do we stay? How do we get back to our hotel after the race? Will there be a shuttle? Help! Has anyone done this race before? Any advice? I just know that I do not want to walk another 4 miles after doing 26.2 miles for the race!

I'm so excited to do this run with my husband! I remember when we both ran 0.1 miles from our house to our neighbor's mail box and we thought we would hurl or pass out or both. We've come a long way in the last couple of years! We just finished the 3rd half marathon of the Fall and now we get to train for the marathon!

Meanwhile, I have barely scratched the surface of my Christmas shopping list.
I need more decorations!
I need to order Christmas cards!

St. Jude Half Marathon Memphis weekend

We just returned from a fun-filled weekend with friends in Memphis! We ran the St. Jude half marathon as part of a hero team that raised money for the hospital. There is no race like the St. Jude race! We definitely want to make it a yearly tradition not only because of St. Jude but also to meet up with friends that are scattered across the country now.

The atmosphere is incredibly touching- there are tons of people running "In Honor Of" or "In Memory Of" a child who has been treated at St. Jude. Runners have pictures pinned to their shirts of tough little kiddos who are fighting the hardest battle of their lives. There is no other word to describe it except "awesome." The race route is great as well. We ran by the Mississippi River, down Beale street, next to the Pyramid where the grizzlies used to play, and then (my favorite part) we ran through the St. Jude hospital campus. I think everyone teared up as we saw the hospital. I shed a couple of tears when I saw a sign that said "thank you for helping my child." The entire course was great but running by the hospital was definitely the best part.

We thought it was pretty cool that Beale Street had a sign for the runners! My husband and I weren't able to run together the whole time. There were SO many runners that we lost each other around mile 3. He found me at mile 6 and then I didn't see him again until the finish line. I really overdid it pushed it for this run! This was our 3rd half marathon in the last 3 months so I felt prepared and wanted to try for a new PR. My legs were on fire by the end but I kept going until I crossed the finish line. My time was 2:05:41 so I beat my previous PR by 30 seconds! My husband finished about a minute after me so I was pumped that both of us ran a great race!

The girls were reunited! We were missing one "bookie" team member but she has a great reason not to run since she is pregnant this year! Yay sis!

We were STARVING after the run so we hit a little Mexican restaurant for lunch and devoured our food. We wore our new blingy bling out to show how awesome we are. I am obsessed with medals. Ha ha! After we ate, we were all tired and sore so we headed back to the hotel for the much needed and well deserved post-run nap.

The husband and I met some other friends for dinner at the Rendezvous and then we had dessert and coffee at the Peabody. We met back up with our running crew at the Flying Saucer. I loved hanging out with this crew but I wasn't feeling well after too much food and too much running so we didn't stay out as late as I would've liked.


Our friends left the next morning so Scott and I hobbled wandered around downtown Sunday afternoon since our flight didn't leave until Sunday night.

We rode the trolley so we could sit down and stay warm. It was really cute and we got to see the sights from the race route again.

Look kids, it's the mighty Mississippi!

This is the pyramid where the grizzlies used to play. It's such a cool building!

No trip to Memphis is complete without seeing the Peabody ducks! We sat in the lobby drinking hot tea and hot chocolate and watched the ducks.

The "duck master" escorts the ducks out of the fountain every day at 5 PM so they can go to their duck house on the roof for the night. It's pretty neat that they let the kiddos line the red carpet as the ducks pass. They quack their way down the carpet and ride the elevator.

It was a great weekend! I'm so thankful we got to see our friends, participate in the race to help St. Jude, and eat TONS of good food. I can't wait until next year!