New Orleans Mardi Gras MARATHON

I'm still very behind with my blog updates but I'm catching up on February now. Only a month behind now!

First and foremost, I completed and survived my second marathon in New Orleans!

Two and a half weeks before we planned to hit New Orleans (and the night after I did my 20 mile training run for the marathon), I got sick. Not just sick like a cold. Sick... like death. Sick... like not leaving the bathroom for 3 days straight. Sick... like beyond dehydrated. I lost 7 pounds. My leg muscles instantly shriveled up and turned to jello. I laid on the couch and cried at one point as I thought about the 4+ months worth of training that would be for nothing. I thought there was no way I would be able to do the race. After a week of whimpering, watching the Real Housewives of everywhere, and eating nothing but crackers and sprite... I somehow crawled back to the gym and attempted to run. I got a couple of miles in and had hope again that I would be able to run the FULL MARATHON! (and was also terrified that I might die!) After getting back on the treadmill a few more times that next week and getting a decent 10 mile long run in, I got sick AGAIN! Two weeks after my first illness, I was sick again! Hello bathroom, I did not miss you! It was the Wednesday before the RACE! We were supposed to leave on Friday and drive 10 hours to New Orleans in 48 hours! This time, I was slamming fluids and taking advantage of the magical properties of Pepto Bismol (shudder). I slept the entire day Wednesday, rested on Thursday, and we drove to New Orleans on Friday. Thank goodness I felt better by then!

My husband and I love New Orleans! It's such a beautiful city and the marathon was a great excuse to spend Valentine's weekend here!

Even though my husband had drunkenly agreed after much begging on my part to let me register him for the marathon signed up for the marathon, he just didn't have time to train. His longest run was 15 miles and that was 6 weeks before the marathon. At the time we went to the expo, he was planning to switch to the half marathon. The race organizers designed the course where you did not have to fill out any paperwork to switch to the half, you just had to follow the half course when the course split at mile 3. So that's what he was planning to do.

My cousin is also a runner and we had planned to run the marathon together. She came all the way from Oklahoma City and this was her second marathon as well. She had been sick, overworked, trapped in snowstorms for a few weeks before the marathon, so both of us was pretty nervous about trying to set any sort of decent pace.

The three of us went to the expo to check out all the running goodies and I finally got a SPI belt. It was a great purchase! It doesn't slip at all and had plenty of room for my room key, chap stick, Gu, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper (because port o potties are so foul and they are never stocked well enough-gross).

We're so excited about the race! We carbo loaded the night before the run at a little place that ran out of pasta right after we got our heaping plates of spaghetti! Good timing for us, but we felt awful for the runners who left the restaurant when they couldn't get any pasta.

Race morning, we were up early to eat a little breakfast and walk the 1.5 miles to the start line. Isn't that just WRONG!?! To have to walk that far before a freggin' MARATHON!?! I thought so.

I look exhausted. It was 5:30 AM.

Of course we waited in the port o potty line forever so we missed our corral's start. We started at the back of the crowd and we were threatened with disqualification if we didn't hurry to the start line. Boo to that. Luckily, we made it.

My cousin and I lost my husband in the crowd at mile 2 and we had all planned to meet up back at the hotel after the race since he was doing the half and would be done 3 hours before us. We set a slow and steady pace. Since we started so late we were with a slower pace group for the first couple of miles but it gave us a chance to warm up. The course was awesome! We took our time enjoying the scenery of Audubon Park with it's giant trees, many ponds, ducks and swans. I wish I could have carried my camera during the run to take pictures! We ran through the Warehouse District and the French Quarter and saw a fellow marathoner duck into Cafe du Monde and then pop back onto the course with a bag of beignets! We were cracking up! I'm not sure how she possibly ate beignets while running, but I was impressed! We saw a guy running while wearing overalls and a mullet wig carrying a 6 pack of beer, there were also several girls in mardi gras masks, an elf, and a few people wearing feather boas. The atmosphere was great!

After 2 port o potty stops, one medical aid stop for my cousin to get her ankle taped, and 6 or 7 stops to stretch, we heard someone yelling at us at mile 20. It was my husband! At first I was totally confused since he was supposed to be doing the half! THEN HE PASSED US! He said he decided to do the full since he was already signed up for it! I was in complete shock! How the heck does someone do one 15 mile training run and then just DECIDE to run a FULL marathon?! He's crazy. Seriously. He's also the most stubborn person that I know. He said he stopped at a convenience store during the run and bought a snickers bar and a gatorade. Ha! Crazy man. And he passed us. I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!!! (I also think he's insane for not training properly!) He finished his first marathon in 5:32 and my cousin and I finished in 5:38. I'm so proud of us all for completing the run! Even though I had hoped for a better finish time, I can't complain about this after being so sick... not once, but TWICE in the 3 weeks before the race.

Of course we rewarded ourselves with Pat O'Briens hurricanes the night after the race!

After we finished our hurricanes, we went to the Cafe du Monde for some midnight beignets!

Running friends, do you wear your medal out the day of the race? I did! I was proud of this thing!

Mmmmm... beignets! These little fried bites of powdered sugar covered heaven are a great reward after running 26.2 miles!!!