Race Report: Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Marathon

Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 5 hrs. 25 mins. 27 secs. <--PR by 29 mins and 22 seconds!
Route: Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Marathon, New Orleans, LA
Number of Ninjas: 0

I beat the alarm clock. The past few weeks, I haven't beat the alarm clock. I rolled out of bed at 4:40am and got ready to go. I knew that it would be cold at the start, so I brought a sweater that I had intended to donate to Goodwill...that way I could chuck it at the start and know that it would for sure get donated. I had a long sleeve base layer, the t-shirt and capris. I had my trusty Bubba Gump hat that has become a trademark and a good luck charm. Don't worry, I wash it after every race. So the funk isn't quite that bad. I grabbed my iPod, a wheat bagel and peanut butter and was out the door. I met Stephen (my friend Kathy's husband) downstairs at 5:30. He was running too, so we decided to walk to the start together.

Damn. It was freezing. The good thing about modern running shoes is that they ventilate and wick moisture wonderfully. The bad thing is that they ventilate a little too well. Meaning, by the time I went to my start corral, I couldn't feel my toes. I wish I had worn some gloves, but I like my new ones and didn't want to chuck them or have to carry them the whole time. Oh well. I knew they'd warm up eventually. I wished Stephen good luck (he was 5 corrals ahead of me) and walked back to mine. I recognized a girl immediately...turns out she's the vet tech at the vet's office that we go to! Such a small world. She was running the half with her sister and friend. I wished her good luck and we made our way to the start line. I chucked my sweater to the side about 20 feet from the start. The sun was coming up and I knew that I'd warm up soon.

I crossed the start line at 7:31am. What a fantastically beautiful morning! The weather gods did not disappoint us! I didn't use my Nike+, but I used my stopwatch on my wristwatch instead. I started off strong...probably a little too strong. I ran my first mile in about 10:20. I decided to slow myself down. I had a long way to go and I knew that I couldn't keep that pace up. By the second mile, I had to pee. Really. Bad. I looked at the lines for the porta potties, and I guess everyone else did too. I noticed that most of the people in line were halfers, so I decided to wait until the full marathon split off from the half marathon. It proved to be a wise decision, but I was still mad at myself for having to stop. Luckily, it was the only one I had to make during the race.

We split off from the halfers at mile 5 and ran through Audubon Park. We approached it from the opposite direction that we had come from 2 year ago. Still just as beautiful! I noticed a girl that was running about the same pace I was. We kind of went back and forth for a mile...she would go in front for a bit, then I would go in front. Finally, I asked her if she minded if I paced her and ran with her for a bit. She happily said yes and we ran for a bit. Her name was Kaylee and she lived in New Orleans. She was recovering from a pulled hamstring and hadn't run in 10 days. She was a really nice girl and had a good, upbeat attitude. We ran together until mile 12. Her mom was cheering her on and she stopped to walk and talk with her mom. I wished her good luck and kept going.

I spotted our cheering section at the halfway point. I was quite happy to see them. At this point, I was tired, but physically still felt pretty good. I gave the kids high-fives and kisses and off I went. I figured now it was all downhill...less than halfway to go. And yes...it really did go a little downhill from there.

The full course met back up with the halfers at Decatur Street, which runs on the outside of the French Quarter. It wasn't quite as awesome as running directly through the Quarter on Bourbon Street, but it was still pretty cool. We ran by Margaritaville and I thought of Mary. She runs with me every time I run...I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. I always think of her...especially on the long runs. I think she is my sister from another mother. :) I thought a lot of my friends back home...not in a wistful way, but in a fun trip down memory lane kind of way. Before I knew it, I was coming up on mile 15. I saw the mile marker and I started to get tired. My quads hurt and I was just tired and felt thirsty. I had regretted my decision to forgo the camelbak during the race early on, and was really regretting it by mile 15. They had an ample amount of aid stations, but I was just so used to being able to take a slurp any ol' time I needed to. Note to self: bring it next time, if there is a next time.

Right before mile 16, I spotted a familiar person. It was Stephen! I was happy to see a friendly face, but I knew that because I had caught up to him, that he was probably in a good amount of pain. I asked him how he was doing and he said that his knees were killing him. He had decided to run a mile and then walk a half mile, run a mile, walk a half mile in order to be able to finish. He asked me how I was doing and I told him that I was alright minus the fact that the quads were hurting and I was just tired. He was still running a little ahead of me at mile 18 and then he stopped to walk. I felt horrible for passing him. He wished me well and I returned the sentiments. I kept plugging away.

By mile 19, I saw the faster runners coming back from the lake and recognized one of them--Justin Ball. I yelled good luck to him and cheered him on when I saw him. He waved and kept going. I was starting to slow down. My legs were in pain and I was really tired. I would walk through the water stations and then run between each one. However, each stop became more and more painful and it hurt to start running. I didn't care though. I knew the fastest way to finish would be to push through the pain and just keep running. At mile 21 and 22, we ran along the shore of Lake Ponchartrain. It was so pretty. It kind of reminded me of running through Balboa Park in San Diego. It was just so beautiful in its own way. It was hard to believe that something so beautiful could wreak so much havoc during Hurricane Katrina. When we turned around to go back from the lakefront, I realized that this was pretty much the homestretch.

I kept telling myself that I could do it. After all, there were only 3 miles left...c'mon girl! You've got this! You run 3 miles all the time! When I broke it down into the small increments, it helped. I never hit the wall and I am so grateful for that. I didn't hit it last time and I didn't hit it this time. When I ran to mile 25, the cheering squad was there. I saw Lynley and Kathy and the kids. All the kids were cheering and Gavin, Payton and Dallas ran a little ways with me. I gave them all high fives and kept going. I had to walk just a little...there was a slight incline that my quads were yelling at. I saw them at the chute through mile 26. Then I ran through the chute and across the finish line.

I finished it in 5 hours, 25 minutes and 27 seconds. I had initially hoped to break 5 hours, but when I checked my split at the halfway point, I knew that I wouldn't be able to do it. However, I quickly adjusted my goal to just trying to beat the projected finish time of 5:30. I'm really happy with my time and with my finish. I'm happy that I ran the race I wanted to run. Of course, being a Virgo means that I am a perfectionist. I can think of a million things that I could have done differently and maybe if I do another one, then I'll make some minor adjustments. But for now, I'm telling that perfectionist to shut up and eat some cake, because damn it, I just finished my second marathon. That is a feat in itself for this girl. For someone who was never a runner, I'm proud to say, I'm a runner.