NOLA Running of the Bulls 2010

Here in New Orleans, we will disguise anything as a reason to drink. Especially if we can start drinking early in the morning. Well, I've found a new event I'm adding to my favorites list, NOLA Running of the Bulls. Basically, it's a pub crawl. But you dress in white with a red neckerchief and sash while you run from the roller derby girls dresses as bulls. The bulls are armed with wiffle ball bats. If they catch you they, "gore" (wack) you in the booty with the bats. Yep, it's as awesome and ridiculous as it sounds.

The idea is that everyone meets at the Three Legged Dog bar before 8AM. (Oh, yes. I got up early to do this silliness.) There's a quick ceremony to pay tribute to San Fermin. Then the running begins. (Well, there's not as much running as I would have like. But most of the participants are non-runners. ) The "run" is about a mile long to the Ernst Café, where many fun things in NOLA end.

One of my favorite parts of this event is outfit planning. Nanny Goat and I will use any excuse to plan an outfit. I figure we spent more time  discussing what we wore than we did actually wearing it. But we like clothes.

Our outfits:

Me & Nanny Goat. Cute, right?

My favorite part were the kicks. I got them for $13. I love the internet.

old school Kangas=Awesome

I had the camera so I made Nanny Goat do all the "dangerous" stuff. Like get wacked so I could get a picture. There was a gauntlet at the end where all the bulls lined up and people ran thru to get beat. I asked her to do it so I could get a picture. But the shutter speed on my camera is too slow and she is too fast. NG had lots of bruises. But she a trooper.

Nanny Goat getting "gored"

There were 4,000 participants with over 80 RollerBulls out on Saturday plus spectators. I was surprised how many people were in the French Quarter awake to watch the Running of the Bulls at 8AM on Saturday morning. 

Crowd shots

There was a special guest appearance by New Orleans' own Rolling Elvi!. These guys are a social club who dress like Elvis and march in parades and other events.

Of course, I needed my picture with the Elvi. Check out this Elvi's cape. Very well done.

And last but not least the Roller Derby girls. If I had time, I would totally join the roller derby. But they train twice a week and race one night a week. They are tough and intense and awesome. 

I love how much effort they put in there costumes. They really go all out.

Nanny Goat and I had a great time. But we didn't bring any liquor. We figured we could by it at a bar. Too many runners. Next year, we know it's not an actual race and to carry our drinks.

Sunday Dinner - 03/28/10 (Birthday Edition)

Today is my birthday. Usually, the Big Man and I get a babysitter, go to the theater, and eat at fancy restaurant. But yesterday, Nanny Goat got married.

Nanny Goat on her wedding day

 

And after the excitement of that all I wanted to do is hang around the house. I decided to cook us an easy dinner that we all love.

This is not an old family recipe. In fact, I didn't eat Chicken Shawarma until I was in college. But we fell in love at first bite. And of course, what meal of Shawarma would be complete without hummus and dill yogurt dressing.

Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients
10 cloves garlic, chopped
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground pepper
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions
Make the marinade: In a bowl, mix together the garlic, lemon juice, oil, curry powder, salt,and pepper. 

Whisk to combine. Add chicken and coat with marinade.

Preheat a grill. Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken for about 10 minutes on each side or until fully cooked through.


Hummus
Ingredients
1 can chickepeas, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin

Directions
In a food processor, blend all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

Yogurt Dressing
Ingredients
2tbsp lemon juice
1cup Greek yogurt
2tbsp parsley
1tbsp dill
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

Directions
In a bowl, combine the lemon juice, yogurt, parsley, dill, salt and pepper. Refrigerate, covered in plastic until ready to use.

Serve with pita and a salad of cucumber, tomatoes, and Romain. 

Rock & Roll Mardi Gras Marathon Race Report

I've been dragging my feet, not writing this post. Seriously, I've come to this post 4x without writing a thing. The race didn't go as I had hoped. I was so excited about it and the disappointment has gotten the better of me. My time was 10mins slower than my previous half and about 20mins slower than I should've been.

The only thing that I can put my finger on as the cause was I was tired. We didn't get much sleep the night before. Nanny Goat and I got a hotel in the French Quarter (near the start line) the night before. This was a bad idea. Drunken fools hollered all night walking past our hotel. There was a lull from 2AM-3:30AM.  Literally, slept an hour. I could feel how tired I was the whole race. Oh well. I can't change anything. Ok. Enough whining. I'm done with disappointment.

Nanny Goat and I met up with the team in training people at 5AM to second line over to the start line which was about 1.5mi away.  The race didn't start until 7AM. Needless to say we had a lot of time checking gear, waiting in the cold, using the port-a-pottys, and trying not to think about the race.  I drank a litter of water. We had time to take cute pre-race photos.

 

Dana, Pam, Jennifer, Me, Nanny Goat, Christy, other Megan

When it was time, we headed over to the corrals. I had to say bye to Nanny Goat since she was in corral 4 and I was in 18. And other Megan was in corral 16 so we wished her luck and sent her off. But the rest of us are similarly tortoisine so we got in corral 22. (Christy had no idea what her finish time might be when she signed up. ) Because of the wave starts, it  was 7:45AM before we crossed the start line. I understand why they do this. But it really messes with the race anxiety.  But finally, we were off and running.

I'm sure my Garmin can tell me my splits. But I've never figured it out. So this is what I remember.... The first few miles we steadily passing people. Just running, watching the bands as we passed. Every few miles of the course, there were Mardi Gras floats and statues you could take you picture with. I didn't because I have tons of pictures of floats.
At mile 3-4, I realized I had drank an entire bottle of water already. Uh oh. I'm going to have to pee at some point. Usually, that this point, I find my rhythm and feel like I could run forever. But I didn't that day. Then at the half way point, I checked my GPS, 1:30ish. Dang! I should be WAY faster than that. Mile 8-9, I thought "Why do I do this to myself? I could be chillaxin at home" more than once and I had drank another bottle and still didn't need to pee. Then at 10mi, I told myself it's just a 5k. It's a comforting thought. So I ran the last 3mi slowly and drank most of another bottle.  And I didn't have to pee until got home at noon. That's 4.5hrs and approx 2 litters of water without peeing. Apparently, I was a camel that day.

My finish time was 2:57:38 (I think). Not stellar. But waiting at the finish line was my family.

It was so nice to see my girls, my mom & dad, and the Big Man. Cheering me one to the finish line.

Here are a few pictures:

Me about to cross the finish line

I like this one. Think it makes me look fast.

After with my girls, Li & MM

The whole family

Look at all the crap on my wrists.

This makes me realize how far I've come with my running.

Not long ago this would a have driven me insane. But now, not much bothers me. 

Nanny Goat & I 

The Big Man, MM, Li, Pam and other Megan at the TNT Victory Party after the race.

Race Day

I can believe it's here. I'm so excited! Right now, I'm milling around at start. Doing normal pre-race stuff. I'm not really nervous, I've done this once before. Last time I ran by myself the whole time.  This time I have Pam & Christy to run with. Nanny goat is running too, but she's too fast for me.

The weather is going to be perfect today. Right now, it's in the low 40s and the sun is coming out. When I finish, it'll be in the 50s. My momma, the girls and the Big Man will be at the end waiting for me. Cheering me on as I pass. 

Months and months of training are behind me. I'm ready to run.  I've raised a decent amount of money for Team in Training. I've made a lot friends. I'm ready.  Game on, y'all!

Allons!!!

NOLA Turkey Day Race 2009

Thursday morning, I woke the family up early, dressed everyone warmly, and headed off to get Nanny Goat (my sister).  I thought it would be fun if we all ran the Turkey Day Race.  By fun,  I meant we could all burn some calories before we pigged out. 

The Big Man agreed to push the girls in the jogging stroller in the 1mi race. Nanny Goat & I  could run the 5mi race at full speed.  By that I mean, Nanny Goat could run her pace and I could run mine. She's too fast for me to keep up.  But I'm happy with my finish time 59:56.

Since Li always wants to race like mommy, The Big Man got her out of the stroller to run the last 100m.  They gave her a ribbon at the finish line. She is so proud of the ribbon. She has told everyone about it.

Now for the race day photos:

Li and her ribbon

 MM showing off her running skills

Me almost to the finish line. I have got to work on keeping my head up. 

The Big Man with his running buddies

MM, Me, Nanny Goat and Li

Look at the difference in Nanny Goat & my running outfits. She's in tights, a long sleeve shirt and a jacket. I'm shorts and a technical tee. She likes to be hot when she runs and I hate to run in clothes. 

We had fun and it was nice to get some miles in. But I doubt we'll do it next year. It just made the day too hectic. 

Happy Birthday Nanny Goat

This past week was my baby sister Erin's Birthday. To celebrate, she and I went to the Wine Institute of New Orleans (W.I.N.O.) for drinks. W.I.N.O. is an interesting place. (Plus you gotta love the name) You get a load card with however much you want, then insert the card into the wine dispenser. The wines are all priced by the ounce, and you can get 1 oz, 2 oz or a full glass. I should have taken note of the wines I like but we were having too much fun.



BTW, This picture is a rare thing. I never let people take a picture of me with a glass in my hand. I don't know why. Its just a weird thing I do.