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!!!

I ♥ Running Buddies

I have a habit of "making" people be my friend. Tyra, Ryan, Mel.  It's just what I do.

I've always been able to make friends pretty easily. I talk a lot. That seems to be the key to friend making. But since I'm a SLOW runner and kinda self-conscience about it, it's not been easy to find a running buddy.

Well, Team In Training has given me the opportunity to "make" a few new running friends.

Christy: She and I bonded while wrapping presents at Barnes & Nobles for a TNT fundraiser. We had lots of time to chat. Outside of not making very much money, we had fun. We've run a few times together. She lets me yammer on about my kids. And she tells me about her pugs.  I'm sure we talk about other stuff too, like Gu flavors and sports bras. But I can't remember. I've forgotten every time we've run to get a picture of her. What can I say. After 10-12miles of running, I'm just glad to have finished.

FYI...Christy has a Valentine Basket she is raffling off for TNT fundraising. The details are here in a previous post. Pls buy a few tickets.

Pam: I met Pam at one of the Group Training Sessions for Team In Training. She was running ahead of me for the first half of the run. But I noticed she stayed the same distance ahead of me.  I thought "Yea! If she hangs out at the water stop for a few mins. I can run with her on the way back. " She did and I did. It was nice to have someone to talk to. I was struggling that day. And like me she's a big talker.
I had planned to run with her at the GTS. Then "make" her be my friend but she beat me to the punch. She found me on facebook and she lives near me. Yea!

Last night, we got our first "run" in together.  I say "run" because Sunday was the Super Bowl and I was feeling the celebrating. (more to come on that). Eventhough, I was slower than usual and I had MM & Li in the jogging stroller we got in 5.5mi. Not too shabby for a weekday and being hungover.

I look drunk in this picture but Pam looks cute. Too bad it was dark. 

You can't see her red curly hair that seems to fit her personality so well.