Race Recap: State #10: Mississippi

Race: Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon
Date: December 11, 2016
Result: 5:44:00

The night before the Iowa race back in October, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when an advertisement popped up for the inaugural Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon.  My Louisiana friends Blaine and Liz were running the half in preparation for their Goofy at Disney World, and my need to get a third race in before the end of 2016 ultimately led me to commit that night. The need to save on costs was also there because of the family Disney World trip being only three weeks after, so I had to go it alone.

After crunching the numbers, I found the cheapest way to get down there was to fly into New Orleans Saturday afternoon and fly back home early Sunday at 5 pm. With a 7 am start time and Biloxi being about 90 minutes away, I worried about the slightest hiccup on race day possibly causing me to miss my flight home, but I thought it was a challenge I was up for.  I thought maybe since there were basically no turns the entire race as well as a totally flat run at sea level, I could get the race done in about 5 1/2 hours. Even if I'm not ready for it, I could always treat it as my long training run for Florida.

Before flying down I thought about watching the Matthew Broderick classic flick Biloxi Blues again (and by classic I mean forgotten) since that was the only thing I knew about Biloxi but never got around to getting a copy on my phone.  The only thing I remember about that movie was that Park Overall was in it, and I had a thing for her in the late 80's.  Now that I think about it, as a 12 year old, I had a thing for any female who was on TV in the late 80's.

"Black, Silver or Orange?" The Avis guy was giving me my pick of color for my car rental. "Uh, whichever's parked the closest, I guess...." A few moments later, I found the push button start of the black Mustang and was peeling out of the parking lot and heading to Biloxi as daylight was quickly giving way. Google maps saved me a half hour by taking me off the congested interstate and I was zooming through quiet two lane roads to get to the expo before dark.

Made it to the motel moments before sunset

After checking in at the Quality Inn Biloxi a few ticks after 5 pm, which I booked since it was next door to the convention center, I hoofed it over to the expo to grab my packet and saved $5 on parking. The parking lot was packed, which I found surprising since there were only a few hours left until the expo closed at 7. Turned out there was a high school cheerleading competition going on in one of the other rooms.  I followed the arrows to the expo and found a cavernous room with far more floor space than vendors and effortlessly picked up my packet as well as a souvenir $25 visor to keep the inevitable sun out of my eyes tomorrow. I didn't stay longer than 10 or so minutes since the last thing I ate was a snack box on the plane for lunch so I made a beeline to the car in search of dinner.

I'm pretty self-conscious when it comes to eating out at a restaurant alone so I decided to grab something fast. There was a mall nearby which gave me a chance to pick up some souvenirs for the kids at home so I wandered the mall in search of some carbs. Surrounded by cheerleaders filling up the other tables around me in an unfamiliar food court, I felt pretty alone sitting there with my greasy three-item combo over noodles from Mandarin Express so I called Mae to see how they were doing. They were visiting my mom for my dad's memorial service and had trouble seeing through the windshield on the drive down since 1) there was a snowstorm that I left behind and 2) the windshield wiper motor was broken.  I also found out that our main shovel broke and she and the kids had to shovel our driveway with the kiddie shovels. I felt even more guilty about being here so I finished my dinner and went to the bookstore to get the kids something. Ironically I settled for some stuffed Pokemon pictured above, assembled in Oak Brook, IL. I was also missing my company holiday party for this, which was also being held in Oak Brook, IL.

Questionable
pre-race dinner

As I was laying out my clothes for the next day I looked in the envelope that had my bib to make sure there were safety pins in there.  Panic set in as I realized there weren't any.  Oh crap, how the hell am I going to get this bib on me without safety pins?  I chuckled at the idea of going outside in search of four liberals who wore a safety pin as some sort of secret code and taking it from them. In the meantime I texted Blaine to see if he could bring some extras from his home in Metairie since he was driving up in the morning. It was a good thing I did because he didn't realize the last bus for the half left at 6:15 in the morning and they weren't planning on getting here until 6:30.   I set my alarm for 4:00, 4:05, 4:10 and 4:15 and was out like a light before 9.

Good morning Mississippi!

After ignoring all my alarms I managed to get up a little after 5 in the morning.  I studied the map for the first time to see what I was going to be dealing with all morning and into the afternoon. The route ran west to east, from Pass Christian to Biloxi, with 25 miles of uninterrupted beachfront between the two.  The shuttles to the start line left the Coliseum at mile 19, and with a 7 am start, the last shuttle left at 5:45 am.  So much for my free continental breakfast that started at 6 am...  I packed up my gear and checked out of my motel room and went down to the lobby to see if there was any possibility they put out breakfast early at 5:15 in the morning.  No dice on the breakfast, and no staff at all in the lobby.  I printed my boarding pass for my flight that evening, tossed my keycard onto the front desk which landed perfectly on their keyboard and drove next door to the Coliseum parking lot waiting for Blaine and Liz to arrive.  They pulled up right around 5:35 and he came through and saved the day with a handful of safety pins.  Since this was a point to point race we had different buses to get on so we wished each other luck after hurriedly exchanging hellos.

Ragnar!

I loaded into the shuttle at 5:40 am and found a seat in the back next to a guy whom I said good morning to and not much else. He seemed pretty focused, or dazed, not sure which.  The 40 minute ride was spent reflecting on the day in front of me, and also eavesdropping on the runners behind me - a guy from North Carolina who is close to Boston Qualifying and younger woman looking to also complete all fifty states were chatting it up most of the way there. That's one thing I noticed about the race - almost everyone I talked to were seasoned veterans at this - one woman was running her 11th this year!

We made it to the start line a few moments before sunrise as I waited and swapped various marathon stories in the bus with a few others that weren't quite ready for the near-freezing temps. I apologized to these runners for bringing down the cold weather with me from Chicago.

As we were staging ourselves for the race I noticed the five hour pacer was wearing a Ragnar shirt and I immediately had to show her my Ragnar socks. We Ragnarians are a crazy breed and an instant connection is made whenever I run into another. We briefly talked about which Ragnars we had conquered and found out we had both done the Napa race where it was really hot. Shannon is a Houston based runner who simply crushes it all over the country. Maybe someday I'll be able to use her talents on a Slightly Unstable Ragnar team!

This was by far the smallest marathon I've ever been a part of. With less than 600 finishers it felt like a friendly neighborhood 5k at the start. Since there was no PA system we all sang the national anthem and began our journey right at 7.  I forgot to turn on my GPS watch and before crossing the start, I hesitated to see if I could locate the satellites first, but went ahead anyway. Good thing I did, because mile after mile I kept checking and I never did lock in a signal. Time to research and upgrade my watch, I guess. It served me well for the last four years.

My watch for 5 hours be like

One day I will break 5 again

Smile for the camera, guys!

The first few miles of the course had us running in front of these big beautiful homes with huge front lawns that looked like plantation homes. The Gulf of Mexico on my right was calm, and the sunlight that gleamed and dazzled off the waters made it too bright to look at directly. The sands were white and this clearest of days made me wish I had brought my sunglasses. Off in the distance beyond the horizon the silhouette of a large waterfront building I assumed was a resort casino loomed and it quickly became my point of focus.  I assumed it was near the finish line in Biloxi and I imagined myself as Stephen King's Roland the Gunslinger, trying to get to the Dark Tower that was beyond his reach. There were no crowds, no funny signs, no spectators besides the police officers blocking off the roads for us, each of whom I thanked. Each volunteer station which was spread out every 1.25 miles was comprised of a folding table of water and a folding table of blue Powerade. The volunteers were great. One station got a little silly and had great energy when they saw I was taking a picture of them.

I spent the first 10k of the race well ahead of a 5:00:00 pace, but my lack of training clearly began to catch up to me around mile 8. That was where Shannon and her crew blew by me and my pace began to drop into the low 11's.  Since I had no GPS watch I was doing lots of math in my head the whole time.

I finally got to my personal Dark Tower but was disappointed to see that it was only mile 13 as I was in Gulfport, where the half marathon started at the same time as the full.  Oh man, this is going to be a long day. It's mentally defeating to see that your eyes on the prize was only looking at the halfway mark. I was also really hungry and all I had to eat was the Acai & Pomegranate Honey Stinger energy gel that they handed to me back near mile 10.  I started counting cones to help pass the time and began calculating how many cones they'd need to cover the course. With a cone every 20 yards, I calculated they put down about 2,500 cones. Then I started thinking about the factory that made the cones, and how long it took to manufacture those cones. Your mind really does wander during these things.

By mile 19 I saw the Coliseum and my car and I thought about just jumping into my car and driving to the finish but in reality there's no way I would intentionally cheat myself out of earning a medal. I just couldn't live with myself.

95% of the course looked like this

The 5:30:00 pacer who was running alone had to stop and wait at the 20 mile marker since he arrived ahead of schedule and he waved me to keep running and push through.  He looked so happy, I thought.  At this point I was doing almost 15 minute miles and calculated and recalculated my finish line ETA and figured it wouldn't be possible to meet up with Blaine and Liz in New Orleans before my flight - I would have to go straight to the airport. You ever watch the Flintstones, and when they're driving in their car, the backgrounds repeat over and over again?  It felt like they were doing that to me with Waffle Houses.  I kept passing Waffle House after Waffle House, with such consistency I could have used them as mile markers. As scenic as the run was, it does become as much a mental grind as a physical one as it felt like I wasn't going anywhere. I started to look out at the water with spite and curse its seeming infinite span.

oh noes - down my phone goes

When I saw the photographer ahead at around mile 23 I picked my pace up so it looked like I was actually running in the pictures. Unfortunately this extra bounce in my step bounced my phone right out of my Camelbak front pocket, tumbling onto the asphalt behind me, forcefully pulling the earbuds right out of my ears. "I hope you got that!" I yelled out to the photog who looked mildly concerned/amused. I did like that they give you the pro pics for free which is such a great benefit. I'm so sick of marathonfoto.com emailing me that my marathon pics are about to expire when I can still find pictures from my first Chicago marathon in 2012..

A final out and back loop for the final mile sent us to the finish line at MGM Park, where the Biloxi Shuckers play AA ball in the Brewers organization.  We ran along the warning track towards first base and I made sure I had enough energy to cross the finish without too much of a struggle. My run was complete! It was a very chill scene, with a band playing in the outfield and plenty of gumbo and sandwiches handed out to all the finishers. After getting my medal and quick picture at the finish line I poured myself a cup full of Coke followed by another full cup of Coke (maybe the two best cups of Coke I ever had) and had to bypass the line for food since I had a flight to catch.  Following the signs to the shuttle, I sprinted towards the bus, running faster than at any point in the race, and was the last rider on as the shuttle returned us to the Coliseum. There was a shared sense of accomplishment that could be tangibly felt throughout that bus.

When I got back to the car, I checked my messages and saw that my flight along with all the other flights to the Midwest had been cancelled. So much for staying on the cheap side of things, as my hotel and car rental costs instantly doubled.  Well, there are worse places to be stranded at. Although famished and completely spent I was able to make the drive back on I-10 to New Orleans without any issues... almost.  I had to pull over for a few minutes and stretch before getting on the highway because the left side of my ribs locked up when I turned to reach into my backpack that was sitting on the driver's seat.  Ouch.

Catfish  meuniere

On the plus side of my flight getting cancelled I did get to have at least one good meal while I was down there and met up with Blaine for a late lunch, my first meal of the day, at Mandina's, a local neighborhood joint in New Orleans. We talked running, racism and Pokemon Go over a fantastic plate of classic creole fare.

I can really see this race growing into something big. It didn't really seem like an inaugural race because it was so well run. The weather was cordial, although we were lucky to have cooler than normal temperatures and it can also be frustrating running into a headwind the entire length of the race.  But it makes sense to finish in Biloxi, so maybe if they made it an out and back from MGM Park along Route 90 it would be an easier race to run and manage. But still, it was a great experience to be a part of.

Registration: $134.06
Flight: $33 (United) after refunded cost of return flight (Spirit)
Hotel: Quality Inn Biloxi Beach: $88.48
Car Rental: $62.93
Gas: $16.40

Unexpected expenses:
2nd hotel night: Hilton Garden Inn New Orleans Hotel $123
Extra day car rental: $75.67
Return Flight: $162 (Delta MSY > ATL > ORD)

Race Recap: State #9: Iowa

Race: IMT Des Moines Marathon
Date: October 16, 2016
Result: 5:47:26

This was by far the most neglected training cycle I have gone through, and it showed! I put in 204 miles in training since Chicago Ragnar in June (18 weeks), a paltry 11 miles a week. Sixteen percent of those miles can be accounted for in two runs - a half marathon and a 20 miler. Compare that to the same time frame in 2013 when I put in 459 miles. I developed a horrible habit of pushing off my night run to the next morning, then after waking up too late to run in the morning, I'd tell myself I would certainly run that evening. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Since we would be gone for all of 36 hours it would be just the two of us while Mae's mom stayed home with the kids. While packing our overnight bag the Saturday morning before the race, Mae e-checked into the Hampton and was like, why'd you get two Queen beds? I can't remember what I did yesterday, much less the details of a reservation I made months ago when I booked the race. I told her it was probably the cheapest room they had but in my mind I was pretty sure I booked a King room.

A completely uneventful drive to Des Moines is uneventful when the most memorable thing about the drive was wondering what this white stripe was that showed up seemingly every quarter mile on the highway. I'm running out of states within driving range where we can drive home the same day already. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan are the last of them. We pulled up to the hotel just after check-in time and as we waited in line to pick up our keys an agitated red-headed woman in her 50's was arguing with the clerk. She was pissed because she booked a Two Queen room and her system had a King room for her. Since she was sharing the room with 3 other women it was absolutely not going to work for them. I jumped in and offered to trade rooms with her and it all worked out for both of us. Her roommates were coming up from running the Kansas City marathon today and were doing the I-35 challenge. I plan on doing something similar with Wisconsin and Michigan with the mittens challenge.

View from the Hampton.

We walked over to the expo at the Iowa Events Center a few blocks away, which was a great opportunity to stretch our legs after being in the car for 5 hours. As a Pokemon Go player I pulled out my phone and hoped to catch a Dratini or two along the Riverwalk but there wasn't much of anything around even for a downtown area. A bit of dread began to set in as I saw that the roads were certainly not flat. At the expo, legendary running coach Jeff Galloway was the keynote there and was manning the first table as you walk in.

The volunteer who gave me my packet enthusiastically shouted "Cubbies!" at me when I told him I was from Chicago.  I shrugged and told him I was a White Sox fan.  "But still, Cubbies!" he replied. For those not in the know, Des Moines is basically Wrigleyville West, as their AAA team plays ball here.  Most of the people walking around downtown were wearing Cubs gear, especially since they're in the middle of a deep run to the title.  I smiled and thanked him and on the way out picked up some Body Glide which I forgot to pack.

Dessert at the Spaghetti Works

The Spaghetti Works seemed like a good place to get some carbs since it was on the way back to the hotel and because it was just after 5pm we only had to wait about 10 minutes. It was nice to have some time to ourselves. We talked about possibly squeezing in another race between now and Disneyworld in January over her chicken parmigiana and my chicken alfredo.  Their artichoke dip was super heavy and we definitely overdid it with a chocolate chip pocket cookie for dessert.  As we waddled out of there the line had to have multiplied by an order of magnitude as there were runners lined out the door waiting for a table like it was Black Friday.

Waiting for the start

Back at the hotel, Mae was pretty anxious about her 5k and she was doing exercises to relieve her shin splints. We talked about how maybe once the kids are out of the house and we become empty nesters then maybe Mae will train for a marathon.

This may have been the best sleep I've ever had the night before 26.2, since I knew I wasn't ready for the race I had no expectations other than to finish.  The forecast was a high of 82°F and I was worried I would take longer than 6 hours, finishing after our late checkout time of 2pm.  I told Mae to just check out of the hotel when she was done with her race.

Hilly first half

Morning fog

Stepping on the course at the start line I felt like I was stepping in front of a firing squad; I just needed a blindfold and a cigarette.  I saw them setting up the tables and unpacking the medals already and I thought, maybe if I just stand here long enough they'll just give me one.  At 8 o'clock the corrals started moving and I kissed Mae goodbye and jumped into the Corral D entrance. There were two sets of timing mats at the start so I started my Garmin early, so that was kind of weird.  We started running as we hit the first mats, turned the corner and stopped to walk further, then began to run again as we crossed a second set of timing mats.  I later found out the first set was for the 5k runners.

Doing a lap at Drake Stadium

The course really had it all. After snaking through the downtown buildings for the first mile we headed west toward the hills and quickly split off from the half marathoners who started together with us. We had the typical 2 or 3:1 ratio of half and full runners, and as we began to climb the hills towards Drake University the crowded path quickly thinned out. Running through the fog was a nice feeling, and although the roads were wet, they weren't slick. My friend Danielle suggested via facebook to run smart, and like the smart ass I am I told her after running the first 10k that I was doing differential equations in my head.  I did hold back at an 11.5 minute pace, and I did feel better than I thought I would at this point on the course.

We spent a few miles running through a nice hilly neighborhood as part of a 5 mile long out and back.  So at mile 5 the elites began to pass us on the other side of the street where they were cruising past mile 10.  I'm always awed at how much ground they cover with each stride with their 6 minute miles. The analytical chemist in me likes to compare marathons to a type of separation method, almost like a backwards size-exclusion chromatography where the course is the column and the runners are the molecules.  The elution order is determined by the fitness of the molecule, where they come out of the column first, followed by average sized molecules and the largest and slowest molecules like me kind of linger around and take forever to finish.

Mile 8 brought us to the football stadium at Drake University, where we were treated to a lap around their track that encircled the field.  There was a live video feed that broadcasted us running on their video board.

Jeff Galloway (green shirt) on the course

As we approached the beautiful Bill Riley Trail at around mile 13, I was running uphill with my head down and literally ran into Jeff Galloway. At 71 years old, he's still killing it on the course.  His running pace was faster than mine so he would pass me then I would catch up and pass him when he would walk. Overall he was keeping a 5 hour pace but he mentioned to one of the other runners that he doesn't pay any attention to a target pace; he runs by feel.  We yo-yo'd like this for over the course of a couple miles, until he and his band of merry followers finally pulled away near mile 16.

The support presence is absolutely great in this race.  There was always staff biking the course in view, and they all had candy/first aid and I gobbled up every opportunity to get red vines, gummy bears and sour patch kids.  I only ended up having half a pack of Clif Bloks the whole time. I made a point to thank all the officers that were controlling the traffic, and the water stations all had the right mix of gatorade every time.  I also ate more oranges than I ever did on course, and I had flashbacks of having oranges while doing the walkathons, a fundraiser at St. Richard while in grade school.

Bridge over Grays Lake

Crossing the bridge over Grays Lake the red-headed woman from our hotel cruised right past me, and I gave her a head nod and wave. She had an easy smile and an even easier running gait.  There was another woman that was being photographed by the bridge by her significant other from above, and as she yelled out to him, I love you!  He shouted back I love you too! And I couldn't help but yell out, And I love both of you!  That put me in a silly mood, but shortly after it got depressing again.  Since the last 9 miles of the half and full courses are the same route, I was seeing mile marker number 4 for the half after having actually run 17 miles.  It really messes with your head.

A woman handing out pretzels caught my eye with her 2016 Chicago marathon shirt and I pulled over to ask her how her race went. She went on to give me her full race recap and before I knew it I was in a long conversation on the side of the road in the middle of my own race. She ran Naperville in '15 and Chicago last week, and was looking to run Iowa next year. I told her about the Flying Pig marathon in Cincinnati since she loved hills. It was a nice 5 minute diversion until I realized the guy I was keeping pace with was already beyond the horizon. Yikes. I finally saw Mae near mile 20 and I told her I felt really good.

Fiddler on the trail.

Now don't get me wrong, I would never cheat myself out of running the full course, but when your tank is completely empty, the thought of making a bee line to the finish does cross your mind. There was an intersection near mile 21.5 where there are runners turning in all four directions and as I was figuring out where to go this guy sitting on the curb pointed me to go right.  I look to the right and there's another out and back that went beyond the horizon and I couldn't help but blurt out a prolonged "fuuuuu@#k" which drew a chuckle out of pointing guy. Over in the distance on top of a hill was the capitol building, and not knowing the course I thought I guess this is as close as we get to that building, which I was totally cool with.    

Unfortunately when I made it back to that intersection a mile later we turned right for that capitol building. I kept thinking that I could maybe squeak under my personal worst which was in Arkansas.  I had the time of 5:46 that I was chasing but felt pretty defeated at mile 23. At the top of the climb I laughed as I looked down and saw that I had nailed that last mile in 18:07.  

At the top there were speakers where a band was done playing, but over their speakers they queued up one of my favorite karaoke tracks of all time - Sublime's Santeria. As soon as the familiar opening finished I couldn't help but start belting out the vocals at the top of my lungs as I shuffled by. "I don't practice Santeria!! I ain't got no crystal ball!! WELL I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS, BUT I - I SPENT IT ALL!!!" I think I frightened the runners in front of me because they all turned around to see what the hell was going on back there. I looked around too, confused as to where that was coming from.  

Climb to the Capitol

Near the finish I also saw a grey haired man wearing a Medtronics Twin Cities Marathon which had been on my radar for Minnesota for a few years now.  I asked him how the course was and he said without hesitation, "Best in the world!  Ran it 32 times!"  I guess I'll see you next year then, I told him.

At the home stretch where I could see the finish line this crazy guy came up to me and started yelling at me to finish trying to get me to run faster.  I didn't want a repeat of Arkansas so I trotted, but he wasn't satisfied with my speed.  It was so awkward because I was wearing earbuds and couldn't hear what he was saying at me.  He was like a some deranged hype man.  I know he was trying to help and I'm sure enjoyed the attention of getting the crowd riled up but I was like whatever.

Iowa National Guard Water Station

One of the perks of being a back of the packer is you do tend to finish alone, which is kind of a double edged sword.  The cool part is the announcer calls out your name as you cross the finish, which happened again here, and the not so cool part is that everyone can see how awful you look; there's no place to hide.  But I pushed through, got my medal from a volunteer who said, "Great job Marlo!" and found Mae at the finish.  After a quick selfie I skipped out on all the finisher's goodies and we went straight to the car to begin our drive home.

I was feeling pretty sick as we hit up the closest Arby's, and as I sat there in the passenger seat in the parking lot hunched over my Arby's Max sandwich, I declared the end of this post race tradition.  I'm going to need to get my protein to aid in muscle recovery another way moving forward.

Although this was my personal worst, now I know what my baseline is with virtually no training. It's time to build on this baseline again and work on my fitness again.

Travel: ~$60 for gas
Race Registration: $93.26
Hotel: Hampton Inn & Suites Des Moines Downtown: $235.87

Race Recap State #8: Louisiana

Race: Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans (formerly Mardis Gras Marathon)
Date: February 28, 2016
Result: 5:31:55
Charity: St. Jude Children's Hospital
Amount Raised: $579

"I run to eat." That's Blaine's philosophy, he revealed, as our waitress at Katie's Restaurant dropped a plate of chargrilled oysters, a stuffed seafood beignet and some cheesy garlic bread on us like a caloric nuclear bomb.  My friend from U of I whom I hadn't seen in over 20 years and his lovely wife Liz took me and Mae here after grabbing our race packets, exchanging my St. Jude singlet (they sent everyone Mediums, which would have been ok 2 years ago) and picking up some sunglasses and Margarita Clif Bloks at the Expo downtown.

I imagine running to eat is more of a necessity than a philosophy around here, as a plate of cajun spiced chicken alfredo methodically disappeared before me. But man, this beignet stuffed with shrimp, crawfish, crabmeat, jalapenos, onions and cheese was one of the best things I have ever eaten, and I have eaten a lot of things.  We talked running most of the meal, like upcoming races (Disney 2017!) and how to pronounce athlinks.com. Blaine and Liz both share a passion for running, and Liz - like Mae and I - are all about that race bling. But if they're not sharing on Facebook their latest race conquest, it's a mouth-watering post about the food they've got there. It's the latter that drew me down here more than anything, and this early dinner has already made the trip worth it.  

A random wedding parade

We made it back to the Embassy Suites near the convention center and just a few blocks from the race start.  We hadn't even begun to unpack when the fire alarm went off and we were told to go to the fire exit and await further instructions, which never came.  So we went out to our balcony on the 14th floor and waved at a wedding parade spilling out into the street. The thought of running a few miles before going to bed came and went and I passed out instead. At 7 pm.

A faint drum and bass and a regularly occurring siren in the distance got me up some time after midnight and after drifting in and out for the next few hours we were up and about by about 5 in the morning. We headed down at around 6 when they were already serving breakfast downstairs and felt a nervous energy in the air. Mae and I split a customary bagel and I forgot to get my coffee.

St. Jude Heroes raised $168,000

Ragnar in the House

At Lafayette Square I kissed Mae goodbye who hadn't run at all since Ragnar Chicago last June and as she headed into her corral and started her 10k race at 7am I started wandering towards the start line of the Half/Full which was around the corner.  I found some other folks wearing red singlets like the one I was wearing and posed for a team picture with the other St. Jude Heroes at the start line.  I got to meet other fundraisers like Cindy who had a picture of her daughter on her back and shared stories with them, and you can read more about her story here.

I had a predicted finish of 9:59:59 and was assigned coral 26, the very last corral in the back of the pack.  I guess I forgot to fill out that part of the registration.  Since I didn't think I was that slow I decided to track down Blaine and Liz and hang out with them before the start and found them in Coral 15.

The Half/Full start was at 7:30, and with 2 minutes in between each coral release we didn't get rolling until 8:09.  I felt bad for Mae since she was almost done with her race, and I hadn't even started yet! On top of that, all this waiting around gave me the urge to go to the bathroom but there weren't any in sight. So I was torn between finishing as fast as I can and holding back to delay the wall I knew I would hit by mile 15 or so.  This is the earliest race I've ever done in the calendar year. I thought I would get my act together after the holidays and train for this, but it never happened.  So I held back and took it easy under crystal clear skies, running 11 minute miles for the first 10 miles or so.

St. Charles Cable Car Line

An early stretch had us running out and back down a pothole laden St. Charles St., and a handful of us took advantage of running down on the dirt lined tracks since the cable cars weren't running.  There were bands playing at every big intersection, and I pulled out my headphones to listen as I ran by. There was also a funny sign where some bro was offering free motivational ass slaps.  Not sure why but I couldn't help but pull the side of my singlet up and yelled, "right here buddy" as he wound up and sent me on my way.  I think this stunt may have jostled my bladder because not long after I had to find a pit stop, and the next group of porta potties had two pretty long lines, each about 8 people deep. The one I picked moved quickly but of course when I made it to the front of the line no one came out for literally 5 minutes but that really is the story of my life. Whenever given the option to pick between lines, I always pick the longest one, whether I'm at the grocery store, driving on the highway, or running a marathon.  And on top of that, the next block had another set of porta potties with no lines whatsoever.

I saw my hotel around Mile 8 after passing the WWII Museum and pulled out my phone to text Mae to see if she found her way back there.  Because the finish line at City Park for all the races was several miles from the start line, they had shuttle buses bringing back people to the start line.  I wasn't sure what her plans were but she texted me back that she was just going to hang out at the park near the finish line. Man, I hope she doesn't get too bored because I was going s-l-o-w.

Approaching the French Quarter

The most lively part of the race took place in the French Quarter between miles 9 and 10.  It really sank in that I was in the heart of New Orleans and really began to absorb the atmosphere as we ran down Decatur Street.  A sweet girl of about six was passing out beads that I will keep forever.  To my left was the St. Louis Cathedral which was as picturesque as a postcard.  On my right I would have stopped for some beignets at Cafe Du Monde if the line wasn't so long. And on the ground was my hotel key, which fell out of my belt that I failed to zip up after my last gel. Thankfully I kicked it on the way down or I wouldn't have even noticed that I dropped it.

Decatur Street

I began to freak out because I didn't know where the split between the half and full runners and we were already on mile 12, so I kept checking behind me for yellow bibs who were running the full.  Finally the split came at almost mile 13 and the course congestion thinned out completely. I was hoping to see Mae somewhere along the way but she was waiting for Blaine and Liz at the finish for their half.  I was also super paranoid about my toe tag falling off, since I ran past a few stray tags laying on the ground.  It also didn't help that I put it on wrong - it's supposed to form a nice circle loop but I joined the ends wrong so it was like a flat teardrop.  I shouldn't attempt to do anything important at 5 in the morning.  Every block or so I'd look down to make sure it was still there.

By mile 15 as I predicted, I felt the bonk hit even though I took it easy - I texted Mae to let her know I was running 13 minute miles at this point. My right ankle was beginning to bother me like it did during training and my right pinky toe was screaming at me. So for the next 10 miles I decided to break down the rest of the race in quarter mile portions. Every quarter mile I hit I would try to run until 0.2 miles have passed, then walk for 0.05 mile and then repeat.  I saw a number of people cutting the course which made me sad.  Every two miles I would text Mae my mile marker hoping to get words of encouragement back from her.  I also tried to find my latest Trap mix I had put together on the iPod shuffle but being set on random it just wouldn't come up.

Some nice houses near Lake Pontchartrain at mile 19

The 25th mile was a merciful one, and I guess to offset the longer miles earlier in the race my Garmin measured this last mile as 0.8 mile long and I got through it relatively quickly.  I could hear the crowd get louder and picked up the pace as the announcer called out my name as a St. Jude Hero and gave him a high five as I crossed the finish.  A volunteer handed me my beaded medal - it's the St. Louis cathedral - and after a finish line selfie I ripped out my earbuds and heard Mae yelling my name as she and Blaine were patiently waiting for me to finish.

Louisiana in the books!

At the exit chute I grabbed a bottled water, more Gatorade, which I was utterly sick of by now, a few bags of pretzels and got in line for the awesome Brooks finisher's jacket that all the cool kids were wearing.  We went straight to the shuttles after that and rode back to the start line where a much needed local beer, wings and a grilled cheese were waiting for us at Stacks Grilled Cheese and Bar, the hotel restaurant.  I was worried I would have stomach issues during the race since I drank three pouches of Glukos that they gave away at various stations, which I've never had before, but I felt pretty good and ready for a real meal.

Post race protein fix

We freshened up and met up with Blaine for dinner at McClure's, a small BBQ place on a lively Magazine Street where I got the last brisket and did some more reminiscing and catching up. There were some crazy good sauces tableside and we made a point not to go another 20 years without seeing each other again, so Disney 2017 it is.  We finished the night passing out in front of the TV watching Leo get his Academy Award and Spotlight take Best Picture.

The muffuletta

The next morning we drove around town and visited a historical cemetery, grabbed lunch with a retired couple from Irvine, CA at Cochon Butcher, and wandered around the French Quarter where we continued our celebration with dinner at Restaurant R'evolution, a super fancy place with exceptional service.  I think I undid the miles I put in the previous day but it was really nice to explore the city and indulge afterwards without the stress of a race looming. We were a bit overdressed walking down Bourbon Street so we didn't spend too much time there - and we found our way back to the French Market Inn that night which I highly recommend. Great staff and nice rooms, and for less than $100.

We did make it to Cafe Du Monde finally on our last morning there, and it was as good as everyone has described.  People watching on the patio listening to a jazz man blow his horn that morning, I felt grateful for the experience.  While walking around the square after breakfast one of the locals approached us, noticed my Hokas and told me he'd be able to tell me exactly where I got my shoes, right down to the street, city and state.  I couldn't figure out his angle so we stopped walking and entertained him.  I think he wanted to bet me $20 but I wasn't having any of that.  "Okay, tell me where I got my shoes," I said.  "You got your shoes right there under your feet, on Decatur Street, New Orleans Louisiana."  The funny part was he then sprayed my shoes in an attempt to shine them but since they're permeable the spray went right through to my sock.  I gave him a few bucks and went on our way.

The only bad part of the trip was that our 6pm flight home on Spirit got cancelled just two hours before departure.  Since it was the only Spirit flight each day from MSY to ORD we could either be put on the same flight tomorrow or get a refund and purchase a one-way flight back on a different airline.  We decided to bite the bullet and flew home on Southwest to MDW, but the leg from MSY to ORD was $20 / person so I was refunded only $70.  But it was worth it to get home to the kids that night.

What kind of car does a Hero rent?  A Nissan Versa of course.

Registration: $0

Flight: $111 there via Spirit, $120 back via Southwest

Hotels: Embassy Suites Convention Center $438 (2 nights), French Market Inn $97