Many of the pieces are clicking together

Many of the pieces are clicking together... not all of them, but many.

I ran 3.4 miles today at 8:15 min per mile average pace.  That is not in-and-of-itself impressive in any way, but considering my recent history it wasn't all bad.  I ran this 3.4 miles without calf pain and without having to stop.  That is the good part.  I really could have kept going, but I decided to stop so I did not put any undue stress on the calf or the tendon.

To recap:  It has been almost 5 weeks.  5 weeks since my calf started to REALLY hurt in the middle of a run.  So much that I had to stop.  I was training for the Little Rock race that was only one week away, so I laid off for that whole week.  Then I ran the Little Rock race and re-injured/further injured the calf/achilles at mile five and then I had to limp the other 8 miles.  I laid off again for two weeks after that race, then went for a run last Monday.  I had to stop and walk at 2.5 miles.  -- Calf pain!  So, I laid off again until today.

I decided I would go for a slow run today. I did not want to push it.  Besides, I am not in such great shape.  I have gained much of my weigh back and I have not done ANY cardio in 5 weeks.  But today felt pretty good.  My toe nails are not black any more.  The ones that fell off are growing back.  My cardio at that relatively slow pace was good.  I definitely could have gone farther and faster (from a cardio perspective).  I had no blisters or chafing.  No foot, ankle or knee pain.  No IT band pain.  No pain at all.  My phone was working.  My music was playing though my bluetooth headphones that were operating properly.  It was not freezing cold nor oppressively hot.  It was a good day running.

When I got home, I realized that my calves were very tight and I am limping a little.  I even iced for a bit.  I think I will ice again and who knows... I MIGHT even do some stretching... tomorrow.

The essential oils and balms and salves seem to make my family agitated.  They seem to always have some comment about how I smell when I apply them.  Also, I have no way of determining definitively if these "treatments" did anything to help me heal.  So, for what it is worth, my plan is to pray, ice, rest, massage, and return slowly, taking it lightly.  I have had a nice rest between races this time.  The next race is April 22 in Utah, but the race after that one in Indiana is only two weeks later.  Not much rest time, so I am praying that I remain healthy so that I can ease my way back and then continue to improve.

Who knew the calf, for someone who runs, is so complex... or maybe I am just making it more complex than it needs to be? - and likely making more of it than I should.

Anyway, I am feeling hopeful that I am on the mend.

Quick Blog -- Status Update

Just a quickie today to give you a quick status update.

I ran today.  First time since the Little Rock Half Marathon, and I did not run for a week before that one -- so, three weeks without a training run.

The calf was feeling good.  It did not hurt yesterday, and I did not even think about it until I decided to run up the stairs, which made me aware of it, but was not painful.  Today I was aware of it this morning, but it did not bother me at all the entire day.

So, how about a light and short run?  Sounds like a good idea... right?

After work I went for a run.  7:59 first mile, nice and easy.  I was already composing a blog that would inform you of how great it felt.  8:14 second mile.  I slowed slightly, on purpose, as it was slightly uphill and I could feel the calf, but no more than the other one.  At 2.5 miles it was noticeably uncomfortable, so I decided to walk.  I did not limp.  I am still not limping.  I walked the .5 mile home and I could feel the calf, but not painful.

I am currently icing, just as preventive medicine.  

We will see how it feels tomorrow.

Three Weeks and a Birthday

Today is the first day that my calf did not hurt when I got out of bed in the morning.  The first day that I was not aware of a pain in my leg while walking.

I hurt my calf one week prior to the Arkansas race, and re-injured or further injured it during the race.  That was two full weeks ago today.  So, other than running five miles in Little Rock and hobbling the remaining eight miles, I have not exercised in THREE WEEKS!!  That would not be the end of the world save for the fact that I also had a birthday celebration in there too.  My lovely and thoughtful wife baked me a New York style cheesecake... from scratch.  It was incredible!  I say that it WAS incredible, because it is now gone.  I ate the vast majority of it myself.  It was soooo good.  I am paying the price for it now.  I feel like I am all bloated and as if I have bulked OUT, putting on a good 20 pounds.  I have not weighed myself.  I am afraid to weigh myself.  I seriously do not want to know.  The good news is the cheesecake is gone.  I am tempted no more.  The other good news is that I am feeling like I might be able to run again.

That being said, I felt pain free today -- until... until I decided to run up the stairs instead of walking gingerly up the stairs.  To be clear, I did not hurt my leg doing this.  I am not limping and I am not in pain; however, I did feel the calf while going up and afterward... actually, I can still feel it a bit.  This makes me a bit nervous.

The next race is April 22. This gives me nearly 5 weeks to recover and heal, but I am afraid that if I take any more time off I won't be able to fit in my car, much less get on the plane and secure my seat-belt.  Maybe I could buy two seats and add one of those seat-belt extensions.  That MIGHT work.

It is a bit of a delicate balance though.  The race in May, the one after this one,  is only two weeks later.  So, I am concerned about re-injuring the leg if I do not allow adequate time for healing, but I am also concerned about my cardio.  If I am not training and allowing my leg to heal, then I am turning into Jabba the hutt.  I am thinking about riding the stationary bike at the gym for cardio.  I wonder if that will translate?

I am hoping that the leg is healed well enough that I can start training lightly and work up a bit over the next four weeks and be prepared for the next race in Salt Lake, Utah... AND be healthy for Indianapolis in May.

BTW. The race in June is in Duluth Minnesota.  I decided to race this race for a cause other than myself.  I decided that all this time, money, and effort should benefit someone, so I decided to run to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.  St. Jude's is a wonderful organization that helps kids and their families when they need it most.  Please consider helping raise money to help these kids and families who so desperately need your help.  Just click the link to help.  Even a little bit can make a big difference.

http://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/Heroes/Heroes?px=4464319&pg=personal&fr_id=64831


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Thanks!!

Little Rock Half Marathon -- Recap

Little Rock Marathon -- Arkansas

Registration:

Registered online again.  This race did require proof of finish time, but only if you wanted to be in Corral A or Corral B.  I gave the link to my Arizona Race and they still put me in Corral C.  Of course, I got it changed, but I had to prove a finish time below 1:45.

Fee:
$80
$5.80 processing fee
Total, in case you hate math $85.80

The Expo:
This expo was at the Statehouse Convention Center.  Valerie went with me and we walked to the convention center from the hotel.  It was just a few blocks.  We passed by the start and the finish so that we would know where it all was.  It was all within four blocks.  We walked over to the Expo and got my race packet, then walked over and rented a bicycle for Valerie to ride with me the next day.  Of course Valerie had to stop and get her boots shined on the way.
Shirt:
The shirt was a wicking, tech shirt.  I have gotten smarter and ordered an L this time.   



Race Day:
Sunday

Race Start Time:
7:00 am.  We started about 7 minutes late.  They let the timer count down to 2 minutes and then made an announcement that they needed to get more runners to the starting line, so they were going to wait another few minutes and reset the timer to count down from 6 minutes.  I am not sure what that was all about.  There were multiple starts.  Valerie told me there was a bicycle start, then the chair athletes.  Some of the chair athletes were not handicapped, just wanted to race in a recumbent hand bike for some reason.  Then the wheelchair athletes, one guy with a service dog and a blind runner... then we started about 7:07am.

Course Map:


This course was not marked nearly as well as the last few races. I only noticed a few mile marker signs.  I remember seeing 8 and 10.  Without my Garmin I would not have had any idea how far I had gone.

Race Type:
This was all road race, with some hilly sections.  The start went 2 or so blocks to a bridge, then up and over on the bridge, around the city streets for three miles, then back up the bridge the other way.  Then the course was relatively flat with a slow incline to about mile 9 when there were some rolling hills and a noticeable incline until near the end.   I was pretty well hobbling the whole race after mile 5, so I had to walk the steep parts.  Up was painful, but down was not so easy either.  More on that in a minute.



The roads were not too bad.  Some sections reminded me of New Orleans, but most of the roads were tolerable... particularly if you ran in the middle.  Once you got off to one side the quality of the road decreased and the slant increased.

Accommodations:

We stayed in a hotel this time.  There was a hotel, the Legacy Hotel and Suites that I found on Priceline.  It was a whopping $73 per night.  It was just down the street from the start and finish.  One of the easiest so far.  We got a little nervous when we drove up in the Uber and the driver said, "Old Hotel".  Nothing more, just "Old Hotel".  I said, "Cheap Hotel, what can ya do?"  He said, "That is exactly what the lady said last night".  When we went in, it looked like the hotel from Tower Of Terror.  We were nervous, but knew we would only have to spend one night there.  When we got in to the room, we were pleasantly surprised.  It was clean and spacious and everything worked properly.  The bed was clean and comfy.  We had a nice rest and it was perfect.

Transportation:
We walked everywhere we went.  We were so centrally located that we had no need to take any other mode of transport.  We took an Uber to and from the airport, but it was just a few miles.  Total trip fee was under $10.00.   As I mentioned, Valerie rented a bike, but she only rode while I was running, otherwise she pushed the bike along side me as we walked.  I offered to push it for her, but she would not let me.

Weather:

The weather was rain!  Saturday, the day before my race was picture perfect.  My cousin ran the 10k and she had perfect conditions.  When we woke up Sunday morning, it was raining fairly steadily.  The rain slowed just before the race start and stayed a light, gentle rain the entire race.  It was about 50 F and rainy, so I was cold and wet, but it really was not that bad.  The only issue I have when it is wet is chafing.  Because of all of the moisture, and the fact that I was running funny, I had chafing -- please look away, so I do not embarrass you -- chafing here, here, here, here and here. -- Ok, you can look again.

Race Morning:

I have no idea how many corrals there were for this race.  They only marked corrals A, B and C.  Corral A consisted of maybe 20 people.  Corral B looked like it had around 75, and then I could not see too far behind me in the rain.  Valerie said it was kind of a mass free for all after Corral B, so it was nice that I was able to move into B.  We were in Corrals, but they did not hold anyone.  The start was the same start for everyone.  Not even in waves... Just GO!

Race:

The course was all roads.  Straight and flat at the start, then up the bridge and over to the other side, then back up the bridge.  No mile markers that I saw, except 8 and 10.  There were no timers on the course except start and finish.  I recall crossing a timer mat at the 10k mark, but there was no timer, just the mat.  I was running pretty well... for me.  I was running 7:40 or so per mile until almost mile 5.  A snake bit me or a sniper got me or someone stabbed me in the calf.  I thought for certain I would have to quit at mile 5.  The same calf/Achilles injury that happened the week before the race, only this time instead of an ache and a burn, there was a sharp/stabbing pain to go along with it.  I pulled up lame and limped.  I soon found that limping was not only slow, but was still painful, so I decided to try running again.  I shortened my stride considerably hoping that this would keep me from "pushing off" and cause more injury and more pain.  So, I went from 7:40 pace to 10:00 pace.  I walked a few of the steep parts, but just tried to keep moving forward.  I will say that I had absolutely no issues with my cardio.  I could breathe and I don't think I was even sweating.  Hard to tell though with all of the rain.  I guess jog-walking 13 miles is easier than whatever I was doing before.  But, I am happy to say that I finished the race

As you can see from my split times, I kind of blew up just before mile 5.

Water/Food Stations:
There were water and Gatorade stations every1.5-2 miles or so.  But, all I saw was water and Gatorade.  Two "unofficial" stations were serving a microbrew.  There were a couple of the racers who stopped and had a couple and chatted for a while before they started running again.  I did see three stations that had quartered oranges and one banana station, but I did not notice anything else. 

Scenery:
The race was through downtown Little Rock.  We even ran past the Governors Mansion and he was out there shaking hands and waving.  The scenery was the neighborhoods and historic buildings.  It would likely have been nicer if the weather was good, but in the rain it all looks drab and dreary.

Race Entertainment:
There were a few bands and groups and singers out there, but they were wet, so they did not have too much energy.  Also, they were often playing to no one as there were just a small few spectators.  There was a marching band that was under the cover of an old gas station.  The concrete block projected the sound nicely.  That was probably the best of the entertainment.  Although, having said that, I was struck by the number of old ladies that were seated on their porches shouting encouragement.  You had to imagine that they were out there in the cold, damp weather shouting encouragement for several hours.  Not sure what would motivate someone to do that, but they did... and it made me smile.

Finish:
The finish was just a block over from the start.  It had the same type of banner that you saw in the start line banner.  There was a DJ and two other people who were calling out names and making a big deal of the people finishing.  After the finish though was total disorganized mayhem.  There was a LONG fenced area where the runners could get their finishers medal, a massage, a heat sheet (foil jacket), water and then the runners could get a print-out of their race stats.  Of course EVERYONE (everyone else) wanted their race stats, so there was a big line and a bottle neck at this area.  There was no food, no snack, not drink other than water.  I was surprised... and thirsty.


Bling:


The finishers medal is huge. They had this weird theme, something about candy and candilicious and runalicious.  Candy things everywhere.  Not sure what it was about, but it made for some large bling.  


Misc:

It was nice to have Valerie with me for the travel and companionship before and after the race.  I really did not see her at all during the race.  The course was not really conducive for bike-a-longers, but she apparently had fun biking around and talking with people.  I did see her about mile 12 and she rode in with me and encouraged me for a mile or so.

Post Race:

Post race consisted walking back to the hotel alone as Valerie went to return her bicycle.  Then a nice shower and off to the airport.  It was a quick trip.  I am not upset about this race.  My time was not great, but due to my injury I was not even sure that I would be able to run at all.  So, I was happy to hobble across the finish line.  My next race is not for about 7 weeks, so I am hoping to have ample healing time.  I know several of you have been praying for me and I greatly appreciate that.  I know that is the reason why I was able to run at all.  Next race: Salt Lake City, Utah!  April 22 (I think).

Anointing With Oil

My house STINKS!  I walk into my house after work and am immediately hit with a stench coming from WITHIN my house.  Yes, I do have two boys and a teenaged daughter, but they are not the reason my house smells.  My daughter has a dog, but she is not the reason for the smell.  My wife is a REALLY good cook... and that is not the reason it stinks.  It smells like a mixture of Ben Gay, flowers, candy, and "Old Guy" in here.  Since I have injured my calf/Achilles, I have been anointing my legs with essential oils, slathering lotions on them, bathing them with hot water and epsom salts.

Actually, let me paint the picture by simply making a list of all of the things I have done for my calves since Friday evening.
1.  Ice
2. Stretching
3.  Foam rolling
4.  Peppermint oil
5.  Lavender oil
6. Deep Blue rub
7.  Epsom salt baths
8.  Prayer
9.  Whining
10.  Rest
11.  Hoping
12. Complaining
13.  Blogging
and... my cousin just sent me a suggestion that I of course MUST try next
14.  Nayaran Balm
15.  MORE REST  -- so much rest that I am feeling all sluggish and frumpy.  I actually planned on naming this blog post "Frumpy".

It started hurting on Friday afternoon.  Today is Tuesday.  If I had to run today, I would not be able to run the entire race.  I would have to stop and walk somewhere.  Likely before the end of mile one.  Fortunately, the race is not until Sunday.  But... it IS THIS Sunday.  Maybe the Nayaran Balm will cure it.

I am trying all of these things and hoping that they will do anything to make it feel better. In my mind, I believe that it is just going to take time to heal and these adjunctive therapies will do very little, but I am trying them anyway. -- and as a result, my house stinks.

I cannot remember if I have typed this story already, but I am reminded of a story that happened to me a few years ago.

Valerie bought me some workouts at a place called Speed Source Athletics.  I called it Bigger, Faster, Stronger.  It was basically a warehouse with astro-turf and some equipment with some trainers there to torture you.  They required a test-in and a test-out.  You would set specific goals and tailor your work-outs to meet your goals.  I  was not aware of what the test-in/test-out procedures were about.  I had not researched anything.  It was simply a gift from my wife -- a welcomed gift.  I liked it.  It was a good gift.  Anyway, I go to my test-in and they have me scheduled to test-in with a high-school senior.  I think I was 40.  This kid was 18 years old and had clearly been working out.  He asked me why I was starting this program.  Apparently, most of the athletes were high-school kids wanting to go on to collegiate athletics, college athletes that wanted to get ready for the pros, professional athletes that wanted to keep their job or move from second team to starter, etc...  You get the idea.  My answer was, "I just don't want to get fatter."

The first thing we did was body fat analysis.  We stripped down to our compression shorts and stepped into a big white egg.  There was a seat in there and nothing else.  I am not exactly sure how it worked, but it closed and sucked out some air and beeped and opened.  I felt like Mork from Ork.  I was proud that my body fat was registered at 10% and the young kid was more like 18%.  So far, so good.  There was a balance test.  We both failed.... badly.  It was hard.  There was a board over a cylinder and the board had electrodes on it, so it would register when the board touched the side.  You were supposed to balance on the cylinder and not allow the board to touch the electrodes.  I got on it and tried to balance and nearly broke the thing as I hit one side then the other, then the other, back and forth, hitting each side HARD.  Fail, fail, fail.  The trainer says, "we will work on your core."  GREAT!

Then we moved on to standing high jump, seated high jump, and standing broad jump.  I killed him in all three!!  The trainer was even impressed.  (presumably impressed that such an old, white man could jump).  Then we moved on to the 40 yard dash.  I explained to the trainer lady that I had not run a 40 yard dash in 20 years.  She laughed.  -- She laughed.  Then we line up and she has these laser timers set up.  "Just go when you are ready.  The laser will calculate your start time and clock your finish."  So, I take off.  I felt like I got a really good start.  Head down, body forward, legs churning underneath me.  I begin to raise up and pick up speed visualizing the finish line when out of nowhere someone stabbed me with an ice pick in the hamstring.  I pull up lame and limp over the finish line and she records my time 6:30.  I said, "6:30??? ooooh, that's bad."  She said it would have been better if you had run in a straight line.  UGH!!!  I pulled my hamstring lady!!!!!.  She asked, "Did you pull it or just tweak it?"  I said, based on the severe pain, the lump of muscle rolled up to my butt and the bruise that is forming as the blood is pooling behind my thigh, I'm thinking I pulled it.

She changed her demeanor a little bit after that, but then again I was not able to see her again for about six weeks.  Which is the amount of time it took me to fully heal.

I am hoping that this calf/Achilles thing is just a "tweak".  Keep ya posted.  In the mean time, I am going to open the doors and windows and try to fumigate a little.

Calf/Achilles

I was joking with Valerie that I did not have that much to whine about lately, so I have not written in a while.  The truth is, I have been out of town and on vacation.  We went skiing with our family and our dear friends, the Shennings, our Framily.  We have been together a few times before and we are still friends.   Nine of us in one townhome for a week.  We really had a good time, and we have had a good time every time.  Already thinking about next year.
 

I tried to be good and continue my training while I was on vacation.  I ran almost every day I was there.  Then I went out and skied all day.  And a few times walked the mountain instead of taking the tram.  7200ft elevation and we were staying well up the mountain.  Every run started with a one mile downhill trek.  Then some running around town and around the base of the mountain, then I had to figure a way to make it back up the mountain.   Unfortunately it was too early for the chair lifts to be running.  Most of the days I was not able to run up the hill/mountain with a normal pace, so I would run hard for 100-200 yards, then walk, then run, then walk... you get the idea.  It was my attempt to train some cardio and get the miles in one way or another.  I was pretty proud of myself.  I assumed that the thin air training and the uphill training would be beneficial for me.

I did not run on the last morning, travel day because my calves were hollering at me a little.  We got back late Tuesday night and I did not run Wednesday either although I played racquetball instead.  Felt pretty good.  I really intended to run Thursday (yesterday), but... I dunno... I just didn't feel like it.  So, I had a few days off and decided to run this afternoon (Friday).  I started running and felt pretty good.  Calves were sore, but no big deal.  Most of you will not believe this, but I actually stretched my calves before I started running.  OMGoodness, what is next, yoga? essential oils?  Vegan diet? -- I'm nervous.

I got about a mile into my run and my right calf started to hurt.  It will go away.  It will be fine.  I'll survive.  Just keep running.  At 1.5 miles I decided to stop and stretch my calf some more.  I know, crazy!  Then I decided to continue with the full intention of ignoring the pain.  -- I'll skip the drama -- I quit at 1.8 miles.  Now I am having difficulty walking.

I guess I have found something to whine about.  Hey, I've got an idea.. why not whine on my blog.  Ding ding ding.... we have a whiner.

This is bothersome for me.  I have a race in Little Rock NEXT WEEKEND.  A mere 8 days to heal.  Ughhhh.

Apparently, this type of injury is attributed to over use, trail running (which I was doing at the time), and uphill running... hmmmm.  Arghhh!!!

OK... many of you are well wishers and experts in different areas... so, I will tell you what I have done so far.  
FIRST, I stopped running and watched Noble's football game.  
2.  I came home and iced my calf for 20 min.  
3.  I had some ice cream (It made me feel better) with fudge (it was dark chocolate fudge and I hear dark chocolate is good for you, so it must be medicinal).  
4.  I whined about it on social media.  (this did not make me feel better like the ice cream, but I felt like all my friends needed to know. LOL)  
5.  I began to whine... er.... blog about it.  
6.  I sniffed some essential oils.  (I am just kidding... I joke about the oils because it seems to be the latest craze.  Seems like everybody I know sells oils and/or real-estate).  I do have some samples that people have given my wife and I think I am gonna splash on some peppermint and wait for healing.  7.  I am ready to ice again.  -- stand by, I'm gonna go get some ice now..................

OK... I am back.  I just talked with my daughter and she offered me some deep blue lotion.  I think I will slather that on there.  Now that I think about it, I have several racquetball buddies who swear by Tiger Balm.  I don't know what is in these things, but I am thinking about trying them all... at the same time.  Now we are talking results.  More is better, right?!?!?!  

I have fond memories of being in my great grandmother's house.  We called her Great.  She was very sweet to us kids.  I was the youngest.  I remember she ALWAYS had a bowl of peppermints, the soft ones that would melt in your mouth.  I would sneak SEVERAL of them even beyond what she offered me.  Then I would get a glass of ice water.  The feeling inside my mouth of the ice and the tingly feeling from all the peppermint was a great feeling.  Makes me think of Great.  That is how I feel right now with the peppermint oil that I just bathed in, I mean rubbed on my leg and the ice, it seems to intensify the cold... but it feels kinda good.  Who knows, I may just be all better in the morning. LOL.

A few of my friends have told me that the best protocol is RICE.  I wasn't sure if that was cooked or uncooked, brown, long-grain, or sticky.  It is all so confusing.  I have a pot of minute rice going right now.  Maybe that will do the trick.  

BTW... the whole rolling thing...  O....M....Goodness!!!!!  I abhor rolling.  It hurts so bad.  It makes me wanna cry.  I am NOT doing that!!  Why would anyone subject themselves to that?  I have no idea.  It is really just my legs though.  When I get massage therapy, I often tell the therapist to DIG.  I have stated several times, "You will have a hard time hurting me, so go after it, and DIG".  A few took that to heart and really TRIED to hurt me.  I LIKE when they use deep, firm pressure on my neck and back.  It feels GOOD.... but on my thighs, particularly and to a slightly lesser extent, my calves, IT JUST PLAIN HURTS.  Hurts like I wanna cry, hurts.  Rolling is like that.  IT JUST HURTS!!  

Anyway, the part that is bumming me out is that I have a race in Arkansas next weekend and I am afraid that this is going to sideline me.  I would rather not have to run walk or worse yet, drop out.  That would be a major disappointment for me.  

My faith tells me that I should pray and call upon the church to pray with/for me, and use the best that modern medicine has to offer me.  The irony and humor is that the text reads, "13Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15And the prayer of faith shall save the sick,"  This should be funny to all of my essential oil friends... but, as I understand it, the meaning of the text is to utilize the best of modern medicine.  Follow the doctor's advice and take the appropriate medicine... which, to be fair, may include essential oils.  I'm keeping an open mind.  But first and foremost, I am going to pray, and I will ask you all to pray for me as well.  Thanks in advance.

I'll keep you updated.

Race Recap -- New Orleans, LA

Rock n Roll Half Marathon New Orleans

Registration:

Registered online again.  This race did not require proof of finish time, but asked for an estimated finish time.  I gave 1:45 as my estimated finish which put me in corral 2.

Fee:
$107.48 total -- same as the Tempe Race
$95.99 registration
$11.49 transaction processing fee

The Expo:
This expo was at the New Orleans Convention Center.  This expo was set up exactly like the Arizona expo last month.  The same vendors, the same set-up, the same race bags, the same bibs and tracking system.  I suppose the Rock 'N' Roll series is attempting to make the experience uniformed for each race.  I will admit that these Rock 'N' Roll series races have been more organized than some of the other ones, so I guess they are accomplishing what they have intended to accomplish.

Shirt:
The shirt was a wicking, tech shirt.  I have gotten smarter and ordered an L this time.   The writing reads Laissez les bon temps rouler, which means let the good times roll.


Race Day:
Sunday

Race Start Time:
7:30 am.  We started on time.  The wheelchair athletes started a couple minutes early, but the elites and corral 1 started right at 7:30.  In Arizona, Corral 2 was held for 1 minute and 15 sec.  In this race Corral 2 was only held for like 20 secs.  Just enough time for us to get up to the start line.  Not sure why there was a difference, but this configuration kept us more more "bunched up".  I was dodging people literally the entire race.  In the other races, it seemed much more spread out... especially after the first few miles.

Course Map:


This course was marked well.  I did not notice as many police, or volunteers, or even spectators for this race... until the end.  The "crowd" was sparse and those that WERE there were offering some minor "golf claps".  -- oh, and I noticed several cow bells.  Not sure what that was about, other than a noise maker.

Race Type:
This was all road race, and very flat at that.  Of course when I say flat, what I mean is in terms of elevation.  I think there was some 12 feet of elevation to the entire race.  My Garmin showed a maximum elevation change of 35ft.  I guess that is pretty good for a town that is below sea level.  What was NOT flat about the course were the roads themselves.  I felt like I was leaning the whole time.  Actually, check out the other guy in this picture:

He ran on the left side of the road the ENTIRE time, and he leaned left the ENTIRE way.  I am not exaggerating.  I know because we passed each other multiple times AND HE FINISHED IN FRONT OF ME... of course I think he might have fallen over (to his left) when he quit running, but I am not positive.  Anyway, that is how I felt that I was running because all of the roads were in such bad shape.  Potholes, uneven roads, orange caution cones everywhere.

Accommodations:

It was a bit difficult agin to find a place to stay near the start and near the finish, and the prices were quite high because of the time of year, being around Mardi Gras and all.  I ended up 2 miles from the start and 2.6 miles from the finish.  I definitely limped back to the duplex because of my blisters.  It took me 45 minutes to hobble back to my place. Funny thing though, I got stopped 7 times by people heading to the finish trying to find how to get there.  None of them could believe that I had already finished.  I am not sure how long they thought it should take, but it made me feel good that they were impressed.  I had a police officer offer me a sincere congratulations and a blessing.  I was hoping he would offer me a ride, but I was happy with the blessing.

Transportation:
Riskshaw was the most common form of transportation that I noticed.  Since I got the AirBNB, I walked.  Most everybody was walking as it looked like they stayed in one of the hotels in the French Quarter, but there were several who were utilizing the rickshaw mode of transport.  I suppose I am too cheap for that. :)  Walking to the start was no big deal.  I treated it like a warm-up.  I tried as hard as I could to show up right on time, but alas, I was 30 minutes early still.  I cannot seem to figure out how to show up right on time.  The walk back was a bit tougher.  My biggest blister did not pop until I got to the airport, but immediately felt better.  If I had known that, I would have popped it before I hobbled home.  Oh well... live... learn.

Weather:

The weather was great.  The sun was shining and it was 53 F at the start and warmed up to about 60 F.  I was comfortable and happy to not be freezing.

Race Morning:

There were 20 corrals for this race also.  I was in corral 2 and my pacer was also in corral 2. There were 9,208 finishers in this half marathon and there was a the full marathon that also started with us, so there were LOTS of people.  The start was a wave start, but a quick one.  Corral 1 went off and we waited about 20 secs before we went off.  There were people everywhere. -- racers that is.  I think I went three or four miles longer than the actual race, but only sideways, as I was dodging people the WHOLE time.  It was kind of like my golf game.  I have a tendency to hit the ball very hard and it goes a long way.. just not straight.   300 yards to the right, and 250 yards to the left.  When I finally get into the fairway, I have already hit 700 yards and the hole was only 426 yards to begin with... and I still have another 100 yards to the hole.

Race:

The course was all pavement.  All roads.  No traffic.  The only bit of confusion was when the half and the full marathon course split off.  It was early in the race and it was clearly marked, but I noticed a couple folks complained that they were confused.  The course was almost totally flat, no bridges or overpasses.  The two things that I did not like about the course:  1.  The roads were uneven and I was leaning the entire race.  2.  There was mostly two long straights.  There was a turn around at mile 4 and then a left turn at mile 8 or so, then straight, straight, straight.  It reminded me of Interstate 10.  It is LONG and flat and boring and LONG and did I mention long?  It seems longer to me when you are just running straight... and the people dodging wasn't enough to give me that variety that I was looking for.

Water/Food Stations:
Plenty of water and Gatorade every 1.5 miles or so, but no other food or other drinks.  The only other thing I saw was Gukos Energy packs after mile 8.  I drank one, but it did not seem to help this time.  I got a blister on my left foot, on the bottom and outside at about mile 9.  Then a blister on my right foot between my big toe and the next one at about mile 11.  My times slowed significantly after that.  Not sure if the blisters were the cause of my slow down, but I recall feeling every step and wanting to stop and walk and remove my shoe or something but I forced myself not to stop.  I only stopped at one water station to  take a drink without splashing it all over myself, then immediately started back again.

Scenery:

Ya know, I m not sure what I was expecting.  I thought it would be cool to run through the French Quarter.  I guess maybe I had visions of Mardi Gras parades and Canal St and Bourbon Street.  I guess I envision hordes of people dressed in some crazy Mardi Gras outfit or at least some of the famous NOLA "flavour".  As it was, I just felt like I was running, on an incline, straight through some old neighborhoods and then through the business area, then into the park.



Race Entertainment:
There were several bands, and one was a brass band all wearing kilts.  Not sure what that was about either.  But there did not seem to be much in the way of entertainment along the course.  I can think of 5 bands playing on the side of the street.  And one of the "bands" was just one guy playing the guitar.  A one man band, I guess.  I remember thinking there was simply not a lot of turn-out for this race -- comparatively speaking.

Finish:
The finish was in the park past the New Orleans Museum of art.  I had lost all track of time or distance at the point that we reached the Museum.  I could not see around the museum, so I thought the finish was just behind.  I assumed that I would see the finish as I rounded the semicircle past the museum, but it was like another half mile or more away.  I, of course sped up -- no one would mistake my increase of speed at the finish for a "kick", but I did pic it up a little -- UNTIL I rounded the semicircle and realized that I could STILL not see the finish as it was STILL too far away.  That was a bit disappointing.  But I did finish, and survived the whole thing... blisters and all.



Bling:




Misc:

I was alone for this race.  I did not speak to anyone... well, I did speak to one person.  At the finish, I limped over to the ambulance and asked the EMT if a band-aide for a blister was too small of a medical emergency for them to manage.  There were two of them sitting there.  One told me no, and the other said, "I think we can handle that" and gave me a band-aide.  Otherwise, I spoke to no one before, during, or after the race.  I did speak to several spectators on the walk home.  Everyone was very nice.  Some went out of their way to say hello or how ya doin.  My point, other than the local folk seemed very nice, is this was a no "frills" race for me.  But, to be fair, that was how I set it up.  I did not participate in any of the activities or parties or anything but the race.  I had dinner at a pasta restaurant the night before, alone.  It was actually quite good.  I witness a real live fist fight as I walked to the restaurant.  I was walking up, about 6 or 8 feet from three guys when one of them punched the other in the mouth and his friend also jumped the guy who got punched, so now it was two against one.  I quickly crossed the street.  They were gone by the time I walked back.

Post Race:

Post race consisted to my visit to the EMT ambulance, a five minute sit down leaning against a tree and a 45 minute walk back to the room.  I had a nice hot shower, laid down for 15 min. then caught an Uber to the airport.

I finished 624th out of 9208 with a time of 1:46:51, two blisters, and sore calves.  Only 45 more to go.  LOL!!  Next month, Little Rock, Arkansas.  Valerie will be with me for this one.