Last week I mentioned that I wasn’t feeling well, thanks to the hubster, leading up to the race. Saturday and Sunday I felt pretty good, not quite 100% but I’ve definitely felt worse. Monday I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a Mack truck and then got progressively worse throughout the week. I finally drug myself to the doctor yesterday when I started coughing up green stuff and it hurt to breathe. Turns out that if you run a marathon while you’re sick, you can {and will} develop bronchitis and sinusitis. Who knew? My parting gift from the doc was a nice IM (intramuscular) shot of antibiotics in my rear (ugh!!), two prescriptions and a stern warning not to do anything physical. *facepalm*

I deserved a treat after that shot to the derriere.
Now, as promised, Part 2 of Rock-n-Roll NOLA. The Finale:
Yesterday I left you hanging with part one of the recap right at the split between the marathoner and half marathoners. It was so nice to go from being squished in like sardines to having room to move around without stepping on someone. It was also at this point that the pavement leveled out; my feet and ankles couldn’t take the potholes and broken street much longer.
At mile 13 there were two guys running next to me and I told them, “Alright boys, this is where the race really starts.” They chuckled and told me not to beat them too badly with which I responded “You’ve got nothing to worry about.” That statement was a bit of foreshadowing for what lied ahead. Little did I know how much effort I was about to put forth to finish the next 13+ miles.
The second ½ of the race was an out and back. Anybody who knows me know that I absolutely loathe courses like that. Not only are they boring, but out and back courses are so psychologically damaging to me. From the very first step I start looking for the turnaround point.

The purple at the bottom is where the 1/2 marathoners split; the red is the remaining full course.
Mile 15 I started seeing the elites on their way back to finish the marathon; I cheered for the first few then realized they were all in the zone and I was probably annoying them. The top male ran it in 2:28:23 and the top female 2:52:21. I can’t even run a 5k at that fast of a pace! I took another Huma Chia Energy Gel around this point to top off my glycogen levels. {That stuff is the bomb, by the way.}
Mile 16 was where I first noticed the race really starting to wear on me. It didn’t help that Mother Nature decided to play dirty and had us run straight into a horrible head wind which would last the next 6-7 miles. I just kept thinking to myself, ‘you can’t be tired! You still have 10+ miles to go.’ I wasn’t expecting to have such negative thoughts so early in the race; when I ran the Marine Corps Marathon I didn’t experience any negative self-talk.

In the zone.
{Side note: When I first saw this picture I freaked a bit because it looked like I had an extra finger. I assure you, I only have 5.}
Then, as if the wind and negative self-talk weren’t bad enough, the “fast, flat course” that RnR had bragged became hilly. The course took us over 4 overpasses (8 total since it was a bloody out and back) and while they weren’t super big hills they were still large hills that my already fatigued body had to over come. On one of the bigger overpasses, I joked to a lady that ‘we had just made that hill our b*tch’; she wasn’t amused.
The next few miles all blur together. I got a really awesome pick-me-up when I saw my friend Mel pass me on the back part of the course. I screamed and smiled like a crazy person. FINALLY at mile 20 I made it to the turnaround. Yes!! Only a 10k left! My body was hurting pretty badly at this point but I was excited to know that I made it into the 20s. I got another burst of energy from seeing my friends Stacey and then Lorena on their way to the turnaround.
After that I remembered passing the 35k mark (which would be mile 21.8ish) and I was crushed to know that I still had 15k left to go. I couldn’t figure out how I was going to make it another 9.3 miles. Apparently I had gone somewhat delirious with my math skills and thinking that a marathon was 50k (31 miles). Thankfully it took me all of 30 seconds to figure out that I had just passed mile 22 which meant 4.2 miles NOT 9.3. WHEW! {Side note, this race really made me question my desire to run a 50k…..and my mathematical skills}

Taken after mile 22 right after I figured out that I only had 4ish miles left to run, not 9.3. That’s the look of pure joy.
Mile 24 I opted for a potty stop. I knew I was close to finishing but it was either stop or risk losing bladder control. Let’s just say quickest potty break ever! Right before mile 25 I passed my husband again; I managed to yell to him that I was really struggling. He lied and told me I was looking good. ❤ Seeing him was really what I needed to finish.
After seeing my husband I knew that I had roughly 15 minutes left to run. I tried to find any spare gas in my tank and crank out a strong finish. And at exactly 4 hours, 18 minutes, and 50 seconds (a 9:50 overall pace) I hit 26.3 miles (yep, an extra tenth) and crossed that damn finish line!

Coming in for the finish. Yeah, that’s a forced smile…
I have never been so exhausted and happy to be done in my entire life. I found my husband and promptly sat down. Ouch.

Love this guy so much!
{best husband ever}
I can honestly say that this race took everything I had both physically and mentally. It was a totally different experience from the Marine Corps Marathon where the race didn’t feel challenging at all. I immediately found my husband and gave him the biggest hug and kiss. Then we waited for my two running girls to finish. Stacey rocked a 27 minute PR and Lorena can now call herself a marathoner. So proud of these girls!
Finally, it was time for my favorite part of the race….leaving! We waited in line to get bused back the to starting line. I had to chuckle because you could totally tell the marathoners from the 1/2 marathoners by the length of time it took them to get up and off the bus.

Buses, buses and more buses.
You can tell from the picture that the weather had turned nasty, too.
And then it was time to get our grub on! All that running left me with a huge appetite. We ended up eating at Hard Rock Café and it was delicious. The food was delicious, not Hard Rock. Although I was hungry enough I threatened to eat part of Hard Rock while waiting for my food.

Vest worn by Mick Jagger.

Pulled pork, cole slaw & baked bean (I was too full for the fries) made my tummy verrrrrrrry happy!
As far as races or race courses go, this wasn’t my favorite. The ½ marathon course was amazing but the full course left a lot to be desired. The bands were far and few between as were the spectators; it got pretty lonely out there. Although, the first half of the course was amazing. While the streets in New Orleans are incredibly hard on feet and ankles (as evidenced by rolling my left ankle three times) they do provide beautiful, historic sights. I wouldn’t discourage anyone from doing this race. New Orleans is a great racation city; so much to do…..and eat! Just be prepared to be incredibly bored on the second half of the race, that is, if you’re doing the full.
I’ve had plenty of time over the past few days to look back and reflect on this race. The positives and negatives, what I could have done differently, what I will do differently next time. I can honestly say, with the exception of the pre-race potty fail adding 4 minutes, that I couldn’t have done anything differently during this run.
Usually when I finish a race I feel like I could have given more, pushed further, but I can say with complete confidence that I gave those 26.2 miles everything I had; I left it all on the course. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing that ‘all I had’ resulted in a 4:18:50 finish but I’m certainly not losing any sleep over it. There will be other marathons in my future, ones that I will train harder for and run faster at but for this particular race, I’m happy with the result and proud of myself. And I think that’s a lesson that I needed to learn; to respect and appreciate each race as it is.

My pretty new bling that will get put with the others on my hubby’s tie rack behind his ties. I should really fix that.
Question: What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned during an endurance Furevent?