Mardi Gras Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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New Orleans, Louisiana
United States
New Orleans Track Club
50F / 10C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 03m 35s
Overall Rank = 1454/3441
Age Group = M 50-54
Age Group Rank = 86/151
Pre-race routine:

Coffee, bagels, shower, shave, dress, drive to race site and park.

Went inside the 'dome for a while, then went back to car to dispose of outerwear.
Event warmup:

Hit the porta-potti a couple times, then lined up to start.
Run
  • 2h 03m 35s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 26s  min/mile
Comments:

As usual we were lined up toward the back, so it took five minutes to get to the start. Once past the start line, the field uses all four+ lanes on Poydras, so plenty of room to run. Even after we turned on Carondelet we were still spaced out, but then we crossed Canal Street onto Bourbon.

When clear, Bourbon is barely two lanes wide. This morning, someone forgot to tell people not to park their cars and delivery trucks, so we were left with only one lane to run in. Severely cramped our pace, I swear I've walked drunk down Bourbon Street at a faster pace. The congestion went on through the turnaround and back up Royal Street, really didn't clear out again until Mile 3 after we passed through Lee Circle.

Settled into a comfortable pace and took inventory. Really concerned about my calf that had "popped" a week before the Houston HM, then again during that race. In the two weeks since Houston, I've been relegated to the treadmill, and, for sanity's sake, only had a long run of nine miles. At this point all I could feel was a dull ache in that calf, which was a good sign, a lot better than "pop"! The bladder, on the other hand, was signalling that it was full.

Found a porta-potti station during Mile 5; five units and only four people in line, still it cost me at least 2-1/2 minutes. C'mon peeps, what are you doing in there?

Back on course and holding a pretty steady pace, best I can tell is that I'm staying between 9:00 and 9:10 per mile, which is fine with me. Pretty uneventful, get through the park, see an old friend around Mile 10, picked up the effort (if not the pace) a little when we get back to the Warehouse District, turn onto Poydras and pick it up a little more. Approaching the 'dome, I remember that they make us pass the finish line then come back, so I back off a little until I hit the turnaround. Finish strong, probably means I underpaced the rest of the race.


Due to tall buildings downtown and oak trees on St. Charles, Garmin ended up with some weird splits. Here they are, best I can gather, from SportsTracks:

1. 10:41
2. 9:40
3. 9:01
4. 9:11
5. 11:41
6. 8:57
7. 8:59
8. 9:10
9. 8:53
10. 9:26
11. 8:46
12. 9:19
13.1. 9:52

Averaged ~9:03 m/m over the 8.1 miles after the porta-potti break.
What would you do differently?:

Not get hurt and properly train. Also, losing a few pounds wouldn't hurt.

Still, more than six minutes faster than two weeks ago in Houston (even with the 2-1/2 minutes at the porta-potti), and pain free.

Onwards and upwards!

Post race
Warm down:

Didn't puke, found another Lafayette runner by the Gatorade and caught up with him. Went through the food tents, found bananas, cheewees, smoothies, energy drinks, red beans and rice, finally Subway sandwiches. thank God for sponsors. Found Dylan, and eventually Angel, talked a while with Rob and JoAnn (the H13s here), then packed it up and left. Dylan had Illegal Burrito on his mind, so we stopped and ate one bigger than my head. Yum. Now we know where the extra pounds come from.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of quality training.

Event comments:

Always a good time, even if I don't run a good time!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-09-26 12:00 AM
Running
02:03:35 | 13.1 miles | 09m 26s  min/mile
Age Group: 86/151
Overall: 1454/3441
Performance: Average
Course: New course instituted last year, down Poydras, left on Bourbon to Dumaine, then back on Royal. Royal changes to St. Charles at Canal, out to Audubon Park then around the running trail there and back on St. Charles to Poydras; left there back to the 'dome.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4