Mardi Gras Marathon - RunMarathon

Well we started and I felt good. The run down Burbon street kinda sucked, it had about 5000 people running down a narrow street that still had an occasional car parked on it and it was in the first few miles where everyone is jammed together. Of course there where a few drunks still out to cheer us on in the early miles of the course. For the first 4-5 miles I was OK, not great but OK. I think we held under 10 minute miles. The only thing I was noticing was how cold I was. Now let me say I am not normally one who gets cold when I run, I dress correctly for the weather and had done so, but I was frezzing. As the miles passed so did my energy, I started getting tired and my cough was making its presecne know. I was starting to have trouble with my breathing because of the hacking cough. My wife kept telling me to bail at the half and not make my self any sicker than I all ready was.
It is a hard thing to do when you put so much time into pre-paring to run a marathon. I began around mile 8 thinking maybe I should just do the half. I was cold, coughing and feeling run down. I hate to have to quit. I think it was around mile 10 I made up my mind that I was going to stop, Jill kissed me goodbye, and once I made up my mind to stop at the half, I was mentally and physically sick. I hate having to not finish a race. We had decent miles till I said to hell with it and started walking, I was just coughing to much to run.
Of course for the finsh I ran, but felt horrible for crossing the half-marathon finsish line with a marathon number on. I know it is no big deal. I finished at the same time the guy who won the marathon did, so I did get to see him finish.
As soon as I crossed the line, I took off my race number, and luckily found my sweatshirt that I had on earlier. I got some water found a place to sit and just sat and sat. I was down on myself for not finishing.
As I sat there I did not warm up for about an hour. I was so thank ful for that old sweatshirt and the fact I had some Halls with me.I debated in my mind to run another marathon again or not, of course I will give it another shot, it just suck to be sick.
I had a couple of hours to kill before Jill and my friends would finish there marathon, so I just sat and drank water and gatorade, which made me realize(later that day) of how de-hydrated all the meds I had been taking had made me.
I got to see my wife finish her first marathon in 4:42:00, she did great.

NOT GET SICK!!!!!!

Another good race, they had many more runner this year than in the last that I have done.