my first half-marathon
an essay.
about 2 months ago, my mother had the brilliant idea.
"hey, we should do the mardi gras half-marathon!"
sure mom, have you seen me try and run? i'm the dancer, remember?
"no no we'll just walk it. we have four hours to finish it"
so i let her think we were definitely doing it, but i kinda figured the idea would die. i don't run. everyone knows this. i don't have the attention span for it - i get bored with the idea of traveling a great distance by foot for no other reason but to be traveling. i'm all about supporting OTHER people, however. i drove 7 hours to watch megan run the boilermaker in upstate new york. i got up early to watch em cross the finish line in providence. (both times, i was part of making EXCELLENT signs of encouragement)
but we got closer and closer to the "race" and i realized my mom was serious about this. then the day came when she REGISTERED the two of us online.
i think to myself "oh shit, i'm ACTUALLY going to have to do this."
the week before the big day, i think, hmm i should probably hop on the treadmill and TRY to go for more than 2 miles. you know, just to see how it feels. i did it, but it still wasn't NEAR the 13.1 miles i was going to have to do on the following sunday. but i guess that would serve as my "training."
we got up early to pick up our race packets at the race "expo" on saturday morning. t-minus 24 hours till the starting line. i thought this expo would be simple - we go. we pick up our race numbers. maybe we get a free tshirt. we leave to eat tons of carbs to prepare our bodies for the torture it's going to endure the next day.
i was wrong. this expo was the most serious thing ive ever seen. i can tell you. these "serious" runners are intense. you would NOT believe the merchandise you can purchase before each of these races. shorts, sports bras, special cool-max shirts, gloves, ear warmers, socks, shoes (seriously, if you don't have running shoes by this point in the game, you need to ask yourself if you should be running a marathon the next day). water bottle holders, ipod holders, key holders. creams, energy gels, nipple guards.
i swear to you. nipple guards. they protect you from nipple abrasion, apparently.
(hold the phone, i say to myself, i did NOT sign up for nipple abrasion. what the heck am i getting myself into?)
i survived the expo, i got my outfit and music together, and i ate lots of carbs. i was as ready as i was going to be to survive 13 miles.
we were downtown by 6:30 on sunday morning. it was dark when we left, but the sun was just starting to come up over the new orleans skyline by the time we picked up krentel and got to the superdome. there were 3,000 people there. a lot from out-of-town, a lot from the area, a lot of serious runners, a lot of people in costume. (that's what i like to see! my kind of people) we all lined up and listened to the national anthem. at 7am, we made our way across the starting line.
no turning back now.
we ran/walk down poydras to decatur, took a left on decatur. we passed a guy that was running backwards. he handed out cards saying three things: 1. it was his birthday. 2. he collected pins, but lost most of them in house in the lower ninth ward. and 3. he was running the whole thing backwards. around the same time, we started talking to a young woman named allison who was from DC. she said her friends were at the cafe du monde with a cowbell, and that we'd have to look out for them. they were our first cheerleaders, so even if it was only like 1.5 miles into it, it felt good to be cheered on.
we got to esplanade ave and started running/walking towards city park. people kept asking us "hey, yall are doing the marathon! good for you." and we kept correcting them saying "oooooh no we are NOT that serious - we're just doing the half" this happened four or five times before someone says, "well you're wearing the marathon shirt, not the half marathon" well, at the "expo" someone messed up and gave us the wrong free tshirt. basically, we got a 90 dollar tshirt for 45. good deal.
got to city park and started making our way around it to mirabeau. this was where the race course took us to some pretty bad parts of the city. where the water line was taller than me, and houses still stand with mold growing up the walls. but here, we were running/walking between a group dressed as MREs and a group dressed as willy wonka, a hershey kiss, and a oompa loompa. i felt like i shouldve worn my mardi gras boa.
at this point, we ended up backtracking some of the way back around city park. it was mentally challenging. this was when i got bored, but we were past half-way so i had this newfound energy to keep going. i said some prayers, put on some more music, and kept on truckin'
and then i hit city park avenue. they guided me to moss street where they promised "water, bathrooms, and ice-cold beer" it was as if the people on moss street were waiting for a mardi gras parade. there were people sitting on the grass by the bayou on one side, and people on the house porches on the other side of the street. they had made a giant sign saying "turn for the worse" and as promised, were handing out beer and mimosas for those who wanted them. (i knew i had about 4 miles to go - so i passed). they had mardi gras music. they were cheering me on as if i was FIRST in the race.
THAT was new orleans, my dear ones, right there on moss street. THAT was what we are all about. i might as well have been second lining in a mardi gras parade.
by that point, i was so far ahead of my mom, and i honestly thought krentel had quit by this point, and was enjoying a cafe au lait somewhere uptown. with 3 miles to go, i slowed down along banks street so that i made sure i finished with my mom. after all, she was the one who forced me into this. around mile 12, we met the biggest and most enthusiastic group of key-clubbers - high schoolers that were probably all displaced during the storm, but are back now trying to regain some kind of normal activity, like doing a keyclub service project at the crack of dawn. (sure, that sounds familiar)
the 12 mile mark was at the end of banks street and it was right underneath a street light where someone had painted up to the water mark to make it look like water. cute in a sick kind of way.
the last 1.1 miles were tough physically - like the city park miles were tough mentally. my feet hurt by this point. but the superdome was in our sight. before we knew it, we were feet from the finish line and we had just ran/walked 13.1 miles through the city of new orleans. we crossed the finish line at 3 hours and 10 minutes. (3 hours and 7 minutes was our OFFICIAL time) mom started crying which only made me cry. it was poignant.
when i walked passed the finishing area (with bottles and bottles of gatorade), i saw chris rose from the times pic (which is like seing a celebrity for me). we met debbie who told us john was indeed still in the race, just waaaaay behind us. and there were about 500 people still lining the ramps of the superdome, waiting to cheer people on as they came across the finish line. a lot of positive energy to go along with all those endorphins just surging through my body.
we did it. all 13.1 miles. and it was glorious. i can't wait to do it again. once i get over my soreness. they don't make enough ib profen, i tell you.
crescent city classic, here we come!
the end. (wow, this could be as long as the marathon itself.)
about 2 months ago, my mother had the brilliant idea.
"hey, we should do the mardi gras half-marathon!"
sure mom, have you seen me try and run? i'm the dancer, remember?
"no no we'll just walk it. we have four hours to finish it"
so i let her think we were definitely doing it, but i kinda figured the idea would die. i don't run. everyone knows this. i don't have the attention span for it - i get bored with the idea of traveling a great distance by foot for no other reason but to be traveling. i'm all about supporting OTHER people, however. i drove 7 hours to watch megan run the boilermaker in upstate new york. i got up early to watch em cross the finish line in providence. (both times, i was part of making EXCELLENT signs of encouragement)
but we got closer and closer to the "race" and i realized my mom was serious about this. then the day came when she REGISTERED the two of us online.
i think to myself "oh shit, i'm ACTUALLY going to have to do this."
the week before the big day, i think, hmm i should probably hop on the treadmill and TRY to go for more than 2 miles. you know, just to see how it feels. i did it, but it still wasn't NEAR the 13.1 miles i was going to have to do on the following sunday. but i guess that would serve as my "training."
we got up early to pick up our race packets at the race "expo" on saturday morning. t-minus 24 hours till the starting line. i thought this expo would be simple - we go. we pick up our race numbers. maybe we get a free tshirt. we leave to eat tons of carbs to prepare our bodies for the torture it's going to endure the next day.
i was wrong. this expo was the most serious thing ive ever seen. i can tell you. these "serious" runners are intense. you would NOT believe the merchandise you can purchase before each of these races. shorts, sports bras, special cool-max shirts, gloves, ear warmers, socks, shoes (seriously, if you don't have running shoes by this point in the game, you need to ask yourself if you should be running a marathon the next day). water bottle holders, ipod holders, key holders. creams, energy gels, nipple guards.
i swear to you. nipple guards. they protect you from nipple abrasion, apparently.
(hold the phone, i say to myself, i did NOT sign up for nipple abrasion. what the heck am i getting myself into?)
i survived the expo, i got my outfit and music together, and i ate lots of carbs. i was as ready as i was going to be to survive 13 miles.
we were downtown by 6:30 on sunday morning. it was dark when we left, but the sun was just starting to come up over the new orleans skyline by the time we picked up krentel and got to the superdome. there were 3,000 people there. a lot from out-of-town, a lot from the area, a lot of serious runners, a lot of people in costume. (that's what i like to see! my kind of people) we all lined up and listened to the national anthem. at 7am, we made our way across the starting line.
no turning back now.
we ran/walk down poydras to decatur, took a left on decatur. we passed a guy that was running backwards. he handed out cards saying three things: 1. it was his birthday. 2. he collected pins, but lost most of them in house in the lower ninth ward. and 3. he was running the whole thing backwards. around the same time, we started talking to a young woman named allison who was from DC. she said her friends were at the cafe du monde with a cowbell, and that we'd have to look out for them. they were our first cheerleaders, so even if it was only like 1.5 miles into it, it felt good to be cheered on.
we got to esplanade ave and started running/walking towards city park. people kept asking us "hey, yall are doing the marathon! good for you." and we kept correcting them saying "oooooh no we are NOT that serious - we're just doing the half" this happened four or five times before someone says, "well you're wearing the marathon shirt, not the half marathon" well, at the "expo" someone messed up and gave us the wrong free tshirt. basically, we got a 90 dollar tshirt for 45. good deal.
got to city park and started making our way around it to mirabeau. this was where the race course took us to some pretty bad parts of the city. where the water line was taller than me, and houses still stand with mold growing up the walls. but here, we were running/walking between a group dressed as MREs and a group dressed as willy wonka, a hershey kiss, and a oompa loompa. i felt like i shouldve worn my mardi gras boa.
at this point, we ended up backtracking some of the way back around city park. it was mentally challenging. this was when i got bored, but we were past half-way so i had this newfound energy to keep going. i said some prayers, put on some more music, and kept on truckin'
and then i hit city park avenue. they guided me to moss street where they promised "water, bathrooms, and ice-cold beer" it was as if the people on moss street were waiting for a mardi gras parade. there were people sitting on the grass by the bayou on one side, and people on the house porches on the other side of the street. they had made a giant sign saying "turn for the worse" and as promised, were handing out beer and mimosas for those who wanted them. (i knew i had about 4 miles to go - so i passed). they had mardi gras music. they were cheering me on as if i was FIRST in the race.
THAT was new orleans, my dear ones, right there on moss street. THAT was what we are all about. i might as well have been second lining in a mardi gras parade.
by that point, i was so far ahead of my mom, and i honestly thought krentel had quit by this point, and was enjoying a cafe au lait somewhere uptown. with 3 miles to go, i slowed down along banks street so that i made sure i finished with my mom. after all, she was the one who forced me into this. around mile 12, we met the biggest and most enthusiastic group of key-clubbers - high schoolers that were probably all displaced during the storm, but are back now trying to regain some kind of normal activity, like doing a keyclub service project at the crack of dawn. (sure, that sounds familiar)
the 12 mile mark was at the end of banks street and it was right underneath a street light where someone had painted up to the water mark to make it look like water. cute in a sick kind of way.
the last 1.1 miles were tough physically - like the city park miles were tough mentally. my feet hurt by this point. but the superdome was in our sight. before we knew it, we were feet from the finish line and we had just ran/walked 13.1 miles through the city of new orleans. we crossed the finish line at 3 hours and 10 minutes. (3 hours and 7 minutes was our OFFICIAL time) mom started crying which only made me cry. it was poignant.
when i walked passed the finishing area (with bottles and bottles of gatorade), i saw chris rose from the times pic (which is like seing a celebrity for me). we met debbie who told us john was indeed still in the race, just waaaaay behind us. and there were about 500 people still lining the ramps of the superdome, waiting to cheer people on as they came across the finish line. a lot of positive energy to go along with all those endorphins just surging through my body.
we did it. all 13.1 miles. and it was glorious. i can't wait to do it again. once i get over my soreness. they don't make enough ib profen, i tell you.
crescent city classic, here we come!
the end. (wow, this could be as long as the marathon itself.)
posted by Catherine at 2:36 AM
1 Comments:
Hi, Catherine. I enjoyed your Mardi Gras Half-Marathon post immensely. I was in town (from Colorado) for the marathon too, and I LOL'd when I read about you meeting Mark Perez, the backwards-running pinman, too. Also, the nipple guards. Fortunately, I didn't have to use any (or resort to the vaseline offered from what looked like huge artist's easels along the course) and still did not get any nipple abrasion. :)
I posted an article on the race too, for a different perspective: http://felixwong.com/news/2006/02/mardi-gras-marathon/. Good luck to you in the Crescent City Classic, and long live the great city of New Orleans!
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