State #46, Jazz Half Marathon, New Orleans, LA, 10/26/19, Part 2

I woke up on Saturday morning just a few minutes before my alarm, and I have to say, I had a pretty good night of sleep. Although much to my horror, I woke up to the start of my period. on race morning.  just fantastic. But, I came to New Orleans to run, and run I had to. 

I stopped down to the breakfast area at the hotel to get some coffee and then went back up to the room to finish getting all my gear in order and to prepare mentally. Craig got up and got ready and we stopped back to the lounge area so I could get some hot water for my oatmeal packet. While we were down there, we bumped into two other runners who were from New York, Frank and Sarah. Frank was running the half and Sarah was doing the 5K. This was to be Frank’s 10th year running the Jazz Half Marathon. He has friends in the area and comes every year to run and get together with them. What a great excuse to visit! We chatted with them a bit and they told us that they saw Slash from Guns & Roses at the hotel the night before. I guess he was hanging out in the lounge. How funny! Anyway, we wished each other well and were on our way. 

The weather had cleared somewhat from the day before. It was no longer downpouring, but the wind had picked up overnight and it was quite blustery. The temperature was not bad, in the mid 60’s, and there was a bit of a mist in the air. Craig walked me to Lafayette Square where the starting line (and finish) were located, and then he was on his way. 

Lafayette Square in the early morning...getting ready.

Starting line up.

I walked around the square a little and got my bearings, used the porta-potties a couple of times and then got in the starting line up. The race start ended up being delayed 30 minutes due to the heavy winds overnight. Apparently the race organizers couldn’t set up all their equipment in the wind and needed to wait for it to subside a little. Luckily it was only a short delay.

After a very nice version of the National Anthem, we were off. We started on Camp Street and headed up Poydras toward the Superdome. Along this stretch were some of the tall buildings of the downtown area that then led to long stretches of highway bridges. We ran past the football stadium to a turnaround at Broad Street. Not much was up in this area, so there isn’t much to report, but as we made the turn to run back toward the stadium, we caught a cool view of the city which at this point was covered with a gray cloud of mist. It was a little eerie in the morning light. 

We headed back in toward the city and then out on toward a traffic circle and on St. Charles Street. This street reminded me so much of Comm Ave in Boston. The first part we ran was similar to the commercial stretch of Comm Ave near Kenmore Square and points on out toward B.U. Not super pretty, but lots of businesses along the way. As we continued out along this 5 mile or so stretch, the street became more tree covered with gorgeous old trees and the houses became bigger and more grand. The New Orleans street car tracks run in the middle of the road along a green space (similar to the green line T on Comm. Ave.), although due to the race, the streetcars were not running. This street runs through the Garden District of New Orleans, and it is so incredibly lovely. Definitely the section I’d want to live in if I lived there. We ran out to the Loyola University campus (with Tulane’s campus right next door), and turned into the beautiful Audubon Park. 

Trees in Audubon Park. 

Fountain in Audubon Park. 

Tree lined street in front of park on St. Charles.

We ran a lovely perimeter around the park through its gorgeous canopy of old trees and along a water feature. There was also a small golf course in the middle of the park. 

Street view of the Loyola Campus.

I forgot to mention that there were some musical groups playing along the way, most notably at mile 5 on St. Charles were a traditional brass/jazz New Orleans style band kept us moving and again at mile 6 where a gospel choir with drums and keyboard accompaniment were cheering us on. Both of these groups were revisited at miles 10 and 11 on the return trip back along St. Charles. The other thing that was nice about this stretch was admiring all the gorgeous southern style mansions as we neared the park. They were absolutely stunning. 

Blue Lady mansion.

Blue Lady historical marker.

One of my favorites was the Blue Lady, which is right near the park, and it actually for sale! Another favorite was a house that clearly loves Halloween. Their whole entire lawn was filled with skeletons adorned with punny signs and costumes. Craig and I walked back to this area after the race and I snapped a bunch of photos. They really were fun to look at. 

Skeleton display on St. Charles St. 

Really funny puns on all the skeletons. 

Luke "Skull-walker" 

The first part of the race, I felt pretty good and managed to keep ahead of the two hour pace group until mile 5. At about mile 6 (just like in Missoula) my stomach started to feel a bit uneasy, and so I stopped at the sorta-potty at the mile 7 water stop as a precaution. Unfortunately, I lost a few precious minutes there, but I just figured I’d enjoy the view from this point until the finish. One nice thing was that by the time we exited Audubon and made the turn to head back toward the city via St. Charles, we were already well into mile 9. Mentally that really helps it feel quicker than having the turn around point be at the halfway or pre-halfway mile mark.

I felt pretty good for most of this stretch back along St. Charles and about a quarter of a mile from the finish, I found myself running along next to and chatting with some younger guys as we neared the end. They were in good spirits and it was a fun distraction to help with the last stretch. I was doing well until about the last 100 yards or so up to the finish, and they my stomach just started to cramp up. I’m not sure if it was due to my period or if I was dehydrated or if it was something else, but as I crossed the finish line, I was in pain. At least I finished and it was done. I had to walk it out a little in Lafayette Square after I finished. Craig met me and we walked slowly back to the hotel. 

I didn’t bother stretching right away because I really needed a hot shower. So I took care of that first, then I stretched. After that, I sat in bed relaxing for a little while until some Aleve kicked in. Once I had some time to relax, I was ready to head back out, and we started our walk out to the Garden District (basically the bulk of the route I had just finished). 

Movement steps for the day! Yowza!

New Orleans streetcar.

We had a nice day walking along Magazine Street and out to Loyola and Audubon Park. We took the streetcar back, thank goodness! Looking up my official finish time, I was pleased to see that I was only at 2:05:33 which was definitely better than I thought considering I was behind the 2:15 pacer at one point in the race. 

View of cemetery along our walk toward Magazine Street.

Shirt, bib and piano shaped finisher's medal.

We celebrated with a nice dinner at Arnaud’s in the French Quarter that night, complete with live jazz trio in the restaurant and tap dancing street performers outside the restaurant. Since it was the weekend before Halloween, Bourbon Street was alive with many costumed revelers and a festive feel. We didn’t stay out, but rather ended up back at the hotel lounge for a night cap and some beignets. YUM! Not a bad treat after so much exercise. 

Cover of Arnaud's Restaurant menu. 

Beignets back at the hotel. YUM!!!

New Orleans was fun, and we’d very much like to come back to tour around more and learn more about the historical sites and other aspects that we missed. It was a great place to visit and to run through. Thanks to the Crescent City for warm hospitality and a great time. 

State #46, Jazz Half Marathon, New Orleans, LA, 10/26/19, Part 1

My husband and I flew down to New Orleans Thursday afternoon after work. We decided to make this race a little getaway trip for the two of us, so the grandmas tag teamed back in CT to take care of the kiddos. Neither of us had ever been to New Orleans before, so it was a trip we really were both excited to have.
Our first morning in the city brought us tons of rain. In fact, the whole weekend was looking bleak weather-wise, but no matter; we took to the streets to see the French Quarter. We decided to splurge and stay at the Ritz-Carlton on Canal St. What a treat! It was a luxurious hotel with every amenity available.
We stepped out in the morning after a nice bite of breakfast and headed for a walk along Bourbon Street. It definitely had the feel of a party haven kind of place, with bars on every corner (many of them adult themed) and the air of last night's partying still being washed off the sidewalks. We enjoyed walking along looking at the southern architecture and ornate iron balconies.

View along Bourbon St.

French Quarter street view. 

Historic architecture in French Quarter. 

Balconies in the pouring rain!

We made our way down to the Mississippi River waterfront area where we saw Cafe DuMonde, the Steamboat Natchez and ended up in a pretty cool artists co-op where we picked up a couple of souvenirs. We also caught a great glimpse of the St. Louis Cathedral from this vantage point.

Joan of Arc statue.

View of St. Louis Cathedral from waterfront area.

We walked around the waterfront area for a bit before deciding to head toward the hotel area where I was to pick up my bib number. So we started to head away from the river and ended up at the Cathedral where we stopped in to take a peek. It was so calm and beautiful in there. Gregorian chant music was playing, and we sat for a few minutes. I snapped a couple of pictures there of the beautiful works of art adorning the ceiling and walls.

Cathedral interior.

St. Joan of Arc statue in cathedral.

We meandered along Chartres Street, stopping at a couple of shops along the way. I managed to find a cool silver charm for my charm bracelet in a jewelry store, and we saw many restaurants and novelty shops along the way.

Marathon expo and number pick up. Not much to see there but this sign.

We finally reached the Renaissance Hotel where I easily picked up my bib number. We decided to have lunch at the adjoining restaurant, the Legacy Kitchen, where we both got a crab and corn bisque and split a caesar salad. It was good food, although I had to hold myself back on ordering any serious cajun inspired food until after the race. (Don't want to end up with stomach problems in the middle of tomorrow's race.)
With the rain still holding on, we decided to just head back to our hotel for a bit to relax, and ended up booking dinner at the hotel as well, just to keep things simple. 

Relaxing the afternoon away in the hotel with wine and snacks.

An interesting item of note, our hotel was only about four doors down from the fated Hard Rock Hotel that collapsed last week. Just outside our hotel property, at the corner of the road, a barricade stretches across Canal Street blocking vehicular traffic and pedestrians from passing in front of the collapse. Pretty scary stuff.
I'm sure we will have a fantastic dinner tonight and then hopefully I'll get a good night of sleep.

Marathon t-shirt and bib number.