That being said, I did manage to have a really good time. I did the cliche'd Bourbon street stuff after the race and saw pretty much everything the city had to offer. Oh, and there was a race!
The Rock and Roll New Orleans Marathon was a very well organized race indeed. The expo/start/logistics were everything I have come to expect in a large, well run marathon. The only thing that was an annoyance logistically was the lack of gatorade at every water stop. Some had it, others did not.
The race itself was nice. It seemed to be a good showcase of the city. We didn't do much running in the French Quarter, but that was fine since I was spending the rest of the weekend there. The weather was definitely on the warm side, the sun was ever present and the wind out by the lake didn't help much. But really, my legs past mile 16 were just not all there, mostly due to my lack of long runs (due to illness) this go round. Given that, getting back to under 3:07 (3:06:41) was a good accomplishment. A lot of good momentum heading into NJ.
It turns out that this was #25 for me (almost exactly half way through!) Up next is the Ocean Drive in NJ, Kentucky Derby, Providence, then a major one that I'm REALLY looking forward to... Deadwood. There is some talk about possibly doing Maui in September. That would be epic. But first things first. Time to view the hurricane Sandy damage in South Jersey :-/ Actually can't wait to go! Looking forward to it.
