Louisiana Marathon

Meeting Bill Rodgers!!

I have so much love for the Louisiana Marathon. I know I have only run three so far but this is by far my favorite. And will be a tough one to beat! It only seems right to start with the Expo. Packet pick up was super easy which is always a plus. The expo itself had a lot of good vendors there and not as crazy expensive as the Honolulu Marathon expo was. One thing I loved that the LA Marathon did was they had all kinds of things to purchase with their logo on it - blankets, t-shirts, visors, wine glasses, pen, pint glasses, coffee mugs, coasters, etc. Very neat! So of course I got coasters and a pint glass!

Ticket pick up for the pasta dinner was pretty easy too. But the pasta dinner was AWESOME. The food honestly was mediocre. I don't have anything bad to say about the food but nothing overly exciting either! But Bill Rodgers spoke and then so did Matt Long. Both of them were amazing. Matt's story is simply amazing and he is such an inspiration! I got to meet both Bill and Matt at the end of the evening which was PERFECT! I bought Matt's book and both him and Bill signed it. Needless to say this marathoner was happy!




Meeting Matt Long




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 The start of the marathon was 7 am and they asked everyone to be in the corral by 6:50am. Getting to the start was easy and parking was easy (which is always super nice!). It was so neat when you approached the state capital building where the start line was they had a light shining on it with the logo and name of the race! I thought this was super neat (Pic on right)! They asked everyone to courtesy corral - which I appreciate. It is always no fun to be darting around those much slower then you for the first couple miles.

Getting ready to cross start line



I have realized that the number of racers the Louisiana Marathon had was what I enjoyed most! Operation Jack was a bit to small and Honolulu was to big! Louisiana was perfect size.

The course was absolutely beautiful! Crossing the bridge and both the beginning and end was fun and a beautiful sight. The landmarks, lakes, houses, everything was simply beautiful. My only complaint was that miles 15-22 was an out and back through a residential area mostly. I wish they had this part first because it was the most boring part of the race and if it was first I think it would have been a bit easier. That being said crowd support throughout the neighborhood was amazing. The people of Baton Rouge throughout the entire course was AWESOME! They had awesome signs, a guy with a kong that him and runners would hit, people blasting music, etc. All of the crowd support made the race that much more awesome.

The race was very well supported also. Aid stations with powerade (I do wish they used something else, I am not a huge fan of powerade, but I drank it anyways), water, port a potties (Every mile!!) where about every mile. GU/Shot blocks where given a little less often but still very frequent. EVERY MILE. Awesome support the entire marathon. Also the course was very well labeled. And of course one of the most important thing - volunteers - they were amazing!

I would without a doubt run this marathon every year if it was closer to me. I will definitely recommend it!


Almost at the finish!

The finish festival was pretty neat. Each runner got a wristband with 10 punches on it for free food and drinks. There was a lot of options and it was super neat that they had a lot of vegan friendly options. I know that the race went out of their way to ensure they had vegan options also - major plus. The only complaint I have is for those who finished after 4:30 there was not a lot of food left. They need to work on this for those who finish later next year. If you have a 7 hour cut off - food should be around still for those.

What was this race like for physically? This was race #3 in 6 weeks. A couple days before the race began I saw this quote....

I had certainly not forgotten my most recent marathons - Honolulu or Operation Jack. But I wasn't worried about it. Honestly, the only thing I was worried about was chaffing under my arm. I had NOT forgotten how incredibly painful that was during Operation Jack and I feared running another 26.2 miles with that pain. I made sure I put deodorant on and Vaseline up'd my right under arm. Luckily for me this worked. However, my left arm chaffed just a bit under the arm. Though certainly not bad at all and it didn't start until about mile 22. Thank goodness!

Other then that the race went well. Of course I hit the half marathon mark at 2:30 (Right on track for a 5 hour finish) but then I began to weaken around mile 15 (I dropped to about 12 min per mile pace) until about mile 21. Then from then on I slowed a bit more. My glute muscles hurt again, though not as bad. And my left arch hurt a bit also. But it is a marathon - so normal aches and pain! My toes helf up SO well I was impressed!

Most importantly?

I PR'd this marathon too! So that means each time I have run a marathon I've beat my previous time!!

Finished in 5:26:51!!

I finished!



My mom was my support for this marathon! Us just after I finished!



Love the medal!!



State 2: California - Operation Jack Marathon

State number 2. 18 days after my first ever marathon!

I have a routine when I run a marathon. Or when I go out for a long run. I like my routine - I am comfortable with my routine and knowing it will bring me success. I didn't stick to a single thing with my routine for this marathon. And it worked out just fine - it taught me I don't necessarily need to stick to my routine. I also realize that by traveling to 50 states from Hawaii to run marathons it is unrealistic to rely on routine. So thank you Operation Jack for making me realize this. 

So why the lack of routine you may be wondering? Well hubby and I decided to take a road trip through California for the holidays! We started up north and ended in San Diego. We ran the Operation Jack Marathon about half way in between - the day after Christmas! 

The day before the marathon we spent driving from Half Moon Bay to LA area - we took the 1 which took us much longer then I originally thought! Our food for the day was not consistent, but at least we had a consistent water/Gatorade intake! The days leading up to the marathon? Completely off our normal diet and lots of brewery stops! Hey - I wasn't missing any of what we wanted to do in California! Plus, my hubby is a bit of a beer snob - so of course we had to hit up some brewery for tours and try new beers. 

All of this led us to the morning after Christmas at the Operation Jack marathon.  I woke up not wanting to run a mile yet alone 26.2 of them that morning. I watched my husband crawl out of bed and begin to get ready to leave. I knew I needed to do the same. He was very excited because this was going to be his first marathon. I wasn't at the time feeling the same level of excitement. However, I dragged myself out of bed and began to get ready. We stopped at a local grocery store to get some bread and peanut butter for breakfast.

Did I mention that I was cold too? Haha! I was definitely not waking up to a Hawaii morning! We made it down to the parking lot at Dockweiler state beach park. We looked at the board to see what number we were assigned. I was bib # 106. We then stood in line to get our bib and t-shirt. I tried not to be a wuss and bounce around too much from the chilly temperature - but I failed. While waiting in line a friend I had met at the Honolulu Marathon and I knew was running Operation Jack found me. We chatted for a couple minutes and then I went and sat back in the car to warm up some! I know, I know, I'm a wuss!

As the start time was approaching I took off my jacket and got out of the car to stretch. Lucky for me it was starting to warm up (though not a crazy amount). I am learning that ideal temperature for marathons are such a temperamental thing! We all gathered around the start line, listened to the route and off we went! At .2 miles in we saw this guy.....

This guy was amazing. He ran the whole race (ahead of me) and was at numerous spots a long the course cheering all the runners on! You rock are we there yet guy! (His sign said more then that too!)

The course was beautiful along the beach. It followed a bike path where bikes were actively going the entire race.For someone into biking also, like me, this was actually neat. Most of the bikes that passed were really nice bikes and gave me something to gawk at. The weather was beautiful and I was doing well on keeping pace. My only goal at this point in time was to beat my Honolulu time. My secret goal was to get under 5:30. 

At about mile 5 I began running right on pace with another gentleman. He and I ran the remainder of his race together (He was doing the half) and we chatted the entire time. This was nice as it kept me busy and not in my own head the entire time. He was a really nice guy and I found out he will be out in Hawaii running the half marathon I'm signed up for in April. Maybe we will run into each other again! 

My running partner and I for about 8 miles.

The weather was warm but not too warm the entire time. This was amazing and perfect for me. All around - I was feeling good this race significantly longer then I did in Honolulu! The only major issue I ran into was I had forgotten to put deodorant on the morning of the marathon and I began chaffing under my right arm beginning at mile 6 and struggled with it the entire time. 20 more miles of chaffing was certainly no fun. At one point in the race (around mile 20-21) I considered stopping one of the many bikers going by and asking them to turn around and look for guy with bib #107 at the finish line and ask him to have athletic tape for me as I ran by for the final loop before finishing. But I didn't. But honestly I STRONGLY considered it. Here I am about a week out now and it is still bad and tender. I will never forget deodorant again in my life. 

I struggled less and less during Operation Jack with my butt muscles cramping. However that being said it still happened, but I got better at keeping it at bay and also getting it to go away. I didn't use the nuun liquid I usually use or train with but instead drank what they provided. Which I believe was something made by GU. At each aid station except the first (I always skip the first) I would take that and a water. This really seemed to help. 

I began to struggle around mile 23. But I finished it! And most importantly I beat both goals (barely!).... I beat Honolulu and I got in under 5:30

Official time for Operation Jack...... 5:29:52

Just squeaked in under 5:30!



Hubby running his first marathon!

 Rocked it!

Looking forward to the next one..... on my 25th birthday! Louisiana here I come!