I ran my first ever Crescent City Classic on Saturday. It was kind of crazy. I decided to spend the night at the Seminary’s “Providence Guest House” on Friday night so I could get a fresh start in the morning without a long drive. On Saturday morning I drove to my good friend Jared’s house. He offered to take me to the French Quarter for the start of the race. His house is couple of blocks from City Park where the race ends. It was a huge help! Thanks Jared.
I was soooo confused as to where I was supposed to start. That confusion, mixed with the funky steamy/sewer/alcohol/garbage smell that is the French quarter in the morning made me a bit uneasy. Well, I finally found the holding place with the others who were wearing grey bibs. I didn’t realize how special the grey bib was until we got corralled towards the front. Not exactly near the Kenyans, Ethiopians, and other ninja types, but close enough to almost see them if they stood on their toes and I stood on my toes at the same time. Anyway, I was really worried about my calf and tried to keep it stretched out and loose. The band played, the Anthem was sung, and then it happened – The gunshot followed by a stinkin’ canon! We were OFF!
I had to do some creative running to get through the crowd of people. Weaving in and out, I managed to get to a comfortable pace (around 6:30). It was comfortable at first anyway. Into mile two I was still breathing through my nose…Yessss. But it was about that time my body realized that it was STINKIN’ HOT! Now, I know the temperature gauge didn’t show it, but the sun on the concrete combined with Southern Louisiana’s steamy humidity made things pretty rough. Thankfully, people had hoses spraying in the street for us. I ran under every one I could find and thanked the homeowner/sprayer people. As the heat and fatigue wore on me I was tempted to walk a few times, but I just didn’t want to allow myself to walk part of a 10K. Not after I’ve run MUCH larger distances nonstop (though it was at a much slower pace and in the cool of the early morning).
Here are a few interesting things observed along the run:
- People on the sidelines passing out beer to the runners. (no thanks, buddy!)
- The awesome citizens of N.O. cheering us on. (Thanks!!)
- Getting passed by a girl with bunny ears and a tail.
- Increasing my pace because I refused to get beat by a girl wearing bunny ears and a tail.
- Two white guys in Afros and speedos. (What is seen cannot be unseen….ugh)
- The agony towards the end – hoping the finishing line was getting close.
- The beauty of the finish line!
- My phone falling out of the pouch about 50 yards from the finish line. (scooped it up without slowing down too much!)
- The people falling out after passing the finish line.
- I never knew Gatorade could taste so good!
It was a great race and I am pleased with my finish. (http://runkeeper.com/user/Ri0tdude/activity/32799951 – I forgot to stop RunKeeper until a few minutes after my finish.)
I finished the 10K in 42:59 and was 297 out of over 20,000. Praise God! It was a PR because it was my first 10K. lol And I did it in my goofy toe shoes.