Yesterday I shared a few of my thoughts from my first Marathon- last weekend in New Orleans.  I thought today I would pass along some of the biggest memories from the race itself and then tomorrow some of the other stuff from the weekend.  As I'm sure you are aware, there's more to New Orleans than running and I did take advantage of at least some of what the city has to offer.  More on that tomorrow.  Today- some of my favorite memories from the run...

* The Start: I lined up about 2/3 of the way back.  When the gun went off I kissed my wife and started (slowly) moving towards the start line.  As we slowly moved in that direction, I saw that most everyone was jumping up and tapping the start-line banner as they passed under, so I slowly moved to the middle of the street, so I could do the same.  As I tapped the banner I thought- "This is it, you are now officially running your first marathon!"

* Bourbon Street and the French Quarter:  As we left the Superdome, we headed straight for Bourbon Street and the French Quarter.  I didn't think of it at the time but later heard someone say how glad they were that the Quarter was right at the beginning of the race- "'cause the smell would have killed me later on."  As we ran down Bourbon Street, it was already starting to warm up and I saw people taking long-sleeve shirts off and just tossing them to the side of the road.  I smiled, thinking about the conversation I had with my wife earlier- she thought I should wear long sleeves.  I'm guessing that somebody followed along behind the runners and collected all those shirts that were discarded, because just past the finish-line there was a big pile of smelly shirts.

* Running the Rails: After we left the Quarter, we headed out to Audubon Park.  As we headed that direction, some of us figured out that it was much more pleasant running between the streetcar tracks than on the road.  The packed dirt felt much better to run on than the crumbling roads of New Orleans.  The problem was that it had recently rained, so there were a few big puddles between the rails, so you had to jump out of the rails and then back in again.  Not the safest move in the world and I did twist my ankle doing this at about the 10 mile mark.  Obviously not bad, but it did scare me.

* Just 20 More Miles!  As we passed the 6 mile mark, I yelled out "Woo-Hoo, just 20 miles to go!"  That got a big laugh from most, but a loud groan from the rest.

* Go Tulane!  Warning- I'm a guy.  And as a guy, sometimes GUY thoughts pass through my mind.  So, as I was running the rails, I noticed a very attractive young woman from Tulane University ahead of me.  I know she was from Tulane, because it said "Tulane" across her very attractive backside.  So, I followed that very attractive backside for quite a bit of the first 10 miles.  Actually, I would follow her for a while, then I would pass her and when I would stop for water/gatorade or a bathroom break, she would pass me.  When I started running again, I would run behind her for a while and then pass her again.  This went on until about mile ten when I passed her for good.

* Just (about to be) Married: After about mile 10, I had sadly lost the Tulane girl, but then started doing the same routine of passing/being passed with a group of people that included a Bride-to-be, Groom-to-be and Father of the Bride all running together.  Although it didn't do as much to take my mind off the run, I did think it was a pretty cool way for them to start their life together.

* Can I have a beer chaser with that?  About the same point that I first caught up to the just about to be married group, I noticed a group of spectators along the side of the road- Bloody Mary's in hand, cheering us on and high-fiving runners as they passed by.  As I passed by, instead of holding my hand up for a high-five, I held my hand out like I did when I passed water/gatorade stations.  They were willing to give me a Bloody, but I thought better of it.

* Oh, this is going good: When we rounded a corner and I saw the Superdome ahead, I knew we were very close to the 1/2 marathon finish and I felt like I was at least close to the pace I wanted.  Sure enough, as we passed the 13 mile mark I was at 2:05.  Now, I don't know how long it took me to actually get to the start line (I didn't think 5 minutes, but 2 wasn't out of the question) and I don't how much time I lost trying to work my way through the crowd for the first couple of miles (again, 2 or 3 minutes was probably about right), so I could be on pace for a 4 hour marathon!  I know it's not record breaking, but I was pretty excited about that for my first marathon.  In the end, I didn't keep up that pace, but I'm still happy with the end result.

* Just one lap around the park:  As we entered City Park, a spectator yelled out "just one lap around the park!"  Wow, I'm really getting there.  Just one lap around the park and then it's back to the Superdome for the finishers party!  How long can one lap around the park be?  Oh, trust me, it can be long.  Really long.  I found out later that it's one of the largest city parks in the entire country.

* NO HILLS PLEASE!  I signed up for the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans because I know there are no hills in New Orleans.  I remember this from a trip many years ago.  My wife and I took a tour of the New Orleans Zoo and noticed a bunch of kids playing on what anyone around here would call a "small mound."  The kids were having a great time, so we asked what the big attraction to this mound was.  It turns out that because there are no hills in New Orleans, they build a "hill" in the zoo, so kids could experience it.  And like I said, the kids were having a great time- climbing the hill, rolling down the hill, climbing back up again, playing "king of the mountain" or just about anything else they could think of that involved a hill.  I can't say I had as much fun on the one hill on the marathon course.  The hill- also man made- was where the road through the park went up and over the train tracks.  As I started to climb the hill I said "Oh no, it's a frickin' hill."  A woman in front of me turned around and said "It's a big frickin' hill," to which I responded, "I signed up for New Orleans because there are no hills."  Turns out she had the same misconception.

* A cure for my sexist thoughts: As we finally got to the end of City park I was once again passing/being passed by an attractive young woman.  Sidenote: As I told this story to my wife and our friend Deb, Deb asked "how are you possibly noticing hot girls after running 20 miles?"  Laura answered for me- "He's a guy" is all she said.  Anyway, back to the story.  As we were leaving City Park, I passed her, but as I walked through the water/gatorade station she passed me again.  This time she looked really strong- there's no way I'm going to catch her again.  Well, unless she stops for a drink of gatorade and then ends up puking it up on the side of the road.  As I ran past her this time all the race officials were checking on her- making sure she was alright.  She was.  In fact seconds later she passed me again, for the last time.  Never saw her again until the finish line, but now she's not that hot young woman.  She's that poor woman that was puking on the side of the road.

*  I DID IT!!!!!  And of course the biggest and best memory of the day was the finish line!  The finish line was right at the Superdome and as you crossed the line, you then ran under the ramps that lead up and into the dome.  Laura and Deb were standing on the ramp screaming for me as I came down the chute and across the line.  My final time was 4:28, not quite that 4 hour marathon that I thought I had a chance at when I hit the 13 mile mark, but WOW, I did it!  My first marathon!