What a fantastic weekend in New Orleans. Friday, we took off in the squad "bus" that was really just a large van, and took off from Houston. Along the way, we drank many beers, jammed to many songs, and snacked on many snacks - all in preparation of tomorrows race! After pushing SO hard, I finished the 10k in 45:19. I am ecstatic about that time, even though I did not meet my goal. Although, my watch and Strava both said that the race was 6.3 miles rather than 6.2, and Alex's dads watch said the same (but his mothers said 6.2). Regardless, I am proud myself because of how hard I pushed myself through the race. I really did want to give up at certain points, but it is also so hard to give up when you are working so hard to be so close to meeting your goal. Everyone on the group was SO proud of me, and honestly, I don't think I have ever felt such a level of encouragement and praise in my life - I almost teared up! This is especially when Alex and I walked back from picking up a poster. The top 500 finishers get a poster, and based on everyones reactions, it is kind of a big deal. Well, I got a poster! I finished 328 overall, top 50 female, and 8th in my age group. Here is a link to me finishing, and boy do I look TIRED! www.youtube.com/watch?v=80Qxflq2gx4&t=23m44s After everyone finished the race we drank beer, danced, and partied for hours at the post-race festival thing. It was such a good time, and a good feeling to be surrounded by people who had just pushed themselves to do something really hard and impressive. Speaking of impressive, Alex KILLED IT at the race. He did the full 10k without stopping to walk even once, and he even drank some beer along the way. He has not ran more than three miles in years, so for him to push himself to do that at the race is so incredible. This guy impresses me so much everyday, I am so lucky to be able to be the lady by his side! Anyway, after exhausting ourselves, we went out to lunch at this Mexican food place (I am blanking on the name, Felipe's maybe?) that had fantastic vegan options. Once getting back to the hotel, we all went down to the pool to get in the perfectly cool water and lay out and nap by the sun. Afterwards, most people took a nap, but Alex and I decided to watch basketball instead. It is playoffs, after all. Following nap time, the squad went out for dinner but in craving a delicious and vegan dinner, Alex and I went our own way and had dinner at this delicious Brazilian restaurant, Carno. It was so cute - it had live music, art everyone, a little theater and a mini library! Once we finished up we met up with everyone else on Bourbon and the kiddos (who were over 21) went out on Bourbon street for some drinks and dancing. Shoutout to The Dungeon for being the creepiest bar ever. We couldn't stay out too late, since we were so tired, and I am pretty sure we were fast asleep by midnight. As per tradition, Sunday morning, or Easter morning, called for an Easter Egg Hunt, which is by far the most fun holiday activity I think. More fun the trick-or-treating for sure. I appreciate the mom's so much for putting that together for us. To think they were worried we were to old - hah! Each egg had a $1 bill, which came in use for visiting the French Market. Alex and I didn't buy anything besides food, but we came across this stand called Meals from the Heart and got a delicious vegan sausage po'boy. After shopping around, we left and booked our way home. Sadly - Alex and I were unable to find a vegan beignet in New Orleans (or Louisiana in general). This means that I have to try my hand at making it from scratch, and I will hopefully add it to my recipes on this page! I want to thank the Raterinks and the Petty's for including me in this tradition and allowing me to race for the first time ever under the best circumstances (aka fantastic people!). I also want to thank Alex for being the most encouraging and caring boyfriend I could ever ask for. Hopefully, I will come down to NOLA for Easter and race in the Crescent City Classic with the team again!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |