Oktoberfest 5K Road Race

My second race of the season is already behind me! This means that the half marathon is that much closer.  I have 3 more races lined up between now and December 16 (the day of the half) and am hoping to throw one more in there, just to keep the momentum going. It's amazing how time flies when you've got these things looming in front of you.

More on my half marathon training later.

Last night I ran the 1st annual   Oktoberfest 5K in a suburb just outside of New Orleans.  This place is straight up small town..

It felt like I was in a whole different world. 

It could have been Michigan for all I knew.  

The NOTC (New Orleans Track Club) tents were all set up for registration, bibs, time chips for your shoes, free t-shirt, etc. 

I warmed up by jogging on what would be half of the race course.  This is a bike path atop the levee, tracing the Mississippi River bank. 

This view is no Lake Michigan, which I am spoiled with when running in Chicago, but water is water.  Gotta take what you can get. 

At the 2 mile mark, I was not feeling the greatest.  We had to climb a VERY steep hill to get off the road and up onto the levee...my body wasn't prepared, so I needed some mental motivation.  I thought of some of the funny and/or inspirational quotes I'd seen online, like this one: 

And this one: 

I clicked to the next song on my iPod and told myself to toughen up & power through.  Even if I couldn't beat my last time (Personal best, 25:14), 

I would finish this thing without complaining.  

I mean, seriously, it's only 3.1 miles, at this point in my training, 

that's nothing! 

So power through I did.  

I finished with a respectable time and felt great afterward.  

Even with one 20 second walk break (to keep from puking) I managed to place pretty close to the top. Number 7 out of 60 female finishers. 

Other than the runner's high that I experience every time I cross the finish line, my favorite part comes afterward: after a shower, after a hardy meal, after icing my knees and stretching.  I retreat to my balcony with a book and & a chilled treat.

Clink to me and another successful race!

--Court