RnR Mardi Gras Part 1 and WS Week 10!

Rock'n'Roll Mardi Gras  ~ Pre-Race!
This past weekend was pretty packed so I'm going to break the "post-race thoughts" into 2 or 3 parts. Today we'll be looking at Marathon Eve! 


Expo
Traveling with me this weekend was MB (as per usual), Christine (first time half-marathoner) and Kim (one of the original MM Divas) and we tried to take a little bit of everything in of New Orleans. We all flew in late morning on Saturday, checked into the hotel and went right to the expo. As with most of the RnR Expos, this was a big Brooks carrier and had a ton of Mardi Gras Marathon clothing to buy. The expo was also packed with some of the other usual suspects- Power Balance, One more Mile, Etc. 

Our new friend "GU Jeff" (just got with it) was talking to (what I thought was ) just some runner while I was in the midst of a shopping spree. GU Jeff called me over and I distractedly wandered over until I saw who he was talking to... Scott Jurek! At this time (I'm told) I practically rushed the poor guy with my mouth gaped open and my eyes popping out. I even turned around to Christine and Kim and said "OMG That's Scott Jurek"... yeah, while he was standing right next to me. 


I attempted to speak but after a few failed attempts the ONE thing I managed to get out was that I wanted to run with his pace group (he was pacing the 3:30 group) but I was training for an ultra and was SUPPOSED to be going slow the next day. When he asked what race I was running I wanted to kick myself when I had to say "Western States" to a guy that's won that race 7 years in a row. After I died of embarrassment we took a picture... and then he backed away slowly.

Scott Jurek and I at the expo

Bourbon St & Maniac Dinner

After the expo we got changed and then headed out to enjoy... BOURBON STREET! None of us had been to New Orleans before so we went down Bourbon St to get a taste on our way to dinner. It was very hard not to get one of the "really big beers" or join in with the general debauchery afoot. Luckily MB was with me to say no to the beer... and the boys that were approaching us. 

We got our beads and our taste of bourbon street and headed over to the French Market, which is also a hot spot in the area known as the "French Quarters" of New Orleans. Then we headed over to meet up with some friends and maniacs for dinner. 

Maniacs at our Pre-Race dinner!

After dinner we headed over to do a historical ghost tour! If you're in an older city, these are a really fun and entertaining way to get to know a little about the city you're in. They're usually an hour or 2 and the guides are pretty knowledgeably on the area if you have questions. We didn't see any ghosts but the buildings we got to walk around were all really neat and definitely had a touch a "Spook" about them. 

By the time we got back to the hotel it was past 10pm and definitely time for bed. We needed our rest so we could get up early and get ready for the Mardi Gras Marathon!


To Be Continued...


WS100 Training ~ Week 10
Oh how the times they're a changing. So remember a few weeks ago when I was having a really hard time with fatigue and hunger while adapting to the higher mileage and more intense training plan? Well apparently I'm getting along pretty successfully in beating my body into submission. This week felt GREAT. I got through all my training runs well and my long runs felt like I had 10 or 20 more miles in me! As you'll find out in tomorrows post (the continuation of the one above) I ran a LOT harder than I planned but I felt great and never felt like I was pushing it. Then when I ran my 10+ hill of hill repeats on Monday I felt great and zipped right through them!


I realized  that during Mardi Gras I never once hit a wall and I think these extra miles are really helping. Then I started thinking about the elite runners. They may only RACE 2-3 marathons a year but their mileage goes WAY  past mine on a weekly bases and their long runs far surpass the marathon distance on the weekends. If it helps them, why wouldn't it help me? Just because they're built for speed, doesn't mean their bodies are made any differently than us slower runners. If they can adapt, so can I and I think I'm starting to get used to these crazy miles. Not only that, I'm felling a LOT more confident about WS100 and about ultras in general. I'm looking at a few 50-mile trail runs for early this spring-- possibly even a 50-mile stretch of the WS Trail! Eeek. We'll see about that. 


Notes/Thoughts: Coming off of a good week I'm hoping to put in one more "up" week before a drop down. I may have to do 2 depending on my schedule and a few proposals I've had come my way. I've gone through my full schedule and added a fem miles here and there to push my training a little further. Let's hope I can keep up! 

Happy Running,

~*Stephanie*~

"Fast Girls Have Great Times!" -Marathon Sign