Crescent City Classic 10K Recap!

Be sure to read my post about the race expo!

Race morning I woke up (from my deflated air mattress) and got ready to go! I grabbed a cup of coffee for the road and Paige, Billy, and I were on our way. The plan was for Billy to drop us off at the start line and he would park at City Park where the finish line was. That way we didn't have to worry about any shuttles! Score!

Paige and I got out of the car at a nearby red light and stopped for a few pictures in front of the Superdome!

We stopped for a potty break and then headed to Champions Square to see if we could find any of our running friends. Champions Square was super crowded! We found one friend but no luck finding the others.

Then it was time to head to our corral. And we found our friend Donna so we were super excited! We did a little stretching and some picture taking while we waited to start the race.

I started looking around me and found Nicole! It had been forever since I had seen her and I was so excited to just run into her in the corral!

As we were inching up towards the start line we found Paige's friend Scott! And then finally it was our corral's time to start!

This race is always fun because people dress up. They act crazy. They pull wagons with kegs in them. Some of the water stops serve beer and shots. Only in New Orleans lol! They said there were 27,000 participants there. It's a huge race that a ton of people participate in. Some are serious runners and others just walk the course. It can get crowded especially with the people that choose to walk and don't move over for the runners. That was a little frustrating.

Do you see the people dressed as red solo cups???

Before I knew it we were entering the French Quarter and mile 1! We also found Scott's friend Ashley around this point and she finished the rest of the race with us!

We passed Jackson's Square!

And Cafe Du Monde! And those beignets smelled so good!

It was fun running through this area. In the Rock 'n' Roll course you run through here around mile 9. So it was easier to enjoy it on fresher legs!

We then made it to Esplanade Street and mile 2! Paige started having stomach issues around this time and had to stop at the porta potty. Since this race was just for fun we all waited on her. No man left behind!

All along this street there were people handing out beer! And so many runners drinking it! It was pretty funny to me! This was one of those stops!

We were having so much fun and before we knew it we had made it halfway! We were at mile 3!

I knew somewhere soon the Easter Bunny would be out. He was there last year but was pretty grumpy at me when I stopped to take a picture with him! But first I saw these guys!

And not far behind them....there was my Easter Bunny! And it must have been a different guy because this one was super nice! :-)

We ran a little longer and there was mile 4! We were having so much fun and the miles were just flying by!

We ran a little more on this street and then it was time to enter City Park! This brought back tons of memories of running my first full marathon here!

City Park is beautiful! I love that I was able to enjoy running there (instead of it being at mile 24 and 25 when I was so tired). We reached mile 5 inside City Park.

And Paige had to stop again for the bathroom. I was amazed at all the runners running while we waited on Paige!

Next stop...the finish line! Scott and I would run a little faster than everyone else the entire race and then slow down so they could catch up with us. But once we knew we were near the finish line we took off! It felt good to run as fast as I wanted since I had been holding back the whole race. I just LOVE finishing strong!!!!

It's my second worst 10K time ever...but I had a blast running this race with friends!

After getting our medals and finding our friends we headed towards the after party! We had to stop and take a few finisher photos first though! Priorities lol!

Then we headed towards the after party!

The downside...there were so many people that it took forever to get into the after party area! But I entertained myself with watching other people! And I saw this guy and his costume! ;-)

Once we made it inside the after party we headed towards the VIP area. There was a ton of food in there! They had some New Orleans type food (gumbo and jambalaya), Subway, and Hooters Wings. I treated myself to a Subway sandwich and some cold chocolate milk. It's awesome to be a blogger! ;-) Inside I found some of my blogger friends...Melanie, Heather, Larisa, and Holly!

I was super excited to see Heather and her cute little baby bump! She is seriously the cutest pregnant woman ever!!!

It was fun to sit and relax with my blends (blogger friends)! We also found a few more friends outside the VIP area...Jewel, Jen, and Nicole (again)!

The after party of this race is so fun! They have a band playing and tons of food! Red beans and rice is a favorite! They also have inflatables for the kids too!

Here's Paige and I with our finish photo and medals! Oh yeah...that's right....Crescent City Classic gives all finishers a medal! Sweet!

For the second year, I had an absolute blast at the Crescent City Classic! This is a must do race for me every year! It was the perfect ending to my race season! :-)

QOTD: Have you ever run this race? What is your favorite city to run in?

Crescent City Classic Expo!

This past weekend I ran the Crescent City Classic 10K in New Orleans! I love this race! It is always so much fun and a great end to my racing season (way too hot for racing after April here on the Gulf Coast). Today I'm going to tell you all about the expo!

Me, my friend Paige, and her boyfriend Billy arrived in New Orleans a little later than expected but with plenty of time to hit up the expo and enjoy it.

First thing we went and grabbed our race number. The CCC has colored bibs for the different corrals. Paige and I put the same finish time when we registered so I was confused when my bib was a different color than hers and considered a "walker" corral! What??? I was not a walker but a runner! I was told to go to runner solutions where they would put me in the correct corral. The volunteer was super nice. She scanned my bib and said, "Are you Mindy Jones?" Um no! Mindy Bobe! They had given me the wrong bib! Luckily it was fixed quickly and I was given the correct bib!

Then we set out to find Larisa and Melanie. They were hanging out at the Community Coffee truck where we scored a free t-shirt and a free cup of coffee!

I always love seeing blends (blogger friends)!

Then it was time to get our race t-shirts and SHOP! This expo is fairly big for a 10K race! We had fun looking at all the booths. It was a runner's shopping paradise!

And then we got our traditional pictures with our race bibs!

After the expo we headed about 45 minutes away to Paige's Mom's house where we were staying for the night. Gotta love a free place to stay! I took my traditional flat Road Runner Girl!

And Paige had fun taking a picture of me taking a picture of my flat Road Runner Girl lol! Hey...the bed was really tall and I am really short. I did what I had to to capture this shot...for you guys! I did it all for you! ;-)

We got into bed a little later than we would have wanted but it was ok. I had brought my air mattress with me...only to wake up in the middle of the night with my hip hurting....because the air mattress was losing air! I was literally sleeping on the floor! :-( So it wasn't a great night of sleep for me but I was super excited about the race so waking up wasn't too bad. 

Stay tuned tomorrow for my race recap!

QOTD: How do you sleep the night before a race? Do you sleep well or are you too excited to sleep?

The Weekly Chase #68!

First of all I want to say good luck and God speed to all the runners running the Boston Marathon today! I encourage you to get out there and move for Boston today! We are all #BostonStrong!

Well it's back to reality this week. We had an amazing spring break and I'm super sad to see it end! And so are my boys. But...on the bright side...the boys only have 5 more weeks of school left and I only have 4 more weeks of preschool left and then it's summer time!!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a blast running the Crescent City Classic 10K on Saturday! I'll be recapping it for you this week! And we had a wonderful Easter with family! We spent the night at my sister-in-law's house on Saturday night and spent all day with them and the in-laws and granddaddy on Easter Sunday! It was so nice to relax and enjoy being together!

Now it's time for another Weekly Chase! I'm ready to tell you all about my goals for this week! I hope you will link up your own goals with me too! And feel free to use the badge below in your post too! You can grab the badge HERE! :-)

Here are my goals from last week!

• Goal #1: Run 3 times this week. Yes! I got in two short runs and then I ran the Crescent City Classic 10K race on Saturday!
• Goal #2: Roll and stretch daily. I didn't do this this weekend since I wasn't at home. The rest of the week was successful though!
• Goal #3: Log and stay under all my calories this week. Yes!!! I did great with this even though it was my Spring Break!!! I even ate under my calories on Easter!!!
• Goal #4: Shop for Easter. Yep! The boys had a great basket of Easter goodies!
• Goal #5: Make spring break fun for my boys! Yes! The weather didn't cooperate as well as we would have liked so we didn't get our beach day. We had several rainy and then cold days. But we did get to go see the movie Rio 2 which was really cute! And we got to play at the park!

Here's the plan for this week!

Goal #1: Run 3 times this week. The same plan...2 short ones and a longer run on Saturday (even though I am not officially training for anything I want to keep my mileage up).

Goal #2: Roll and stretch daily. Need to do better this week!

Goal #3: Log and stay under all my calories this week. I'm hoping to hit that 10 pounds lost number this week!

Goal #4: Cook at home this week. I want to cook most of our meals at home this week. It helps me make healthier choices when I'm the one preparing it. 

That's the plan for this week! I hope everyone has a great week!

QOTD: What goals are you chasing this week?

Happy Easter!

What a wonderful thing to celebrate today on this Easter! He is RISEN! I hope you all have a wonderful day spent with loved ones!

source

QOTD: What are your plans for this Easter Sunday?

Fitness Friday...April 18th Edition!

Happy Friday everyone! I can't believe how fast this week went by! We have enjoyed our Spring Break so much! We didn't do a whole lot but we still had fun! I really enjoyed spending time with my boys...made me start to look forward to summertime!

I also got a Fitbit Flex this week! This thing is pretty neat! I love knowing how many steps I'm taking during the day. It makes me want to walk more and more just to get those steps! I even had fun jumping on the trampoline with my boys this week because it meant more steps lol! The sleep tracker is pretty cool too! I already knew I was a pretty good sleeper but it shows when I get woken up by my cat Cullen in the middle of the night when he sticks his paw in my face lol!

It's time for Fitness Friday! I can't wait to tell you all about my runs this week! Even though it was Spring Break I found the time and the way to get it done!

• Saturday- 6 mile run in 1:04:07 average pace 10:41

• Sunday- 3.29 mile walk

• Monday- #plankaday 1:05

• Tuesday- #plankaday 2:00, 3.11 mile run in 29:43 average pace 9:33

• Wednesday- #plankaday 1:10

• Thursday- #plankaday 1:03, 3.11 mile run in 30:42 average pace 9:53

• Friday- #plankaday 1:00

Weight loss this week: 0.9 lbs.

Weight loss total: 9.5 lbs.

So that was my week! Monday I ran at night after my hubby got home. Thursday I took the boys to the park and I ran while they played. They loved it! 

Today I am headed to New Orleans with my friend Paige! We are running the Crescent City Classic 10K tomorrow! I'm super excited! This race is always so much fun! We always run it easy and enjoy all the sights...and crazy people lol! After the race I will head back home and then we are staying the night at my sister-in-law's house for Easter! I've assured my boys that the Easter Bunny will still find them there! :-)

I hope you all have a great weekend...and a very Happy Easter!

QOTD: Anyone running the Crescent City Classic this weekend? Anyone have a Fitbit Flex?

Unplugged Virtual 5K!

Disclaimer: I am a Jost Running Blogger. I have been given free entry into the virtual races. I have received no other compensation. All the opinions are mine and mine alone. 

I received quite a surprise this month! I thought my time was up being a Jost Running Blogger. But I was given the opportunity to run April's race! I can't express how awesome Jost Running is! I love how the races benefit a different charity each month. And the bling is just amazing! 

April's race is called "Unplugged." It benefits Best Buddies International. The idea is that running is when a lot of us unplug from our daily lives. It is a time to clear our heads and a stress reliever. This month Jost Running wants us to take it a step further and also unplug from any other distractions during our run like our music. They want us to run to our own rhythm. 

So that was my plan! I didn't listen to music. I tried to just feel the run. To enjoy my surroundings. And to be thankful that I could run. 

The first few miles were tough like always. And it was hot. But I persevered and finished the run! 

And look at the amazing bling I earned!

Next month's race is called "Brave New Route." This one will benefit the ALS Association which is near and dear to my heart as I have a friend whose husband is battling Lou Gehrig's Disease. I hope you will register to run this one!

QOTD: Do you ever run virtual runs?

Saturday Morning Run Through the Fog!

I'm so happy to say that Saturday's run was the complete opposite of last Saturday's run! I had a great run!!!

The plan was to run 5 miles. I was meeting friends to run the first 3 and then I was going to finish the last 2 miles on my own.

I woke up to temperatures in the 50's (instead of the high 60's last weekend). It was also really foggy. I completed my normal before a long run rituals of going to the bathroom, getting dressed, stretching and rolling, and eating a little something (usually a plain waffle or a banana). Then I hopped in my car and headed to my friend Paige's house. She is a single mom and had her boys this weekend so she couldn't leave the neighborhood to run. So we were going to run the small loop of her neighborhood until we reached 3 miles.

Yes that sounds super boring. But...I was with my friend Paige, Laura, and Holly so I knew we wouldn't get bored. And we didn't! We talked while we ran and it was just like having girl time but we were exercising too!

The first loop we saw what I thought was a dead worm. But after closer inspection....it was actually a snake! Since it was so small we all had the same thought...where is the mama? Yes my running friends are just as freaked out about snakes as I am! And unfortunately with the warmer weather, the snakes are coming out of hiding.

Before I knew it we had run 3 miles. My friends stopped and I said a quick goodbye and kept on running. And yes...I ventured out of the neighborhood for the rest of my solo run! Since I didn't have anyone to talk to I took in my surroundings. Last week I ran by the bay but this week I was running in the country! See how foggy it was? There are cows in this field....you just can't see them due to the fog!

I was feeling great! We ran a little slower that first 3 miles and it really helped me on the last part of my run! I was able to pick up the pace a bit and finish strong! (I wish I would ALWAYS remember to start out slow!!!)

In fact, I was feeling so good that I ran an extra mile! So instead of 5 miles for the day...I ran 6 miles!!!

After my run I was pretty sweaty. In fact I was glistening! But a lot of that was from the fog. I could feel the water droplets as I was running! Crazy! You can see the sweat/fog on my forehead in this picture!

I was so happy to have had a great run! I feel ready to run the Crescent City Classic 10K with Paige this weekend! It's not too late to register for this one at the expo and run with me in New Orleans! I'd love to see you there! :-)

Also my friend Austin from Running Write is hosting a giveaway on his blog for an Armpocket Aero i-10! Head on over there now and enter to win! 

QOTD: Have you ever run in the fog?