Mardi Gras 1/2 Marathon

There's so much to share on this post. This was an Inaugural Race and had always been called the Mardi Gras 1/2 Marathon and Marathon Race until this year when it was renamed to the Rock 'n Roll Mardi Gras 1/2 Marathon and Marathon Race. It is now included in the Rock 'n Roll Series of races held throughout the country.

So, let's begin with how beautiful the day was. The sun was out and warm with no wind! Perfect...even the temp was perfect. We all lined up in our assigned Corrals (mine was #7). Each group was released according to each one's expected finish time with the first one being the fastest. There were twenty something corrals! Time was spaced between each corral release so as not to bottle-neck with so many runners participating. It was announced that there were 15,000 runners.

Excitement filled the air and people lined the streets to give us a great send-off. Less than a couple of years ago, I was one of them and now I'm proud to say that I'm now one of the ones being cheered on. It is a GREAT feeling!! Bands were stationed approximately every mile or so playing their hearts out for us as we passed. I believe there were about 20 in all.

The race seemed to fly by! Before I knew it we were at the first mile, then the second, then the 5k mark. I couldn't believe how fast the race was progressing with such ease. Guess it was because there was so much to see and hear. My iPod was off more than it was on during the race. Just before I got to the 7th mile, I called Kent to let him know that I was now into the last half of the race and that I was feeling great. My main concern had been my right hip as I've been experiencing some pain for the last 3 weeks but there had been NO pain so far. I had done very well in pacing myself and had decided to increase my speed when I got to the 10-11 mile marker.

Then, all of a sudden, things changed! Everything about me was weird as I felt myself airborne and suddenly FLAT on the ground!! If my hands had not caught me I would have kissed it! All I knew was that I was in a LOT of pain. Blood was everywhere, my whole right side was killing me. It seemed surreal as I felt myself hit the ground hard; first my hand, then my knee, followed by my right breast (sorry, but it was like I was in slow motion and pain hit each area specifically). My right knee was hurting bad. I was in agony and didn't know what had just happened. I never saw it coming. As I got up, I realized that my Garmin watch had been torn off my left wrist...torn off! I had fallen almost straight down and my left side got it, too. That hand was scratched up and the palm peeled back with skin hanging off. My right hand received the blunt of the fall. I hobbled over to the side to gather my senses and regain composure. I didn't know whether to cry or what, I was in shock trying to figure out what happened. Several people stopped to see if they could help and one sweet lady assisted me off the ground and asked if she could stay with me; but I told her no that I was fine. I could hardly speak at this time; I was stunned...I never saw it coming. But literally within seconds, I was on my way again...slowly at first, until I could overpower the pain in my right leg. Without walking any, I continued my running.

Then, out of the blue, I got mad! How could I have been so clumsy! As a matter of fact, I kept my eyes on the ground most of the time to prevent what had just happened. As I began to put the pieces together, I recalled looking up and the sun's rays caught my eye and blinded me for an nth of a second. It was then that I was personally introduced to New Orleans' fine street repairwork. My foot caught a "patched" place and it sent me flying through the air.

My right hand had torn open and flesh and blood was everywhere. Oh, the pain! I watched to see if it would coagulate and it did; therefore, I did not stop for first aid. The next couple of miles do not register with me. I do not remember them at all. Knowing the pain was going to stay with me until I got it looked at and bandaged, I focused on the race again. Surprisingly, I was doing well as far as running goes. Though I never increased my speed as I had hoped, I did regain the pace I was at before the fall. A First Aid station was inside the runner's shoot and I all but ran over there for assistance. I was still hurting and wanted to get this hand covered. Unfortunately, they couldn't give me anything for the pain; so we didn't stay long afterwards.

Later that day, when I was undressing, I saw bloody scratches on my left knee and my left arm all the way down my left side is so sore. My right knee is still swollen and deeply bruised as is my right hand. I do not bruise easy but let me tell you, if either of these two places are touched right now, I will probably scream! I am soooo very thankful that nothing was broken and that all of this will be nothing but a memory before long. It could have been so much worse.

Coming in to the Finish Line (I'm in black)


My prized medal...literally!!! It has gold gemstones all over it and must weigh 3 pounds!


Here are some pictures of my wounds that were taken a day and a half AFTER the race. Believe me when I tell you these wounds are almost healed now. This looks great! There is a large, deep bruise and still some swelling underneath the scratch on my right knee. It can hardly be touched even now.


You can see some bruising with great healing action going on here. Soreness is going away on this hand.


And the worse one...there is heavy trauma still going on with my right hand. It is still swollen quite bad and extremely tender to touch. The bruise is VERY deep but looks a ton better than it did when it happened. It is still an open wound. There are NO meds on it in this picture. And thanks to Tylenol, I'm gonna make it, ha!


All in all I really enjoyed the race...and don't be so critical when I say...I'd like to do this one again. It was flat and the course was very pretty. Let's just say I'm a determined kinda gal! I want to CONQUER these streets!!!

Below is a short slide that I made of a few Pacers that we met up with at the end of the half.