We went on a walking tour of the French Quarter and a cemetery which was fascinating!
We loved the "character" of our hotel and the many messages we found.
The food was delicious and the music of the night life was fantastic.
But, before we knew it, it was time for the main event: the New Orleans Rock n' Roll Half Marathon (full marathon for our friend Paula)!
It was a blustery 46 degrees on race morning when we walked out of our hotel and aimlessly followed the stream of people wearing running clothes and race bibs who seemed to know where they were going.
We left our room as late as possible to minimize our "freezing time" before the race started. (The fact that I chose to wear a sparkle skirt and a tank top didn't help the situation.)
The mood in our starting corral was positive and the energy in the air was palpable. Coming off of miles and miles of walking around town as tourists the previous days and nights, didn't exactly leave us rested with fresh legs for our race. Nonetheless, there we were, cozy in the sea of runners waiting in corral 7, staring ahead at the starting line--we were ready to go!
For the first time ever, my sister and I were running together side by side! We've lived a lot of years and have had a lot of experiences together, but this was a first for us!
The race course showed us a sampling of the New Orleans neighborhoods, markets, and city, and in true tourist form, I snapped photos all along the way.
Then, 13.1 miles later and more tired than when we started, we finished the race together clocking in at 3:07:03!
What a great trip and even more amazing memories we have made! I can't wait to decide where we will go next year!
