Crescent City Classic 10k Recap

The Crescent City Classic is an institution in New Orleans.  Every year, some East African wins the thing, followed by over 20,000 people running, jogging, walking, drinking & eating their way to the finish line.  People who never run the rest of the year manage to make it out for this event.  Since the race is the day before Easter,  many people come out in festive gear to start the festivities.  I, of course, was no exception:

Thanks, M, for procuring the tutus!

M, M's future sister-in-law & Goldilocks
Check out those death rays of sunshine!

There were 4 of us wearing bunny ears, 2 tutus, and 2 of our "Runners are my Peeps" signs.  Sadly, we didn't really stand out with so many people dressed up.  My camera died this morning so I wasn't able to get any action shots on my phone.  You'll just have to believe me.



The highlights?

Starting line:  In the picture (at left) the starting line was WAY up ahead.  It took us over 4 minutes to cross after the gun.  And to make it even better, we were already sweating before we got this close.  It was a hot one with Easter so late this year.

Mental note for next time:  tutus don't breathe well.

Mile 0-1:  Already achieved the state of dripping with sweat.  The crowds were insane so we were zig-zagging all over the place and still barely able to stay under 10:00 miles.

Mile 2:  Jello shots!  They were a bit melty & STRONG.  I learned a lesson though:  If you make jello shots for a race, don't use red.  Go for yellow or something that won't stain.  I had to slow down to avoid drippage since they were no longer solid.

Miles 2-4:  Missed several unofficial beer stops on both sides.  The mob of runners made aiming for anything challenging.

Mile 4:  Mimosas!  This is probably the best thing that happened to us.  They were huge chunks of ice floating in the drinks.  The cups were pretty full & held way more than I would normally drink at a water stop, but I chugged most of mine because it tasted so good.  At this point, we weren't getting much shade and the heat was beating down.

Mile 4-5:  M's future sister-in-law was having a rough time by now.  She's visiting from out of town and her last run was at a high of 47.  The New Orleans heat was taking its toll so we ran this mile slow & steady, aiming for all the shade we could find.

Mile 5-6.2:  At this point I ran in by myself.  The heat was brutal and I mostly wanted to finish fast.  I ran a couple minutes faster per mile for this last one just to get it over with.  Plus, its fun passing people when you're wearing bunny ears & a tutu.

Post-Race Party?  Yes, please.  It was significantly bigger than many full marathons I've run.  There was a stage with a band.  TONS of free jambalaya, red beans & rice, Abita beer, chocolate milk, gatorade, water and Pepsi products.  Event shirts for sale.  Even free 2011-2012 calendars with pictures from past events!

Legs, Spazz & Goldilocks downing some jambalaya.
(Goldilocks was much happier than she looks in the photo)

Spazz & Legs enjoying their red beans & rice

Rehydrating* with my Abita beer.

My goal today was to have fun, which I definitely accomplished PLUS I got a couple free drinks.  The best part is since this is my first 10k (I know... crazy), I now have a PR that involves jello shots & mimosas.  Bonus!

Happy Easter, everyone!