Mercedes Marathon in Pictures

This week has been crazy and won't settle down until Sunday at the earliest.  So with no further ado, here are (some of the many) pictures from the Mercedes Marathon.  They tell the story as well as any words.

And we're off.

Finish line in sight.

I promise to muster up a true race report soon.  Short story:  great race.

Expos

As soon as I finish this blog, I'm hitting the road:  tomorrow is the Mercedes Marathon... woohoo!  And as a bonus, since the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans is also tomorrow, I got to hit up their expo as well.  I figure the RNR marathon is likely to be somewhat larger and this way I won't have to carry anything back from Bham.

My computer is being stupid.  This is what you get for a map.
In case you can't tell, A is New Orleans & B is Birmingham.

How do I approach expos?  It's all about the samples & the gels.  As a poor grad student, I can't afford to be constantly buying new running clothes.  I would love to, but I would also love a new car, a new bike, a new... well...  You get the idea.  So I stick to the gels.  Why?  I know I need them for training & races, and they are always (in my experience) cheaper at the expos than at any stores.  I usually buy a big box of 24 (that you can mix & match, discounted for $20) which gets me through for a while.

So that was my plan: Get in, get gels, get out.  And let's just say, I was successful.  Perhaps a bit too successful. I walked away with a 24 pack of Gu and a 24 pack of Carb Boom.  I'd never seen Carb Boom before but they were handing out samples & I liked it.  That's more than I can say about most other energy sources.  I'll let you know more once I get to try them out on a run.

The other goal of expos:  samples.  If I'm still hungry when I leave, I consider that a fail.  What did I get to try?

• Muscle Milk (coffee & vanilla)
• Gu Chomps (the new Peach Tea flavor)
• Snickers Protein something or other (Didn't pay attention to the name.  I refuse to actually buy an endurance product made by a candy company, but I tried 2 flavors.  They were ok.)
• Carb Boom energy gels
• Fortune cookies from PF Changs (with running "fortunes")

Well, that's all for now.  Good luck to everyone running the Mardi Gras Marathon this weekend!  I'll definitely be thinking about all of you!

(Ooops.  Sorry to anyone who had to read this in large print.  Should be fixed now.)

Oops

It was an accident, I swear!

Ok, it wasn't an accident.  It was an intentional - yet possibly stupid - decision.  Only time will tell.  (Isn't that how addictions work?)  Hopefully it will involve some hilarities, a handful of goofy pictures and (*fingers crossed*) no injuries.

The one thing that makes me sad about this marathon is that it means I won't be in New Orleans to cheer on or run with my friends.  I know a handful of people doing the half and the full and I'll miss it.  As for the race itself, no love lost.  I ran it last year and I have to say that I liked it better when it was run by our local track club.  (Last year it became a Rock N' Roll event.)  I'm sure they will continue to improve the race - perhaps it's not fair to judge based on their inaugural year, but there you have it.  Plus, it's like a ga-zillion dollars to run  the Mardi Gras Marathon and paying for Mercedes even last minute was still cheaper than the early discount for New Orleans.  Ah well.  I'll definitely be thinking about my friends as I crawl the last miles in pain.

What do you have coming up?  Ever run Mercedes or Mardi Gras?

Addiction

My plan was to run the Mercedes Marathon on February 13.  Not for time.  It was meant to be purely for fun.  Birmingham has hills that make New Orleanians cry, but my good friend lives there and they have pretty sweet medals:

You could totally glue this on the hood of your car...

That was the plan, anyway.  But this winter has been frought with obstacles to running and runs that used to be a piece of cake are kicking my a-- more challenging than normal.  Sunday, I ran a local 30K as a slow long run and my calves didn't appreciate the effort.

So running Mercedes would be suicide.  It's a really stupid idea.  Really dumb.  But... uh... um... I might do it anyway.  Drinking beer with friends at the finish should drown the pain, right?  As long as I walk all the hills?  (And the slight inclines?)

Kinda sounds like a meth addict who can't get enough.  I guess there are worse addictions than running...

ad·dic·tion

 noun \ə-ˈdik-shən, a-\

1

: the quality or state of being addicted <addiction to reading>

2

: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance [or activity?] (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful.