10k | Through Heather's Looking Glass

runDisney Star Wars Dark Side Challenge + a New Trailer

April 9, 2018 by Heather 10 Comments

Happy Monday everyone! I am back from a crazy week of traveling just in time to share something exciting. (yes there MAY be an entire LARGE bookshelf of Star Wars books in my house, and I MAY be running the runDisney Star Wars dark side challenge in two weeks…so there’s lots of Star Wars love going on in my family!) Photo below from last year’s race:

Ok so I may or may not be slightly under trained…my longest run is 7 miles but I’m hoping to get in ten this weekend, but anyhow, I have something even more exciting than the race to share with you!

I wanted to show you the new trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story, which opens in theaters everywhere on May 25th!

Check this out:

“Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY, an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes….The film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Paul Bettany.”

Woody Harrelson? Emilia Clarke? (My Game of Thrones heart can’t take it, yall!) I am pumped for this one.

Watch the official trailer below and tell me what you think. What is your favorite part? What are you most excited about in this movie?

PS: My husband claims if he can get a full Chewy outfit he will run in it with me in the race. Bless his little Star Wars loving heart. Enjoy!

Visit the official SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY site: http://www.starwars.com/films/solo

10 Comments Filed Under: blogging, Disney Tagged: 10k, Disney, half marathon, movie, runDisney, star wars

runDisney Enchanted 10k Race Recap 2018

March 6, 2018 by Heather

At the end of February, I participated in my SEVENTH runDisney Princess half marathon weekend by running the Enchanted 10k. It was my first time “just” running the 10k, and it was nice to only have to wake up super early one morning! I did miss the beautiful bling of the half marathon and the challenge, but it was a nice break to just worry about one race, and I had a blast!

runDisney Enchanted 10k Race Recap 2018. My race at Walt Disney World through EPCOT and the Boardwalk as part of the Princess half marathon weekend.

By pure randomness, I ended up running with my friend Jen (the other Jen unfortunately couldn’t make it) and it was her very first runDisney race! It was fun to show her the ropes and see how much she enjoyed it.

I woke up at 2:45 with plans to catch the 4:00 bus from Caribbean Beach resort. Normally I would sleep until 3:15, but I bought a last minute Moana costume on Amazon a few days before I left and had never tried to “fix it” for running and so I knew it may take awhile to figure out the best way. (Note I do NOT recommend

this strategy, especially for a half or full marathon!) I knew I would be fine for 6 miles even if it was uncomfortable.)

As predicted, it did take some time (and a LOT of safety pins) to get my costume situated, and I was out the door at five minutes to 4:00 and was met at the bus stop with a super long line. The problem was, I was in the Jamaica section which was the last pick up, so by time the buses got to us they were full. Finally they sent and empty bus straight to our stop and we were able to get on about 4:10 or so.

I was texting Jen and saw we were both in A corral via her Instagram photo. She had been injured, but we decided to run together until she started to hurt then her plan was to hang back and walk while I went on ahead. Worked for me! I finally found her and then some other friends and blog readers chatted with us and then it was go time!

We realized a little too late that they had already closed off and moved corral A up to the front, and we were bummed we had missed it. So we got in B, and saw they will still letting people into A if they could get to the front, and that’s a big “if”. B was packed full of people but we gave it a shot and said excuse me about 100 times and I can’t believe it but we made it up to the tape and they let us in our corral! We were in the third and final wave of corral A but that was totally fine I was just excited we made it up there.

Soon it was time for our wave to take off. My plan was to run a comfortably hard pace (so maybe about 75-80%?) and get ahead of some of the picture taking crowd, and then maybe have some short lines in EPCOT because of it. Honestly, the first three miles are pretty boring anyway, so Jen and I just chatted and passed the lines as we made our way to EPCOT. We had plenty of running room and there were only a handful of people around us which was nice. We got into EPCOT and stopped for the first time (for water) strike that—I stopped at mile 2 to rip off and throw away my grass skirt #CostumeIssues. It was driving me crazy. Seriously people, do as I say not as I do.

Anyway, we took a picture by the mile 3 sign just before we made it into a back entrance to the park and stopped for these guys becasue there was no one waiting.

We grabbed water, I took an Insta story video, and we carried on around the World Showcase. I love how the torches are lit during this race! We came to a character stop, Pinocchio, and saw there were three people in line. I asked Jen if she wanted to stop, which she did, so the fun began!

I also taught Jen about finding the green tents to get photopass pictures.

We took off again, and soon saw another character stop, this time for Genie! Again, maybe 3-4 people in line in front of us so it went super fast.

Making our way around, we stopped in France for Marie.

Then it was time to exit the park and run around the Boardwalk, which I really enjoy. There were plenty of spectators along the route which was fun. Of course we had to stop for Goofy by ESPN club. He probably had the longest line with about 8 people ahead of us.

Soon we were running back into EPCOT, and the race was almost over. Jen saw Pluto basically hiding off to the side and we snagged a quick picture with him before running towards Spaceship Earth.

It was really humid and it was starting to get to me, but we were almost done!

I was surprised that my quad nor knee were bothering me, but definitely not complaining about that. We grabbed one more quick picture with Figment in a nod at the upcoming Flower and Garden Festival, and then we were in the home stretch.

I loved that I got so many photopass pictures, and there are even more I’m not posting. Sssoooo many.

So we saw the finish line in our sights, and threw our hands up, with a finish time of 1:13, which I will gladly take with all the stops we made! Also i haven’t run more than three miles since Wine and Dine in November (oops). I Honestly had a blast at this race and it didn’t feel like work or not fun, which is honestly one of the reasons I haven’t raced as much lately, so i was glad to find some joy in this one! I mean, can’t you see it on my face?

Loved loved loved this race, and am so glad I ended up not having to run it alone. Thanks so much runDisney for a fabulous time! Enchanted 10k Race Recap 2018

Filed Under: Disney, health, Race Recaps, runDisney, running Tagged: 10k, Disney, princess, princess 10k, race recap, runDisney, running

runDisney Wine and Dine 10K Recap 2017

November 23, 2017 by Heather

At the beginning of November, I had the opportunity to run the runDisney Two Course Challenge, made up of the Wine and Dine 10K and half marathon. I registered last minute and was under trained, so I just had fun with it, and fun was definitely had!

I didn’t take many photos during the race since it was dark when I started and dark when I finished, but I did take some video, which is at the end of this post. I will give a brief recap though.

I woke up at 3:00 and met my friend Amanda to go to the bus at 3:45 (last bus is at 4:00 and we were at the back of the resort). We were on a bus within five minutes, and got to the start with TONS of time to kill. (Side note: notice how straight and thin my hair looks here? Remember this for later).

This is one thing I dislike, that you are forced to arrive so early if you use Disney transportation. It was a few minutes after 4:00 when we arrived and the race didn’t start until 5:30. We hung out at the start and just chatted, went to the bathroom, etc. and then said our goodbyes and headed into our respective corals. I got as close to the front as I could and sat down. This is where I stayed for about 40 minutes waiting for the race. I didn’t want to play on my phone too much as I didn’t want the battery to die, so it was honestly pretty boring, heh. Finally they started moving the corals up, and then the race started. I was in coral B, so thankfully didn’t have to wait too long.

I started running and immediately remembered something about runDisney races, you get zero time to warm up since you are sitting in a corral for so long, then you take off on cold muscles. By the time I realized it was happening, my leg that has been bugging me tightened up like crazy and I knew I was in for a long weekend. It wasn’t bad, but I could “feel” it if that makes sense. My quad tightened then it worked its way down to my knee by mile three and was hurting a little.

Honestly, the first 3 miles were really boring until we got into Hollywood Studios. I only saw I think one character in the park, and the line was super long so I passed. We then headed across the way to the Boardwalk It was so humid the decking was slippery so I had to be careful.

I saw the line for tourist Genie, and it was long but not SUPER long, so I hopped in line because, why not? I don’t know if I have ever taken a picture with him. (Notice how wavy my hair is now!)

It was nice to take a little breather in the super thick humidity, and then I moved on to EPCOT.

I saw these guys in Canada (do you think they wold be upset if they knew I never saw their movie?)

I then knew I was in the homestretch. It was so weird running here in the dark, it’s usually daylight by time I get to this point, and think I have only run in the dark here the year I did Dopey.

I made it that final familiar stretch I have run so many times, and crossed the finish line somewhere around 1:04. Not bad for all my stopping!

wine and dine 10k

I was smiling when I finished, which is all I cared about. I was so thankful to have the opportunity to run so last minute, and in my favorite place. It’s often during races I am reminded how truly blessed I am.

wine and dine 10k

Now on to the half marathon recap! But first, in case you missed it, here’s my expo recap, and don’t forget to check out my video below:

Filed Under: blogging, Disney, fitness, health, Race Recaps, runDisney, running, running gear, Running Skirts Tagged: 10k, Disney, EPCOT, Race, race recap, runDisney, Running Skirts, wine and dine

Cabot Fit Team Weekend Part 2 + Giveaway

October 13, 2017 by Heather

Disclosure: A couple of weekends ago, I had the opportunity to go to Narragansett, Rhode Island with Cabot Cheese and their fit team. We did a lot of fun fun like run a 10k, visit a farm, and have a cheese tasting. This trip was sponsored by Cabot, however all thoughts are my own.

*If you missed part one, be sure to check it out here.

We left off in my last post with our tour of EMMA Acres farm. After the tour, we drove over to a historical site, the Towers, and had lunch during a super fun trolley tour of Narragansett. There is so much history in the town so it was fun to hear all about it.

How adorable is our trolley bus?

This is one of my favorite homes we passed along the ocean:

After the tour we walked around inside the Towers and saw them setting up for a gorgeous wedding!

We briefly walked out onto the balcony before the storm hit. See the beach in this picture? That’s where the 10k would end the next day.

back to the Inn as it started to rain. This was the perfect opportunity to dig into my bag of snacks from Cabot and take a nap. Rainy days are perfect for that!

Soon it was time to walk to dinner (Have I mentioned how much I LOVED being able to walk everywhere?!?) at Trio. It was delicious, and a great pre-race meal at that.

After dinner we called it an early night since we were running the Ocean Road 10k in the morning! (You can read that recap here.)

After the race, we walked back to the Inn, grabbed showers then walked down to this cute little outdoor restaurant. It happened to be it’s last day of operation until spring. It was so wild to me that so many places “close up” for the winter, when it’s currently still in the 90’s in Florida.

The weather was absolutely perfect and we all enjoyed a light lunch and some girl talk before walking out onto some rocks for an impromptu photo shoot.

Then you guessed it, time to WALK (I love it!) again to a bed and breakfast where Cabot was hosting a cheese tasting for us. Yall. This place was gorgeous, and also for sale!

It was the perfect day to enjoy the tasting in the beautifully manicured backyard.

Although I have to say my favorite part of the house was the screened in porch. I could sit out there for hours!

We learned a little about the different cheeses and the aging process before trying everything ourselves. I learned a lot, I had no idea some of the processes were so long, and also how many different varieties there were–not to mention all the different pairings!

That evening we walked to dinner at the Coast Guard House for our farewell meal. It was right on the water and had gorgeous views.

It was a great way to recap the weekend and enjoy each other’s company before we would say farewell the next day.

Clockwise from bottom left: Sara and Caisil from Cabot, Christy, Brittany and Diahnn, Nellie, Sandra, me, Aggie, and Amee.

It’s amazing to me how quickly I got to know these sweet girls, and how hard it was to say goodbye after only knowing them for a couple of days. I hope to see them again soon. I learned a lot about Cabot, and have a new respect for the farmers, families, and workers that make my dairy eating experience so effortless and amazing! I also fell in love with Narragansett, although this southern girl wouldn’t want to be there in the winter!

A huge thanks to Cabot for their generosity, knowledge, and love. It won’t be forgotten. Now for the giveaway! One reader will win:

$25 Cabot Gift Box
1 Dopper Water Bottle
1 Guac-Lock
1 Cabot Beewax Wrap
Badger Products

$100 value give-a-way

Please follow the directions in the Rafflecoptor widget to enter. Winner will be announced next Friday. Giveaway open until Thursday night at midnight.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: blogging, food, Giveaway, vacation Tagged: 10k, cabot cheese, cheese, Giveaway, narragansett, rhode island, travel

Ocean Road 10K 2017 Race Recap

October 5, 2017 by Heather

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to fly to Rhode Island and have a weekend of fun, fitness, and learning with Cabot and the Cabot Fit Team. We traveled to Narragansett (and it took me all weekend to remember how to pronounce it!) visited a local farm, ate tons of great food, stayed in an adorable inn, and ran a gorgeous 10k. It was action packed but still restful which I loved. I will be sharing more on the rest of the weekend in another post, but this one is strictly about the Ocean Road 10k race.

I haven’t raced since February due to a nagging quad injury, so I was really excited to have this opportunity. I really love the 10k distance and thought it would be a good chance to test out my leg while racing on a beautiful course. The race was held on Sunday morning, and it was so fun to be able to watch the sun rise over the ocean. The sun comes up way earlier in Rhode Island than it does in Florida, so when I woke up at 6:15 it was just about to peek over the horizon.

I got dressed, ate breakfast in my room, and headed to the lobby to meet my teammates. This is when I realized it was 43 degrees outside and was thankful I had packed accordingly. We all hurried into the team van and off we went to the starting line. We made it to the runner drop off area, which just so happened to be by the water, so of COURSE we had to take a group photo.

We were cutting it pretty close, the race started at 8:00 and it was nearing 7:45, but we were just having too much fun.

We finally got our act together and walked to the start line, only to discover there were VERY few port-o-potties and a line well over 100 people long. I decided I was just going to have to hold it, as they were lining people up and then singing the national anthem before I could really decide what I wanted to do. I hurried and turned on my Garmin and got Pandora working, and then we were racing! I was cold, but I have run enough races to know that I personally warm up very fast even when it’s cold outside and hate being miserably hot at a race because I overdressed, so I opted to wear a skirt, compression socks, and a throw away jacket over my team shirt, as well as something to keep my ears warm.

I started off too fast (shocker) and realized my thighs were completely numb. I just kept moving and was hitting them making sure my legs were still there, it was the oddest feeling. I got in the zone and just listened to my music and soaked in the gorgeous surroundings. They don’t call it the Ocean Road 10k for nothing. You literally run right along the ocean for much of the course. We passed gorgeous homes, beautiful tree lines streets, and rolling hills. I ended up throwing off my top layer at mile 2 and was so glad I didn’t overdress. My face was hot but my ears were cold, so I was again glad for the head wear.

I didn’t take many photos because I was just soaking it all in. I did take a few Instagram stories but didn’t save them to my phone. I kept a pretty good clip the first three miles considering I didn’t really train. I run 3 miles twice a week on the treadmill at Orange Theory, and I ran one four miler and one five miler prior to the race and called it a training cycle. (Hey, life is crazy right now ok?)

Anyway, I wasn’t expecting any kind of PR, I was just curious to see how my quad would do. Mile one was a sub 9:00 mile, and two and three were low nines. That’s where the wheels came off. At about mile 3.5ish, my leg started to get tight. I have not been training on up or downhills (I live in flat Florida!) and I foolishly thought it would still be OK. I had a goal to not walk, so I just kept on trucking even though my pace slowed down.

I made it to mile 5, and we were soon heading down a hill right out onto Ocean Road and past the inn where we were staying. This was my favorite part of the course.

I saw mile six, and knew I was close, but unfortunately didn’t really have any “kick” to give, so I just kept on at the same pace, taking in the beautiful sites. I finished it just over 59 minutes, not a PR, but I was super proud of my pace all things considered.

I found a couple of my teammates who had already finished, and we cheered on the rest of the girls as they came in, then we all walked down to the beach to take pictures of course.

ocean road

we took off our shoes, dipped our tired feet in the freezing water, then walked back to the inn. It was an amazing morning and I was so happy to have had the chance to run in such an amazing place. I quickly fell in love with Narragansett, and hope to return someday.

The race is in it’s fifth year, and if you live nearby (or not!) I highly recommend running it. We got lucky with perfect weather and it really was the cherry on top of a great race.

Disclosure: I attended this weekend free of charge thanks to Cabot, however all thoughts and opinions are my own and I was not asked to write this post.

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, injury, Race Recaps, running, Running Skirts, vacation Tagged: 10k, cabot, cabot cheese, fitness, ocean road 10k, race recap, running

Weekend with Cabot

September 29, 2017 by Heather

Hey guys! I can’t believe it snuck up on me so quickly, but I will be flying out to Rhode Island tomorrow morning to hang out with Cabot! I have a layover in D.C before heading to Providence, where I will meet up with the rest of the team at the Ocean Rose Inn, which is where we will be staying for the weekend. It looks like such a fun and interesting place, and apparently the town is pretty walkable. I can’t wait!

We have dinner at the Inn tomorrow night, then Saturday we are going to visit a farm and learn all about how Cabot works with the farmers. Don’t worry, I will be doing lots of Instagram stories.

Then we have an early dinner followed by an early bedtime, because Sunday morning we are running the Ocean Road 10k.

The fun doesn’t stop there, we have a cheese tasting (duh), and another fun dinner before departing on Monday morning. I hope you will follow along with the fun! I will be using #CabotFit on all my posts, so you can always find me that way. Have a great weekend everyone.

Filed Under: food, running, vacation Tagged: 10k, cabot, Race, running

Crescent City Classic 10K Recap 2016

March 30, 2016 by Heather

Saturday morning, we woke up to our alarms at 6:15 (super late by race day standards!) and got ready to run the Crescent City Classic 10K in New Orleans for the fifth time.

I had yet to decide on an outfit, but went with bright pink to go with the Easter theming, and of course my bunny ears, which I have worn for every CCC I have run!

We were staying at the Hyatt, the host hotel and where the expo was located, so it was amazing to just walk downstairs and there was the start line! We were waiting for the other bloggers at the start line before heading to our corral.

We weren’t able to get everyone, (that’s what happens when your race has over 20,000 registrants, but here are some of us!

Bobby took this one, not too sure what was going on, apparently. So glad Jen wore her ears, too!

We headed to Champions Square and up the Superdome steps to get into our corral.

The corrals were color coded, and the first three were seeded corrals. They had big colored banners to help you figure out where to go, but since green was in front of purple and red, we had a hard time figuring out how to get past those two corrals and into ours.

We weaved our way through, right as the race was starting and our corral took off! Poor Bobby had forgotten to get location on his GPS so he had no idea what his time/pace was for the first two miles. We were both running alone, and of course he took off at the start and I never saw him again. I put my headphones in and zoned out. I really wanted to PR but was nervous because it was 97% humidity and it was already had to breath just standing there.

The first mile was very frustrating because there were so. many. people. and I had to do a lot of weaving (this would come back to bite me later, but I had no choice). I started out way too fast because I knew I needed to make up time from behind stuck behind people, walking, holding hands, etc. and my first mile beeped at 8:39. I knew that was a bit too fast for me for a 10k, but I was feeling good and kept going at that pace (foreshadowing…now). We ran down Decatur and through the French Quarter.

I was sweating SO MUCH that I couldn’t get the camera on my phone to come on because every time I tried to swipe the screen it was soaked with my sweat from my hands. Hence why the above picture of the St. Louis Cathedral is blocked by a tree. We hit Café Du Monde and honestly, I snapped the below pic and then never even looked to the side. I was SO focused on not tripping or running into anyone and on keeping my pace.

We made the familiar turn onto Esplanade and I decided to take a picture before I got too tired to do so. I saw a bunch of people running on the opposite side of the road where it was much less congested, so I eventually made my way over there and am so glad I did. I had way more room and just felt more relaxed not constantly having to change up my cadence to go around people.

Miles four and five were rough for me. I ran a 9:30 pace for both of those. My body felt fine but I could not catch my breath with the humidity. I looked down for most of those miles and just told myself to keep going. I stopped twice to grab water and took two sips then poured the rest down my back, as I was getting really warm.

The course was new this year, so instead of running towards the art museum and around back, we went to the side, and kind of zig zagged our way to the front of the Museum. It was kind of a tease because you could SEE the finish line but weren’t quite there yet.

The whole race I thought I was going to run a 57:00, then realized that because of all the weaving I had to do, that I would be over a tenth long so my time on my GPS watch would not match the finish time. This was frustrating because I knew I could run a 57:00! However, I knew I could still PR (old PR was 59:04) so I gave it everything I had. That last mile was so mentally challenging, but thankfully it was faster than miles four and five. I barely even looked up as I approached the finish, and didn’t even smile for the cameras. I was just powering through with every ounce of energy I had left.

According to my watch, I ran 6.31 in 58:26. (That was my official time just not official distance!) While I am really happy to have PR’ed, I knew I could still go faster, and being the uber competitive person I am, wasn’t completely satisfied. After the race, all I wanted was water. They told us to keep walking and we would get to water and our medals. Well, we walked…and we walked…and we walked. I was about to fall out! I get why they did it, as to not bottle up the finish, but the water was REALLY far away. Then we had to keep walking more to get to the finish festival.

I bee lined it for the VIP tent, and texted Bobby who said he was where the medals were. I assumed he was just waiting for me so I told him to come on to the VIP area. The tables were set so cute for Easter!

I immediately grabbed chocolate milk, a sandwich, and a Mimosa (great combination, I know) and took a seat.

Our two sided medal was really cute!

Finally Bobby appeared and didn’t have a good race. He had worked out really had four days that week (including the day before) and his legs were dead. Apparently I passed him somewhere along the way but had no idea. I felt so bad for him, I thought he had long since finished. Sad smile

We ate and met up with some blogger friends, and then it started POURING. Thankfully, we had the tent to get under and it only lasted about ten minutes, and then the sun came out.

More friends arrived and we just hung out listening to the music and eating and having a good time.

The race announcer, Mike spotted us and it was great to see him. He does a great job with so many races!

Rockin’ Dopsie headlined the event and did an amazing job. Check out this video:

After awhile we decided it was time to head back too the hotel, pack up, and head back to my parents house. Sweet Jen and her husband had their car at the finish and offered to give us a ride to our hotel.

We made it back, showered, packed, and left NOLA once again. We had a blast and it went by way too quickly! A huge thanks to Crescent City Classic for an amazing race weekend that just gets better and better every year!

Disclosure: I received race entries and VIP passes for this event, however all opinions are my own.

QOTD: What race has the best post race party that you been to? Do you like the 10K distance?

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, Race Recaps, running Tagged: 10k, crescent city classic, hotel, New Orleans, race recap, running

Faster than Boo

October 7, 2015 by Heather

It’s time for another virtual race from Gone for a RUN! What makes this one even better? It’s Halloween themed, and the medal is really, really cute. Tell me more you say?

This one is the “Faster than Boo virtual 10k”. How fun is that? Check out the great medal. He is wearing a sweatband and holding a water bottle. I love it. Boo also glows in the dark. What?!?

There are two options for this race, the basic package and the premium package which includes knee socks.

This race will take place October 29-October 31, so why not make it a fun costume/themed Halloween run with your friends? You must register by the 19th to get your race package in time, which includes shirt (tank for women, tee for men) race bib, and SPINNER MEDAL. You can run, walk, or crawl your 6.2 miles (and be sure to share photos on the Gone for a RUN Facebook page).

This race will also be giving back as well, so a portion of your entry fee will be going to a good cause:

By running this race you will also be supporting an amazing charity. A percentage of your race entry will be donated to Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation has enriched the lives of over 600 children and their families battling with pediatric cancer. Please read about Jaclyn’s story and the great success of the foundation athttp://friendsofjaclyn.org/jaclyns-story.

GoneForaRun is proud to provide runners both a great virtual running event that promotes fun and wellness as well as giving back to a very worthy cause to help others in need. A big thank you to our community of dedicated runners for their support!

To enter, simply go to Gone for a RUN’s website and sign up, super easy!

QOTD: Are you running any Halloween themed races this year?

Disclosure: as a Gone for a RUN ambassador, I will be racing for free, however all opinions are my own.

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, holidays, running Tagged: 10k, costume, Gone for a Run, Halloween, medal, virtual race

Crescent City Classic 10k Race Recap 2015

April 9, 2015 by Heather

On Saturday, I ran in my fourth Crescent City Classic 10k in New Orleans. It is a super huge, super flat and fast road race that the city of New Orleans has embraced and turned into a not-to-miss event. It is always held on Saturday, the day before Easter. I have worn the same bunny ears for the past four years of this race!

Bobby and I were up before 6:00. We were staying at Aloft New Orleans, a hotel just a few blocks from the starting line near the Superdome (more on the hotel later). We got dressed and ready and headed to the start line around 7:00.

The weather forecast said early morning rain, but that it should be moved out before the race, and that is would be partly sunny the rest of the day. When we stepped out of the hotel, I knew that wasn’t going to happen! It was cold and very windy. We walked to the start and took a blogger picture with the other #CCC10kblogger folks, then headed to Champion’s Square.

On my way into the square I ran into Mindy! We chatted for a minute then I went into the square to find Mrs. Z.

There were so many people milling about, but she texted me and we found each other near the free smoothies and coffee.

Hi friend! Fun fact: At this race, in this exact same square last year is when she told me she was pregnant! Her due date was a few weeks after mine but she ended up delivering before me!

We decided to head to our corral early because last year it was a bit chaotic. They had the short fences up and people were jumping them, and there was no one guarding corrals to make sure people went into the proper one. However, this year was MUCH much better! The corrals were much more clearly marked, and they had volunteers standing at the front of each corral checking bibs. They also had the tall fences around the corrals, but sadly I still saw MANY people lift up the fences and sneak into different corrals.

All of the sudden, it felt like it was getting colder…and then it started raining! So we stood in our corrals like a bunch of cattle, getting rained on. It was kind of a miserable way to start the race, but what can ya do?

I was very pleased with the corral organization this year though! We made it up to the start line, and after a shout out from my race director buddy Mike, we were off!

The first mile or two was pretty crowded, but it evened out a lot once we got past Café du Monde and the French Market on Decatur.

We made the turn onto Esplanade, and I stopped to get water for the first (and only) time at mile 3. It was nice and cool, and the huge oak trees on Esplanade provided great cover from the rain.

There weren’t as many spectators out as there has been in years past, however there were still a couple of fun beer/mimosa/margarita “aid stations” out on the course.

We turned left as the museum of Art was in front of us, and went around and then inside the park. Usually I hate this park of the race when it’s sunny because that’s when you realize just how hot it is without the shade of the trees. Luckily the rain had stopped, and we kept on trucking. At mile 5 we saw a guy take a nasty fall on some uneven roads (which are everywhere in NOLA!) He hit his FACE, I felt so bad for him. Luckily a lot of folks had already stopped to help him. I took one quick 10 second walk break, and we made it back into front of the museum of art. Aaannnddd that’s when the heavens let loose! I was already dying/out of breath being just a half mile from the finish line, and the torrential rain on top of that was not pleasant. You can see just how dark it got all of the sudden in the next photo!

We made another familiar turn, and I could see the finish line in the distance! For some weird reason I didn’t do an all out kick like I usually do, I just kind of trotted through to the finish. Not sure what I was thinking? Anyway, we finished in a respectable 1:03:30, which is around 4 minutes shy of a PR. Considering I have only been running long slow miles since having the baby, I’ll take that.

We got our medals and made our way to the VIP tent. It was time to EAT! Jambalaya, red beans and rice, mimosas, and sandwiches were plentiful.

Oh, and wings form Hooters.

We met up with some of the other bloggers and had our own little table where we chatted about the race and such. It was fun to get to relax and hang out with everyone.

Of course we had to take another group picture!

It was pretty chilly, especially because I was sweating, and sadly not as many people stayed for the after party because of the weather. It was a bummer because the day before the race and the day after the race were beautiful and sunny.

When I felt like I couldn’t take the shivering anymore (hello isn’t it Easter weekend in New Orleans? Why so cold?!?)

We headed to the bus line to get back downtown. I had my fingers crossed as we made our way over to the bus line, because this was my big complaint from last year. They were only loading one bus at a time last year even though they had 10 buses waiting to be filled, and we stood around forever. Sadly, it was the same story this year. I timed it, we waited in line exactly 30 minutes to get on a dang bus. They thankfully had someone “directing traffic” and putting people on the buses, but were only loading buses two at a time. I wish they would count off 40 people, send them to bus 1, then count off 40 more, send them to bus two, so on and so forth and load 5 or 6 buses at a time. Maybe next year? Or maybe I should volunteer to man the bus line? I would have that line moving in no time!

We made it back downtown and had to walk a few blocks back to the hotel, but since it was just a 10k I wasn’t sore or tired so we weren’t hobbling back to the hotel like we have been for other races!

Overall, we had a great experience and I can’t wait for next year! Here is my pro/con list:

PROS:

-very low entry fee

-expo (with free food and beer!)

– everyone gets a shirt and finishers medal

– amazing after party with food, beer, bands, things for the kids to do, booths for other races, etc. (Open to the public for $10, runners get in free).

-free shuttle downtown before and after the race

-fast, flat course

-timing chips for all runners

CONS:

-Lots of people so it can get crowded and congested

– waiting in line for bus back downtown for 30 minutes

-uneven streets/I almost fell a few times

The pro’s HEAVILY outweigh the cons, and this race has improved year after year. I wouldn’t miss it! If you have any questions about the race feel free to ask, I would love to have you join me next year!

QOTD: Have you ever run a race in the rain?

**Winners of my Airborne everyday giveaway are Elle Pink and Vunda Vall. Please email [email protected] to claim your prize!

DISCLOSURE: I was provided a free race entry, pasta dinner, and VIP

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, health, Race Recaps, running Tagged: 10k, crescent city classic, New Orleans, Race, Recap, running

Crescent City Classic Race Expo 2015

April 7, 2015 by Heather

On Saturday, Bobby and I ran in the New Orleans Crescent City Classic 10k. This is a HUGE race with around 20,000 runners, that winds through the French Quarter and ends at city park with a big post race party! This was my fourth classic, but oddly my first time at the expo! In years past I have always had people picking up my bib for me.

Friday Bobby and I arrived in New Orleans and parked at the Hyatt where the expo was being held. In true New Orleans fashion, they had free beer and red beans and rice. I also heard earlier in the day there was a second line that came through the expo.

We got our bibs and wandered around a bit.

We took a look at the course map to see what side of the street we needed to be on (last year was a bit of a mess trying to get into the corrals so I had high hopes for this year).

Of course the husband smelled food and was at the table before I could even say anything to him.

Free beer! When in New Orleans, right?

They had several booths for other races at the expo, as well as some apparel and gear booths. I thought it was pretty good for a 10k, and am glad we went this year! You also could get a picture with the Easter bunny! I passed, but did get a picture with my bib.

After the expo we headed to a pasta dinner put on by the race at the hotel the expo was in. It was a buffet and had a pretty good selection! Great job with the expo CCC, we will be back!

QOTD: Do you like when expo’s have free food and samples?

Disclosure: I was provided with free race entry and pasta dinner tickets, however I was not required to write this post and all opinions are my own.

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, health, running Tagged: 10k, crescent city classic, french quarter, New Orleans, Race expo, running