I ate my way to a PR!

New Orleans is my most favorite city in the world to visit (though I will admit I'm not well traveled), it just holds a special place in my heart.  It seems like every time that I am there I smile more, I feel alive, and let's be honest the food is just killer!!!  You won't find better food anywhere in the world I'm convinced, however, this food would make me weigh a million pounds if I lived there! So, I'd say I ate my way to a PR this weekend.

This was my third New Orleans half marathon (I think the actual name has changed every year), it was where my half obsession began and I love this race.  It has some flaws, namely the horrific uneven roads that lead to injuries every single time we run it.  I got a stress fracture during my first run, and my girl, Skinner, got one this time.  My knee is hurting and I'm certain that these aren't the only injuries that were had during this race.  But it is just SO.DANG.FUN!!  It is beautiful, there are usually a good number of fans, it's flat and fast and you get to see some of the city's history as you run along St. Charles and Esplanade.  That first race I did was so hard, and I was so beat down while I was doing it, but when I crossed that finish line, my world changed.  I believed I could do things that I had never before believed about myself!  So, this race holds a special place in my heart.

This year just grew that love, as I set a PR with my third New Orleans half and 7th half marathon.  I've said before that I'm not fast, but the fact is that I didn't used to be fast, and I may not always be fast.  I'm not qualifying for Boston or anything like that, but I did take 27:50 off of my previous PR, clocking in at 2:09:19.   It was the most fun I've ever had during a race, as I didn't hurt, I could breathe, the day was gorgeous, the temperature perfect, the crowd fun, my play list good, the support texts from Foxy and Lacey were rolling in, and it was just one of those days that is perfect.  Every race is not like this, so to say I was grateful would be a gross understatement!  I felt like God really smiled down on me Sunday and answered all of my weather and course prayers and kept me strong and safe, as I know He moved my feet and filled my lungs!  ***I trained doing speed work for the first time for this race, I'm hoping Lacey will do a good post about speed work, as Kenyan has way more to impart about this and Lacey is super speedy!***

Crossing the finish line--can you tell I was pumped?

I want to give a huge shout out to Julie, who also set a rocking PR, and to Davina, Lacey's SIL, who smoked this race too!  And to my sister, who motivated me to still run even when it was hard and I wanted to quit, I'm giving a huge "WOOOO HOOO" for sticking to it and finishing strong!  Thanks to Lacey and Bug for being at dinner with us pre-race and there at the finish to cheer for us all!  It is so much fun to be there doing it with lots of friends to celebrate with, to have pre-race dinner with, and to talk all about the details with.  There is something strong and fierce and loyal and supportive about the running community and it makes it all the more fun!  My support crew was pretty much the coolest and I'm so grateful for a husband who supports me and totes my cutie to the finish line to cheer for me.  Such a change from my first race that I ran in the face of my first loss, the feeling of crossing that line to see my sweet, Sugar, smiling up at me with my fabulous husband there to hug me and give me a high five was priceless and the gratitude in my heart is truly overwhelming right now!  I am blessed beyond measure!

With my support crew post race!

Sugar's shirt said "Run Mommy Run"
 **As a bonus to this awesome weekend, Sugar started crawling!  She's such a cutie pie!!!**