Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans 5K

There are so many wonderful things about running in New Orleans - the scenery, the crowd, the atmosphere...I could go on and on! Imagine my excitement when I officially landed a spot for the Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans 5K at the Expo the previous day - this gave me another opportunity to run the streets of New Orleans and I couldn't have been more thrilled!

As always, my outfit was laid out and ready to go the evening before the race.

This race began at 8 a.m. and I only had a 10ish minute walk to the start line. Music to my ears!

When I arrived, they weren't letting people into the corrals just yet, so I walked around and enjoyed the atmosphere. A Second Line band was jamming over in the middle of Lafayette Square which was definitely a fun way to start this race!

We listened to the opening ceremonies which included a little race motivation from Kathrine Switzer! I thought it was so cool to be running a race that she was also running!

We were allowed into our corrals and before long, it was almost time to begin the race. The National Anthem was performed by an amazing singer (she sang again the following day, too) and with that, we were off!

Running through the French Quarter was so much fun! I felt great this entire race and really enjoyed the sights and scenery!

There's Cafe DuMonde! Even though I was tempted to stop for beignets, I didn't...but I will one day!

I was sort of thrown off for a hot second, because we came up to Jackson Square the backwards way - we passed Cafe DuMonde on our left instead of our right like I'm used to - but it was neat to see New Orleans from a different angle!

Jackson Square selfie!

Mile 2 approached and with that, over half of the race was complete!

I wasn't out for anything crazy with this race, I mainly just wanted to have a good time. That goal was definitely accomplished!

After crossing the finish line, I was handed a bottle of water, a medal (of course), pretzel goldfish, and a granola bar.

At the end of the finish line chute, the second line band was still playing! It was so much fun to finish this race and have them there. It also added that New Orleans flare to an already fun race!

The medal was adorable, the race was fun, the course was amazing, the atmosphere was on point - I definitely give this race a two thumbs up and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to run it!

Have you ever run a Rock 'n' Roll 5K? What are your thoughts on the race?

No Time To Spare (A Tale From The Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Expo)

Happy Tuesday, y'all! We are back home from a long weekend in New Orleans and I can honestly say that we had a BLAST during our stay! The initial purpose of visiting New Orleans this past weekend was to run the Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Half Marathon on Sunday. However, when I booked our hotel and noticed that it made more sense rate-wise to stay Friday night too, the 5K that was scheduled for Saturday morning also became on my radar. 5K+Half Marathon=Extra Bling. I'm in!

I did make a huge mistake here though - I didn't register for the 5K before online registration closed. Whoops. I figured it wouldn't be a big deal and I could simply register at the Expo....until traffic happened.

Let me back up for a second. I worked half a day on Friday and stayed at work about an hour later than I intended to but it was for a patient so I didn't mind. By the time I got home, all I had to do was change my clothes and then I was ready to go! After plugging in our coordinates on my phone GPS, I realized that our planned 3 to 3 1/2 hour drive to New Orleans was going to take well over 4 hours and didn't get to leave home until 2 p.m. (Insert big eyes here.) Honestly, we should have arrived around 5 p.m.(ish) and the expo closed at 6 p.m. Of course it did. Somehow I had 8 p.m. in my mind? Totally wrong.


As my brain began to go on overload, I made a few "plans".....Plan B was to attempt to go to the Expo anyway and see if anyone was still around. Plan C was to wake up early on Saturday morning and see if they would let me register on site although their website said no. I also began praying. I know that one good dead doesn't usually repay another but you know what? Sometimes it happens that way.

By the time we made it through HORRIBLE Baton Rouge bridge traffic and TWO wrecks on I-10 by New Orleans, we were finally downtown. I told Jason to swing up front by the Convention Center and drop me off as close to Hall J as he could get. As I approached the Expo hall, I noticed one door open with a security guard standing out front. He didn't say anything to the girl in front of me who entered the Expo hall so I followed suit. I literally made it with zero time to spare.

The 5K/10K/Half/Full registration table was located just inside and a few people were finishing up their registrations. I smiled sweetly at the lady who was working the table and asked if I could register for the 5K? She mumbled something about them being closed already (it was 6:05 p.m. by this point) however, she was SO kind and graciously let me register anyway.

I. Was. On. Cloud. Nine!!

After registering, I walked over to the next lady who issued my bib and asked which corral I'd like to be in. There were apparently 10 corrals and I asked how likely it would be to get in corral 1? With a "no problem", she marked a 1 on my bib! Woohoo!

She also instructed me to hurry over to the shirt area to see if anyone was still around. A lone volunteer remained and he happily helped me find my shirt (and there were a TON extra, by the way).

 
After taking a quick picture with my "registered within 7 days" tag which I found hilarious for some reason, I floated out to the car to meet Jason. Y'all, I was seriously on cloud 9!

We checked into our hotel and I set up my race outfit for the next day. I've only ever run one other 5K in New Orleans, so this was super exciting for me...and a nice way to shake out my legs prior to the half the following day.

Dinner that evening was at Mother's Restaurant, a famous po-boy joint in New Orleans. I'd been there once but Jason never had been and when we visit other cities, we like to eat at places that are local to the area. I liked it, but it didn't "wow" me like my favorite po-boy joint back home. Oh well! The bread pudding however was AMAZING! It seriously rivaled Ohana! (And I've NEVER found that anywhere!!)

With that, our first evening in New Orleans was done and it was time to go to sleep. I did appreciate the later morning wake up call as the 5K didn't start until 8 a.m. and I only had about a 10 minute walk from the hotel! Score!

Stay tuned for more from the 5K and Half Marathon....and fun times in New Orleans!