(3LATEthings) Happiness, RNRBK cancelled and iTunes Radio stations

I don't fully understand the concept of a National Happiness Day, but apparently yesterday was the 2nd annual one thanks to the UN. Personally, I'm a fan of being happy more than one day a year, but to each his own. Thanks for pointing out that a lot of people go through their entire lives never actually knowing what true happiness is. . . but I digress. I hope you were happy yesterday.

 

 

I got this email about the Rock-n-Roll Brooklyn 10k being "postponed indefinitely". Bummer. They had really come leaps and bonds from the inaugural year. I was also looking forward to finally enjoying the after-party this year. They did mention that they're hoping to bring it back as a half marathon, so fingers crossed! I liked having a Rock-n-Roll race in my backyard. But the good news is I don't have to fork over money for the RNR NOLA (because I completely blanked on registering during the alum-pricing special) and I can go home again next year. Win win!

Do you know how amazing iTunes Radio is? There is a FROZEN station and just recently, they added a "One Hit Wonders", "Ladies of the 80s" and "Spring Break Party Anthems" stations to the main page. It's been my favorite thing about my days lately. Good music. Now THAT'S happiness.

What makes you happy?

Rock-n-Roll New Orleans Half Marathon

The Rock-n-Roll New Orleans Half Marathon is one of my favorite races. I ran it in 2012 but last year it fell on the same weekend as The Princess Half and I couldn't do both. I'm so glad I got to run it again this year. It fell on my birthday weekend. Which means I got to visit my family AND run a race for my birthday- what could be better?!

Rain was in the forecast, but I conveniently decided not to believe it. I probably should have. I really need to start just bringing a garbage bag to the start whether I need it or not. Putting my phone in a ziplock bag all the time doesn't sound like a bad idea either. But C'est la vie. I hung out at in Lafayette Square (the starting village) until the race started and the portapotty lines went down (works every time!) then headed to my corral. 

Around mile 1, a girl ran up next to me and asked if she could run with me. I said sure and explained I was doing a run/walk. She looked like she was struggled a bit, so I was hoping I could distract her with small talk. Then she said "I don't think I'm going to make it"- what?! Girlfriend, this was mile 1 of a 13 mile race; ain't nobody got time for talk like that! It's cool. We got this, just think positively. She admitted she didn't train and her legs were hurting. I believe she signed up for the race on a whim, which is awesome- for a 5k maybe. But when you think "marathon" is synonymous with "race" and sign up for a "half marathon", that's not really the same thing (which is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Race Organizers PLEASE stop marketing 5ks as "mini-marathons", this is why people are confused but I digress). We got to the 1st medical stop and parted ways. I told her not to give up on herself and kept going. I hope she finished! 

I'm really glad they didn't change the course that much from the last time I ran it. You really get to see so much of the city. Sadly, the weather didn't hold up and it was hard to really enjoy the sights. The out and back is usually filled with gorgeous houses to look at along St. Charles Ave. This is also about the time it started raining and all you could really do was keep your head down and just keep swimming. Once it stopped, you were in the French Quarter, but it was so foggy, you couldn't see any of the awesome landmarks.

You could barely see Rocker Dude until you were right up next to him.

We ran past the St. Louis Cathedral but you would've never known.

I should've stopped, there was no line!

Once we turned on to Esplanade, the weather got a little better. It was still a little warmer than I would've preferred, but I figured it was good training for The Princess Half at the end of the month. I kept trucking along, trying not to push myself. I just wanted to enjoy the city and try not to get hurt. My hips and knees were achey but nothing too painful and I wanted to keep it that way.

I also noticed the water stops were all on one side of the road, which was weird and kind of annoying. Now that I think about it, I didn't see a Gu station either, but they might have run out by the time I got there. I did see a salt station, though, and that was awesome! 


Once The New Orleans Museum of Arts was in my sights, I texted my family to let them know I was close to finishing. Having them at the finish line was definitely one of my favorite things about the race.

Loved having my family at the finish line!

We stopped at the merch tent and I noticed they had finisher's shirts, which I definitely needed in my life. I think this is the norm at Rock-n-Roll races lately, and I love that they're doing it! Again, I'm a sucker for my hometown merch. Rebirth Brass Band was one of the headliners for the post race party but sadly we couldn't stick around to catch them. My post-race meal was going to be my mom's cooking (and I helped!), so we had to get going. 

I forgot to mention in my expo recap that Rock-n-Roll had special bibs for all of the legacy runners (people who have run all 5 races since Rock-n-Roll took over) as well as a couple of commemorative items for them. Kudos, Rock-n-Roll! What a great thing to do for your loyal runners. I hope they keep it up, and offer it for other cities as well. 2 more years and I can be legacy for RNRBK ;)

If you're looking for a great excuse to add a new race-cation to your list, I highly recommend this one. When the weather is nice, you get a great look at a lot of New Orleans and the post-race meals are endlessly delicious no matter where you go. For me, it's the perfect excuse to squeeze an extra trip home during the year and I will continue to try to make it as often as possible. 

Where else can you get your medal on a Mardi Gras bead? 

Does your family come to your races if they're in town?

The Rock-n-Roll NOLA Expo

Last Saturday was an extremely long day. We had a super early flight WITH a layover. I've been extremely spoiled with scoring direct flights in the past, but not this time (anyone else noticing flights are terribly priced lately?!) Layovers are always so draining and doubles my chances of getting motion sick. But I digress. We made it to New Orleans in one piece and headed straight downtown to The Convention Center to meet up with Fred for the expo. 

Brooks had their Run Happy Island set up which is always a good time. 

I really wanted to get my sister fitted for running shoes via the treadmill (apparently that's not a thing in New Orleans running stores) but the line was wayyyy too long. So instead, we got our passports, ran up the mountain and I finally got the coveted foam finger I've been wanting since RNR Philly. YaY! That will come in handy the next time I spectate a race. 

I was also impressed with their merch selection. But then again, I'm a sucker for anything that says NOLA (or Brooklyn). My sister bought me the teal race jacket and B got me the grey pullover hoodie (I wish they offered that one in women's cut, but it's cute either way) as early birthday presents. I also had to have the medal replica pin and magnet because that medal is definitely in my top 5 favorite medals of all time. 

I did get to stop by The Sweaty Bands booth for a race specific headband, which they did not have but they did have a black and gold one that said "Run New Orleans"; good enough for me! My sister did admit this booth was also one of the main reasons she wanted to come to the expo. I  got her a sweaty band for Christmas and now I think I've created a monster!

The new Heavy medals were also on display, further confirming my need to have them in my life. I'm so glad they've finally upgraded their medal ribbons, including on the heavy medals. 

It was also really great getting to finally meet Karen! 

We've run so many of the same races but our paths never crossed. Hopefully I get to see her again in Florida for Princess weekend.

They were also offering taste tests for the Gumocracy promotion. I voted for the Salted Watermelon. Apple Cinnamon was the runner up because I just couldn't stomach the taste of coffee in a gel, even if I'm slightly obsessed with the salted caramel.

On top of that, Rock-n-Roll introduced their new social app for this race weekend. I was a little confused as to where things were being shared, but it seems to be only within the app itself, unless you specifically chose either twitter or facebook, which is nice. The more hashtags you shared, the more badges you could earn. I know I'm a fan of searching race hashtags, whether participating live or virtual, and I like that this app collects those posts in one place. There seems to be some glitches (the app crashing when you try to upload photos) but I think it will be really great when they're cleared up.

Another new to me was the race information guide only being available digitally. I'm not a fan, specifically for this race. My family and I liked the convenience of the printed guide. Trying to explain to them where on the website to find the information they'd like to know is hard enough for me to find, much less for someone not familiar with race websites and/or The Rock-n-Roll brand. The last time I ran this race, my family really enjoyed reading up on it and I liked that they liked being involved, so not having it was kind of a bummer. If I'm on a regular race-cation, I like not having to use my data or phone's battery life to read the race information as well. Hopefully they bring them back.

Once we made our rounds through the expo, it was time to meet my parents for lunch; I was starving! We got to check roast beef po-boy and shrimp po-boy off the must-eat while I'm in town list. 

After the delicious lunch, we took a quick ride on the streetcar. Normally, I'd prefer to keep the sightseeing/ time on my feet until after the race, but it was B's first time visiting and we had a limited amount of time to pack in a ton of things!

On the way back to my sister's we made our first of many stops for beignets. Then it was time to get ready for my brother's surprise 30th birthday party (he's birthday is a week after mine, but we wanted to have the party while B and I were in town). 

No rest for the wicked! 

Are you a fan of a printed race guide? Which Gu flavor would you choose?

(3 Things) in New Orleans

This past weekend was B's first time in my hometown. So, after the race, we spent a lot of time being tourists. It's always fun to make it a point to do the touristy things every now and then. It's fun see what's changed. Downtown New Orleans has changed a LOT since the last time I visited (a lot more commercialized and tourist friendly), so it was cool to see that. We really enjoyed our time and wanted to share with yall what our highlights were. . . so here are 3 things B really liked in New Orleans: 

The Beignets. The Cafe au lait. The Beignets. 

But really, the cafe au lait. I forgot how good coffee with chicory is and that was definitely the deal breaker for which beignet location we prefer (Morning Call's coffee is better in case you're wondering). I think I ate more beignets throughout the weekend, than I have my entire adult life. And I'm totally ok with that. 

The streetcar. 

The fact that the seat-backs actually moved depending on which way the streetcar was going, entertained her immensely.

This photo. 

You can thank my sister for this gem, as she decided to show B a bunch of my baby pictures. That's what I get for letting her visit with my family :) 

What's your top 3 things in New Orleans? 

Favorite thing about visiting your hometown?