Running Tour of NOLA

The purpose of our end of the year trip to New Orleans was to take our first vacation together that didn't include visiting family or having the purpose of me running a race.  That said, once there, it was 100% certain that I would find time to run and explore the city.

We arrived on Thursday, December 27, and were greeted by my friend Heidi who picked us up at the airport.  She drove us around the city which gave me a good sense of where I could run.  For dinner, we hit up Bourbon House, which was really good, and I ordered a flight of bourbons that included Knob Creek and Four Roses.

In the morning, I took to the streets with my sneakers and added a new city to my list of ones that I've run.  I started by running from the hotel down St. Charles for a few miles.  At the three mile point, there was the historic Touro Synagogue.  We went there for Shabbes services later that night where we also enjoyed Kaddish.

 I turned left and took another left onto Magazine Street, which Heidi showed us and said that it was kind of cool in its own way.

As I came back downtown, I ran by the WWII Museum (which we visited on Saturday) and the Civil War Museum.

Inside the WWII Museum, we took our picture near this big thing we didn't know what it did - but it looked cool!

My total run for Friday was seven miles at a decent pace.  On Saturday, I ran only thirteen miles for my long run of the week.  Again, I went down St. Charles, planning to run an out and back.  It was neat how the runners ran along the trolley tracks that stretched on straight for miles.

But then I hit a park right where my GPS read 4.5 miles and decided to go for a loop.  The first loop was 1.8 miles, just about 3K, so I did a second loop to ensure I hit at least twelve miles for the run.  Audubon Park had a golf course on the inside and further there was a zoo.  There were many runners, walkers, and bicyclists enjoying the cold but otherwise pleasant morning.

My third and final run in New Orleans was on Sunday morning.  I ran toward the Superdome and along the Mississippi River.

We also had visited the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) where we had a bit of fun:

Some other photos from our trip include seeing the Holocaust Memorial along the Mississippi River:

Finding a shirt perfect for our little girl, Sammy (a spoiled Spring Spaniel):

Jazz brunch:

 A riverboat:

 A walking tour of the French Quarter:

Along the Mississippi River and by the Superdome:

A cigar factory:

Laura plays an imaginary flute:

At the airport watching the Patriots beat the Dolphins to clinch the second seed in the AFC while waiting for our flight home:

Next trip - ??

A good week of training

This week was one of my highest mileage weeks. I'll top out at 70 when I run 22 in a few weeks, but this week's 66 is right up there. I find that "water" therapy and light stretching keeps me healthy and able to run. I'm battling a nagging left calf strain that sidelined me for July and pushed my marathon back from Steamtown to Philly. I took two days off last week and (knock on wood) it seems to be holding up with just the occasional "hey, don't forget me!" hiccup. My bigger problem is my hallux limitus, diagnosed back in April. Basically, the way my feet are causes a bunion-like growth to rub against a nerve in my foot causing pain. Or, that's what originally happened after my last marathon. It didn't go away until I regularly started icing it in a bucket of water with ice for 20 minutes twice a day, and I keep that routing up today as preventative measure. I also soak my body in a bathtub a few times a week for at least 20 minutes. I use lukewarm water and let it soak into my muscles. Some decent stretching keeps me feeling fresh too.

My running week is pretty standardized - Saturday is my long run, Sunday or Monday is a day off with the other day serving as a recovery run, Tuesday is tempo or marathon race pace, Wednesday is recovery, Thursday is speed work at the track, and Friday is recovery. I was pleased that I posted a solid run on Tuesday with 4 good miles just under my marathon race pace including a tough Hill on Calvert near Rock Creek. Thursday I posted 4x1 mile repeats ranging from 6:24/21/22/18. Those are right where I should be if I want to run my 3:10 Boston Qualifier. Today I ran with Sammy and she loves the run. I was reading a book I have about pet care and it says exercise is important for dogs - and the way she trots/prances is perfect for her. Plus, the vet says I can feed her more food and she loves to eat!

And now, for a new feature of my blog:
Kitty Kounter = 1 (1 yesterday and 0 today)
Squirrel Scoreboard = 3 (2 yesterday and 1 today)

Finally, good luck this weekend to all Chicago runners. Most importantly, good luck to Brian and Adam - Brian's trying for his BQ and Adam is running only his second marathon. Good luck to both and all running!