RnR New Orleans 2014: Weird weather, slow field

Thanks to the weather, our elite field was a little bare this past weekend. Ben Bruce came out and won it for the men, far ahead of any other runners:

But the women's field wasn't as speedy as usual: the top finisher ran 2:58 and the third place woman ran 3:07.
The half was pretty slow, too: we had some speedy men and women, but overall the heat and humidity slowed the field, so much so that I actually got 2nd in my age group.

Last year my almost identical time landed me 29th woman - bad weather = slower field.

The women's winner ran a fast 1:20 and the men's winner ran 1:11. I think the guys' side was a little more competitive. I love that the guy who won, Liam Burke, was in town checking out college choices and visiting Tulane University! I hope he moves here and comes and runs with Varsity Sports!

Fog on Esplanade

Let's Run has a pretty good recap here.

This was probably taken at 8:00 am! Look at the fog! When I passed this point, there was no fog. Courtesy NOTC.

Someone told me something interesting about this race: Because it started out hot and humid, then a cool fog rolled over the city, people who ran the half/started in an early corral felt like the race was hot. But people doing the full or starting in a back corral felt chilled! So we have opposite impressions. I also heard - but cannot document - that the starting temps for the first corral was 10 degrees warmer than for the final corral. If that's true - crazy! But runners dramatize, so that could be made-up.

One more thing I should mention about my race this year: I really suffered after the race with stomach cramps. Just awful, painful stomachache. After about two hours of misery, I suddenly realized that Sunday was much more humid conditions than I was used to. I grabbed a pinch of salt and washed it down, and in a few minutes my cramps subsided. This anecdote is included here just to remind you: never underestimate your body's need for sodium!
And that's your running tip for the day :)