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Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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 :)

8 comments:

  1. 2nd place!!! Amazing! Nice job :D

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  2. Congratulations. Nice to know that the other runners struggled with the conditions too. And a good tip re the salt.

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  3. I started using salt capsules this past summer for the first time, and now make them a fairly regular part of my long runs. I've found the same thing you did - they seem to react with my body almost instantly. I'll get foggy-headed at times in races from losing fluids and salt at a rapid pace, and the salt is like an instant cobweb clearer.

    On another note ... I'm a HUGE Cynthia Hedge Morrell guy!

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    Replies
    1. We had elections the day before...the sign we made for the race was attached to an election sign we got off the neutral ground after the polls closed!

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  4. Crazy! We get the post-high pressure system fog here, but it's usually over the period of a couple of days, not a couple of hours. Congrats on the A/G place, slow field or not!

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  5. good show! can't wait to see what you do in better weather and with more training under your belt. very encouraging race gracie!! :)

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  6. what weird weather! also, congrats on the AG place!
    good reminder. i always have to remind myself to take salt/ electrolytes during and after a race.

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