The Race that Wasn't

I thought I'd be writing a race report today, but a week-and a-half ago I finally gave in to the many signs the New Orleans Rock N' Roll Marathon was never meant to be for me! I first registered for the NOLA Rn'R Marathon shortly after I ran the Publix Georgia Marathon last March.  At that time, I felt the need to redeem myself as a marathoner after a horrible Georgia Marathon.  That need subsided after a couple months, however, when I had the realization that I really did not want to spend two Winters in a row running high mileage in low temperatures.  I officially changed my race registration from marathon to half marathon without consulting my training buddy (because I did not want her to talk me into doing the full marathon).  I (kind of) trained all Winter for the half marathon to be held on March 4th in the Big Easy.  It actually should have been one of the easiest half marathons I had ever ran, so the name was fitting, and I was excited to be entertained each mile of the race by bands along the course.  My training for this half marathon was... different.  From the time I started my 'official training' for the half marathon up to a week before the race, my training went as follows: 26 runs (at least 75% on a treadmill); 33 'rides' (spin class, trainer ride, or real outdoor ride), and 9 BRICK (bike immediately followed by a run) workouts;  10 leg weight sessions; 2 swim sessions (pathetic, I know), and 1 pilates class.  That looks more like a triathlon training plan than a half marathon training plan, but it's what ended up happening, and I was okay with that.  This half marathon was merely a means to keep me motivated throughout the Winter, so I could enter triathlon season with a good base.  I have only been through two Winters since taking up triathlon.  I considered last Winter a 'running centric' base, and this Winter a 'cycling centric' base. I only did 2 ten mile runs, and did not do any runs over 10 miles.  All of the BRICK workouts I did, however, were at least 1.5 hours long, so I felt like I had a decent endurance base.  I was not certain as to how this training method would translate into a half marathon performance, and I was anxious to find out.

All logistics having to do with the NOLA race weekend fell apart, one by one, in the months and weeks leading up to the race.  First, one training buddy bailed on the race, then several weeks later, another.  The week before the race, the friend who I had planned on staying with in New Orleans bailed on being my place to stay.  Finally, Tyler dropped the exciting early birthday surprise on me that he had got us floor tickets to see Jimmy Buffett that very weekend (I have wanted to go to a Jimmy Buffett conceret for as long as I can remember, and he didn't realize that was the weekend I was going to be in New Orleans!).  All that, combined with my unconventional training plan, I decided to skip the race.  I'll always wonder what would have been, and how my biking-more-than-running half marathon training method would have worked out for me on race day, but I'm honestly okay with the turn of events, and happy that I made it through another Winter: motivated, ready, and eager to start my third triathlon season this Spring!

Since I don't have a current race to report on, and that's what I had planned on for this blog, I'll pull one from the archives and post it this week.