SIGHTSEEING THE BIG EASY ? THE NON TRADITIONAL WAY

10000 runners and counting; here I was, at the start of the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans in Feb 2003. Adrenalin surging in the last few minutes before the start, as I focused on my goal ? to run the marathon in a time of 3 hours and 30 minutes, which was an hour quicker than my first marathon in Chicago, in October ?01.

The tasty and flavourful foods of the previous nights in the French Quarter, with great oysters, seafood gumbo, jambalaya and other Creole and Cajun fare, as I tried to carbo-load (quite unsuccessfully as I found there was so little time and so much tasty food to eat), were now distant memories, as were the wild crowds along Bourbon street with music, dancing and abandon during this festive Mardi Gras period, in the Big Easy.

We were all set to start, at the Sugarbowl, and then at 8am we were off. This was my 4^th marathon and I was sure I was going to enjoy this one; looking forward to go on my 26.2 mile sight seeing tour of the city. The route took us towards the Mississippi which cuts the city in two, via the French Quarter and the famous or infamous Bourbon street. We were met by some inebriated guys who were just finishing off their ?night? and ran with us for a block. Past Caf? Dumont where we had had their famous coffee and Bennier ( a dough and sugar preparation), and past some jazz bars. 2 miles down and the pace was good at 7:45 per mile; I had to remind myself to slow down else I was going to be burnt out and paining 20 miles later.

That?s what makes the marathon, especially for a 44 year old newcomer to this crazy ?sport?, a tricky one ? it?s very easy to get carried away in the 1^st half by the crowd of runners and spectators and run faster than plan, and then regret it in the 2^nd half of the run, and definitely as you hit the ?wall? around mile 22 or so when you wonder why the heck you?re doing this!!

The quaint homes along the French Quarter I was running by, reminded me of the walking tour that Jamuna and I had been on when we passed the whitewashed ?House of the Rising Sun? and an over ground cemetery.  We were on Esplanade avenue with the  crowds very thin in this city which seems to party though sunset to sunrise, and sleep it off for a while thereafter. The route took us along City Park towards the massive Lake Ponchartrain and then back towards the Sugarbowl, where the half marathoners finished (lucky guys!!) and we carried on. I looked at my stopwatch and I was on at 1hr:43min (and more importantly, still feeling good).

The 2^nd half of the marathon is when it seems more about psychological training and readiness than physical. Your left brain is saying stop, you?re hurting, you shouldn?t have signed up for this?.. while you psyche your right brain to focus on how well you?re doing, and that you?ve trained well, and are definitely not aching. I also realized, prior to my 1^st marathon, that synthetic shorts, T shirts, inner wear and socks and good shoes, and even well tied shoe laces were key to ?success? while ensuring that none of them were brand new and had been broken in, prior to race day. Have seen some poor sods running in brand new shoes or T shirt on race day, and they have ended up paying the price.

Now we were running miles 14 to 18 on Prytania St (just parallel to St Charles where our quaint hotel was and part of the route that the Mardi Gras parades take) in the Garden district which is a very neatly laid out, older part of town. St Charles has the tramlines along the tree-lined road which reminded me a lot of Ballygunge and Old Calcutta. Left foot, right foot, left foot right foot as I was focused on the 42200 metres of running, or approximately 21000 times that each foot strikes the asphalt with my body weight, to try and do something that the human body is not naturally designed to do. The crowds were swelling as it was now close to 11am, and a civilized time to be up and about in New Orleans. ?Way to go runners, looking good?!! All of us who heard, knew we weren?t looking too good, but our right brains were well trained to silently respond ? ?I know, I?m feeling great?

On to a loop around Audobon park after which we would loop back along Prytania and wind up at the Sugarbowl. Oh that seemed a long way away! Music and bands at the park kept spirits up as muscles tired.  The sensible residents of New Orleans were walking their dogs, in line skating and jogging, while I was going left foot, right foot, ?I?m feeling great?! The 18 water points along the 26 mile route helped to keep me hydrated, and also give me an excuse to stop to take two quick glugs, walk 20 yards, and then carry on. I have saluted Pheidippides, (the Greek, who ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory over Sparta) on several occasions, as I hit the 20 mile mark in each marathon. I did again, exiting Audobon park.

Huff and a puff. Just 6 miles more to go. Just a 10k. Need to stick to the pace. Brief walking breaks started now as I see fellow runners wills fraying ? a girl in pain and crying ? probably because she is contemplating pulling out and she is disappointed that her 4 months of training will go to waste, a group in front of me cribbing and moaning, heavy breathing and grunts of a few runners in front of me. I try to block out any negative sounds and sights and try to look for the birds and see them fly effortlessly.  The spectators shouts at this stage are more of what you need here ? ?You can?t stop now! You can?t walk, you MUST run!? 

Now it?s just 2 miles more and I see that I am off my 3:30 target but well under my best time yet. Tough decision ? should I slow down now that I know I am going to have my best time yet, or should I give it my best, to see where I end up? Tough left brain, right brain struggle, and eventually the will ti win prevails and I up my pace, as I run up Girod Street and see the Sugarbowl. A ?sprint? in the last 400 metres takes me tired but beaming to the finish line as I finish in 3hrs :41 mins and have my chip taken off my shoe and a mylar sheet wrapped around me with a medal on my neck. It all seems worth it now as I plan my next marathon.

Anyone for New Orleans next February? Mardi Gras time is great in this city of food, music, warmth and festivity. And I can take you on a cheap tour where you won?t need any transportation. Just bring some running shoes along.

For those who would like to start running ? everyone has run in their lives and everyone can regardless of their age. Fauja Singh ? 92yrs, ran in April in the London Marathon in April. He started running marathons at 89 as he was getting bored and did not want to end up in an old people?s home!

Check out two great websites:

runnersworld.com for shoes, diets, tips, and for beginner to expert runners

halhigdon.com for running schedules for all distances

and for those of you who are thinking of starting or have been waiting on the side ? click on to my website at www.runningandliving.com