Hey ya’ll! I’m back. And I’m suffering from a stupid cold still. It came on right as I left for NOLA last Thursday. Fortunately, I didn’t have to cancel my trip since my sister has the world’s best immune system and my nephew and brother in law basically already had colds.

 

I love love love New Orleans. The food! The jazz! The beads! The food! Did I mention the food? Unfortunately, this cold made things taste a bit flat and I wasn’t hungry so I didn’t do as much damage as I normally would have. I suppose that could be a good thing.

 

We had to make a stop at District Donuts regardless of what my taste buds were doing. I didn’t even get a donut but I did get an awesome breakfast sandwich and coffee. NOLA has fantastic coffee.

 

I spent most of my trip hanging with my family and playing lots of “teenage” with my nephew. (Teenage is his term for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and you are only allowed to be Michelangelo.) It was exactly what the doctor ordered because by Sunday I was able to get up early and head to the Rock N Roll New Orleans 10K start with my sister. She wasn’t feeling great and I was nervous about making this cold worse so we decided to “jalk” this one. There was lots of walking with a few spurts of jogging. I think this plan was perfect. It was actually a great way to see some other parts of the city. The bands on course had a NOLA flair and my sister and I posed for the cameras. I’m definitely going to order a few of the professional pics.

 

As this was my 3rd Rock N Roll event, I knew what to expect and as per usual, it was a well organized event. The expo was really nice and they did a great job with the merchandise. I am sure it’s because I love New Orleans, but I wanted to buy every single shirt they had. The course was nice and flat and the bonus of adding on a string of beads to your medal at the finish was a nice touch.

 

While we didn’t come in last, we definitely took our time and finished in 1:26. I am glad we got to do this event and am eyeing the full marathon there next year. My heel felt fine and as Coach Jon pointed out, getting a cold gave it even more time to heal.

 

I was feeling good enough to celebrate with some King Cake and I even brought one back for my co-workers. I can’t wait to go back to NOLA and see this little face again.