I came into the race knowing that I wasn't well-trained, since I was still fighting the injury bug (for a year now). The flavor of this training period was ankle/shin issues. I still was able to train a fair amount though, so I went through with it. I figured I could handle around a 9:00-9:30 pace, and that I'd help my sister pace my dad, who was shooting to crack the elusive 4-hour barrier.
It started out great. I felt good, and we were on pace for better than 4 hours. I was enjoying running through The Crescent City. Hey, you could even call this race The Big Easy! Flat, fast course, and the weather was phenomenal. But then it hit. Hard. Right around the halfway point my right IT band just blew up. Not literally, of course, but out of nowhere (wasn't even one of my concerns!) it really starting hurting. After less than a mile more I couldn't run anymore. There were even points throughout the next 12 miles that I couldn't even walk on it. I should have quit, and this was probably the closest I've ever come to DNF'ing a marathon. Let me tell you: it is NOT fun to walk for 3 1/2 hours when you should be running and you can't. 12 miles is a long, long walk. I tried my best to enjoy the scenery and nice homes near the coast, but it wasn't easy.
My dad and sister passed me out on one of the little bridges and I cheered them on as they went by... he was a bit ahead of 4-hour pace and looking strong! I slowly made my way, very unhappily, and eventually made it to the finish in 5:33:54, my slowest time by 38 minutes, which of course makes sense when you walk half of it! I was happy to find out though, that my dad had achieved his 25-year goal of breaking 4 hours! Slow Pole had graduated to Flyin' Eagle!
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