35th Annual Crescent City Classic 10K

Guess where I am going this weekend?? Back to my FAVORITE city New Orleans to run in the 35th Annual Crescent City Classic!! I am so excited to be running with my blogging friends Larisa & Mindy! This is my first time to run in this race and I can't wait!! I love running in New Orleans!! 

35th Annual Allstate Sugar Bowl

Crescent City Classic 10k

Saturday March 30th 8am

This race is described as the original "party race."  The race is always held the Saturday before Easter and attracts over 20,000 runners, walkers, and partiers each year.

The AllState Sugar Bowl is the official sponsor of the Crescent City Classic!

The official hotel of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic is the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. It is situated in the heart of the sports and entertainment district and is adjacent to the newly opened Champions Square and the Louisiana Superdome which is an easy walk to the starting line. The hotel is also within walking distance to the French Quarter.

By staying there you will be right in all the action!  The free 2-day Health & Fitness Expo is located at the Hyatt hotel, where you can pick up your bib & race t-shirt. There will also be entertainment and vendors offering running apparel, shoes, nutritional products and so much more! There is a schedule of events that you can find here.

This year the CCC will feature a new 10k course thanks to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Sponsorship and will start in front of the Superdome at Champion's Square. The CCC will have corrals this year as well so this will make it much easier for the faster runners and the stroller runners won't get run over.  

I am so excited to get to run through the French Quarter, down Esplanade and into City Park!!  

This is the Race Day Schedule

5:30 a.m. Buses begin running from City Park (at Beau Bassich Cricle) to start area (Champions Square)
7:45 a.m. Final Announcements, Dignitary Welcome and the National Anthem
8:00 a.m. The Allstate Sugar Bowl Crescent City Classic Begins!
8:30 a.m. The Michelob-Ultra RaceFest begins near the finish on the Practice Track field (free for runners, $5 for public)
10:00 a.m. Complimentary Bus Transportation begins taking participants back downtown to Poydras St.
10:30 a.m. Awards Ceremony and Giveaways begin on main stage  
11:00 a.m. Marc Broussard and Papa Grows Funk resume playing
1:00 p.m. The RaceFest officially ends; complimentary bus transport back downtown ends

Once we cross the finish line we get this awesome medal to commemorate the 35th anniversary! I can't wait to get it!! After all, I run for the bling! :)  

My friend Larisa from 0to26point2 showing off the medal! 

After the race there will be the Michelob-Ultra Racefest Party to enjoy!  The music for the after race party will be provided by 

Marc Broussard

 and Papa Grows Funk "…one of THE best, one of THE hottest and most important funky bands in New Orleans." -Quint Davis, producer of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.." 

 There will also be fun for the kids. They can enjoy an obstacle courses, a rock wall and a military weapons exhibit.

I can't wait for Saturday to get here!! I hope to see you there!!

~Shannon's Weekly Chase~

~Shannon's Weekly Chase~

Here's the recap from last week:


1. (Challenge Goal) I'm continuing with the Moxie & Motivation Challenge & the SBBC as my main challenge goal for the month.  I did this almost every day. I missed one day after sleeping in from a late night ER visit. 

2. (Challenge Goal) Finish my post about my marathon as well as the McGuire's 5K. Well...I finished my post about the marathon. Hopefully I can finish the McGuire's this week. 

3. Run 3 times this week...my knee has been giving me problems since my marathon so I've been using the elliptical and going to spin class. This week I need to run if I'm going to run a 10K soon.  Completed!! And running felt great!! 

4. Start tagging Little G's clothes for the consignment sale that's in 2 weeks!  Completed and ready to drop off on Friday! 

Son #2's Spring Break ended up being a little more exciting than we bargained for. My sister in law and my twin 6 year old nieces were in town with friends staying on the beach. I got a frantic call while at son #1's baseball game on Tuesday night...one of my nieces had fallen on her elbow and needed to get to an ER. I met them and rushed them to the best  children's ER in the area where it was determined that the break was bad enough to require surgery. :( So... the surgery was scheduled for the following day around noon. Not the spring break that they had planned unfortunately. But, she is a trooper!!! The day after surgery we sat by the pool while son #2 and her twin sister swam with their friends. Here is a picture of her with her cool cast! I have to say that if you are going to have to get a cast I can't imagine a cooler cast than this to wear!! 

 My niece with her cool cast!

Spring Break 2013 #1! 

This week is a short week...no school on Good Friday and Son #1's spring break starts at noon on Holy Thursday! 

Here are my goals for this week: 

1. Continue with the M & M and finish out the month as well as the SBBC challenge. 

2. Finish my post about the McGuire 5K!! 

3. Run twice this week along with the 10K I hope to run on Saturday! 

4. Get two more post drafted so next week while on Son #1's spring break all I have to do is hit post! :) Next week is family time! 

QOTD: Do you have a scheduled time during the day that you work on your blog and nothing else? 

Rock N Roll Nola Part Two....

I have written this post several times, saved as a draft before posting because I wanted to re-read it and the draft never saved...started making me think part 2 may not be meant to post. So this time I'm just writing and will post and edit later if needed.

I left off with where the half marathoners and the marathoners split. I was feeling good and ready for the next 13.1 miles.

Around that time Debbye's foot was really hurting her to where she had to really slow down so she told me to go on and she promised she would finish.

Around mile 14 I ran into my friend Jennifer. I was so excited to see a familiar face since the amount of runners had greatly decreased.  We started running together around mile 15 and I was so glad because its around that time that you start seeing the fast marathoners coming into the home stretch. That is hard mentally knowing you have 11 more miles to go.

I had heard about the marathon course from friends who had run it in the past but this year, due to the chance of rain, the organizers had changed it a few days before and it was a straight 5 miles or so out and then back. For this ADD girl that was so hard with the same view going and coming for at least 10 miles!! Plus, the crowd has greatly diminished, there were only 2 bands...just not nearly as exciting as the first half for this girl! 

I learned I need to schedule my races better (especially a full marathon)!! Too much TMI for some but after the first 13 miles my pit stops became more & more frequent as this was the worst day of the month for me to be running a full marathon! Thank goodness the medical tents had what I needed because I had run out it was such a bad day. :( 

I am also not one to look at a course map before a race so as not to psyche myself out. So...I was surprised at the number of overpasses. I was used to the flat half marathon course since I have run that course for the past 2 years.

The turn around was almost at the top of one and I jokingly said its all down hill from here. :)
A couple of miles after the turn around Jennifer and I separated. I saw Debbye and she was still going strong! Around mile 23 I ran up on a lady and we started talking about the course. Her goal is to run a marathon in every state. How awesome is that??!! We ran together for about a mile and then I lost her. 

I could see the end in sight when I got to the final 5K. Then I saw the city park and started getting very emotional knowing that I was about to be a marathoner and had accomplished one of the toughest goals I have ever had. 

My day was made when I crossed that finish line and saw that my sorority sister Heather and her mother had stayed to watch me come in. I was so surprised and thankful to see them.

While visiting with Heather and her mom my friends Jennifer and Larisa finished and I was able to get a picture with them! 

While waiting for Debbye to finish we went over to hear the band. I loved them!! I hope they come back when I run the half so I can have more time to hear them. 

After listening to a few songs we checked to see if Debbye had finished. Her brothers were waiting on her at the finish line. She has now completed her second full marathon!! 

At the end of the race I said I was done with fulls since I could cross this off the bucket list but who knows...there are several that look very intriguing.

Stef's Weekly Chase.....

Ok, let's see how I did last week:

1.  Run at least three times again.  I really want to do some tummy exercises but I just don't think that rib and muscle will allow me yet.  I did run 3 times which included a 5k on Saturday.  No other exercises though, the muscles were still sore.

2.  Host a great baby shower on Sunday.  YES!! Done and think it was awesome, had a great time.

3.  Keep the house clean for Sunday... Maybe try to tackle spare bedroom. Did well on this except the tacle the spare bedroom part.

4.  Work on Scentsy Fundraiser  FAIL

5.  Big challenge for the month!!!  Jump start these stubborn pounds :)  Still got those same couple pounds down but just got in my Shakeology and started that today.

So now for this week - oh boy....

1.  Run at least 3 times this week.  I have foam fest this weekend but my team has fell apart so not sure I am making that or not.

2.  Drink my shakeology shake every day for the rest of the week.  Thanks to Molly!!

3.  Blog on the Oak Alley 5k from Saturday.

4.  Keep the house straight and hurt husband if he leaves messes around

5.  Keep on with the big challenge - lose these stubborn pounds!!!

That's it... Good luck to the rest of you on your goals.

Shannon's Weekly Chase

~Shannon's Weekly Chase~

Recap of last week: 

1. (Challenge)Continue with my Motivation & Moxie March Mania! Facebook group. I'm loving adding these quick little workouts to my daily gym classes and runs. Mostly completed...I missed the weekend with my parents in town & Prom. 

Son #1 & his girl

My Parents! 

2. (Challenge) Continue with the spring Bootie Buster Challenge with Run To The Finish and post my workouts on the SBBC spreadsheet. This will be my second large goal for the month. I think I'll add posting to Daily Mile here as well because it looks like this is going to be a challenge. Did the challenge but still haven't posted on the spreadsheet or Daily Mile. Why is this the hard part?? :) 

3. Finish cleaning my house! Starting this weekend we will have company for the remainder of the month so I have to finish this week! Done!! Now to keep it clean for the next two weeks with more family coming this week and next. 

4. Post Part 2 of my marathon! I have had it in draft form several times now and it always seems to disappear before I can post... Fail... no excuses

5. Post about participating the in the McGuire's 5K this past weekend. You know it's the world's largest 5k!! FAIL... :( 

6. Download all of my pictures from my camera, edit, and post them to the baseball account for the high school so I can have a clean memory card for PROM this weekend!! I usually take around 500 pictures a game so editing can be tedious... FAIL...I found another memory card instead. But I did download the Prom pics once we got the kids off. :) 


SO...Now for this week's 

1. (Challenge Goal) I'm continuing with the Moxie & Motivation Challenge & the SBBC as my main challenge goal for the month. 

2. (Challenge Goal) Finish my post about my marathon as well as the McGuire's 5K. 

3. Run 3 times this week...my knee has been giving me problems since my marathon so I've been using the elliptical and going to spin class. This week I need to run if I'm going to run a 10K soon.

4. Start tagging Little G's clothes for the consignment sale that's in 2 weeks!  

Well...it's spring break for Son #2 so my goals will be short this week because I plan on doing some fun things with him. 

Hope everyone has a great week & reaches their goals!! :) 

~S

Stef's Weekly Chase #11

Well I said this was going to be a new month and a new start so let's see how I did....  So nervous!! LOL

1. Run 3 times this week. I don't want to put mileage on my goal because I am still in pain so I will do what I can.  Yes!  I ran 3 times.  Monday I did not do too well only a bit more than a mile. Started not to feel well and ended up having a stomach bug that lasted thru Tuesday night.  But I did run 3 times.

2. Organize my Scentsy/Grace Adele office  Epic FAIL!!!!  No excuse just fail... LOL

3. To go with #2, work on another scentsy fundraiser for my sister in Texas.  Again Fail... Sorry Kim!

4. Always always always clean up and declutter!!!  Yes indeed.  Husband decided Friday to have crawfish boil at house on Sunday.  So this weekend I cleaned up bathrooms, bedroom, kitchen, utility room, bar, living room, bagged leaves, cut grass....  Think I exceeded 100%!!  

5. The big challenge for March will be to lose weight. At least 5 but would love 10 pounds.  Thanks to said stomach bug I've lost some and my appetite is just not the same.  So got a couple pounds.

So for this week....

1.  Run at least three times again.  I really want to do some tummy exercises but I just don't think that rib and muscle will allow me yet.

2.  Host a great baby shower on Sunday.

3.  Keep the house clean for Sunday... Maybe try to tackle spare bedroom.

4.  Work on Scentsy Fundraiser

5.  Big challenge for the month!!!  Jump start these stubborn pounds :)

Also I have three runs coming up! Finally!!  So I hope to blog on those each week.

Shannon's Weekly Chase

~Shannon's Weekly Chase #11

Recap! 

1. (Challenge) I've joined in on the Motivation & Moxie March Mania! Facebook group. This will be one of my large goals for the month - to complete each day's challenges.  I completed every day and even did some on Friday instead of resting. 

2. (Challenge) I've also joined the spring Bootie Buster Challenge with Run To The Finish. This will be my second large goal for the month. It's Birthday month in our household so there will be LOTS of cake and sweets so I'm hoping these plans will help me!! Done! Just haven't had time to post on the SBBC spreadsheet! Gotta get that done! 
3. Clean my house!! Since it is birthday month we'll have company (ie grandparents) coming in for visits so I need to deep clean! And then decorate for the Birthdays!!! Partially done! 


4. I'm working on a giveaway for our blog and I need to get that up and running no later than Wednesday. DONE!! If you haven't entered you need too!! 

5. Post about my marathon on the blog...I've been putting it off because I've had mixed emotions. Part one is done! I decided to break it up or people might get bored reading it. 

6. And try to be consistent and post my workouts and run to DailyMile... 
Only posted the first couple of days...gotta work on that. 


So...here are my goals for this week: 

1. (Challenge)Continue with my Motivation & Moxie March Mania! Facebook group. I'm loving adding these quick little workouts to my daily gym classes and runs. 

2. (Challenge) Continue with the spring Bootie Buster Challenge with Run To The Finish and post my workouts on the SBBC spreadsheet. This will be my second large goal for the month. I think I'll add posting to Daily Mile here as well because it looks like this is going to be a challenge. 

3. Finish cleaning my house! Starting this weekend we will have company for the remainder of the month so I have to finish this week! 

4. Post Part 2 of my marathon! I have had it in draft form several times now and it always seems to disappear before I can post... 

5. Post about participating the in the McGuire's 5K this past weekend. You know it's the world's largest 5k!! 

6. Download all of my pictures from my camera, edit, and post them to the baseball account for the high school so I can have a clean memory card for PROM this weekend!! I usually take around 500 pictures a game so editing can be tedious... 

That's it!! It's gonna be a crazy week in my house...Today is son #2's b'day, tomorrow high school game and I have to work concessions during j/v, Wednesday is dentist, doctor, PTA meeting & little league practice, Thursday little league game, Friday high school game and Saturday PROM!! And, I have to squeeze work in there lol. Looking forward to son #2's spring break next week!! 

I hope everyone has a great week and accomplishes all of their goals!! 

~S