I was so close to having a PR but the heat eventually got to me and at mile 24 I had to stop to throw up.  It only took a few minutes to feel back to normal and once I did get back on my feet I had a very strong finish....even passed a few guys you stopped to ask if I was OK.

The nausea started around mile 20 and would come in waves, usually dissipated by burping or passing gas....but at one stretch climbing a modest hill I just was overwhelmed and tired of fighting it and just fell into the grass and started throwing up.  I did feel better and might consider it a strategy for next time around, but it wasn't so pleasant and could have gone very bad.

I have to give a great shout out to my brother for setting me up at the downtown Hilton....feet from the starting line...and finish.  I have never had the opportunity to wake up, have breakfast, get dressed, then go back to sleep for an hour.  That was super nice.  Plus being able to walk back to my room after the race for a shower and easy lunch before having to pack up for heading to the airport.  Felt really nice.

I had a chance to catch up with my brother and his wife and two friends I've know since middle school, but haven't seen for about 20 years.  That was really nice.

It slipped my mind for this entry, but I had a great time in New Orleans.  Definitely worth the trip and would recommend the visit.  The marathon was kind of blah though.

It was my first 'Rock-n-Roll' marathon and I kept a skeptical eye about the event.  I really don't like big events and this was just so commercialized that it made me even more skeptical about it.  The theme being rock-n-roll music along the way and it's a big party.  I'd say that's true for the 80% of the runners doing the Half Marathon, but once we split from the first half, the back half felt pretty neglected.

It also got really hot and the back half was almost entirely exposed with little shade.  Right around mile 20 I really started to feel the heat and took ice packs from a med tent on my head for the rest of the run.  It was the heat that eventually got to me and I had to walk a bit to keep from throwing up.  I did do some video blogging along the way (not live streaming as that turned out to be a disaster at the NYC marathon) and posted it after the race.

Bonus was having Nili run me in the last 200 yards to the finish.  Got a great photo of us together running.