I Love To Run In New Orleans

Tuesday, Dec 8, 2009:

New Orleans once more, the last day before boarding the train back to St Paul. I started toward the Convention center on the Riverwalk, turned around at the fence (what a shame that fence is there) and back toward the other end of the Riverwalk. About then I hooked up with another runner, Vasquez, who turned out to be from Ecuador on business. He asked me how far I was going, so I told him about 30 minutes more, and he asked if we could run together. Cool. We ran through the French Market, then further into the French Quarter, and finally, after getting lost once, back through Bourbon Street again. I love doing that. It’s the best way to cruise Bourbon Street.

He left me at Canal Street, and I ran another mile or so in the Neutral Ground (median) in Canal Street, then stopped at the beer store for a six-pack of local brew and walked to the hotel. About four miles in about 39 minutes. I gave Mr Vasquez my email address, but never heard from him.

Sunday, Dec 6, 2009:

The IMF, or someone with whom they work, wanted some photos of me running, so I spent most of an hour running little jogs toward the professional cameraman. From there I took off downriver on the Riverwalk, cruising around the eastern end of the very commercial end of the French Quarter, and finally back to the Windsor Court Hotel by way of Bourbon Street.

The Saints game was in full swing during this stretch, and I could hear either a cheer or a groan as I passed each bar on Bourbon Street. There are a lot of bars. I had thought that Bourbon Street was mainly populated by tourists, but clearly the bars were attended by New Orleans partisans on this Sunday afternoon.

About four miles in about 39 minutes. And hundreds of photos. I wonder if I’ll ever get to see some ...

Saturday, Dec 5, 2009:

Breakfast with the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) advocacy exhibit group, then off to run in New Orleans. The concierge advised me to run to St Charles Ave and run in the “neutral ground” between the outgoing and incoming trolley cars. I knew that was good advice, because I had run there on previous trips to New Orleans. I ran with A from the IMF, a young woman who could no doubt go much faster if she had trained as much as I had, but she hadn’t run at all in a couple of weeks and today we seemed pretty well matched. She stopped at 40 minutes, which I think was probably about 4 miles, and I continued for another 20 minutes, cruising through the RiverWalk and up Canal Street for another couple of miles. Nice run, I felt good.