Disaster relief (+ giveaway)

I did everything wrong in New Orleans. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.

I got little to no sleep. I ate untested foods before the race. I didn't need to go to the bathroom before the race. I tried a new-to-me fuel. I wore multiple items of new clothing.

While there wasn't much I could do about the sleep (stupid drunk frat guys), I could do something about the rest - and I should have as a somewhat experienced racer. However, looking back, I'm pretty sure I lucked out.

Running Skirt. We were going to be twinkies. Twinkies in the matching running skirts Pattie purchased us from RunningSkirts.com.

As great as the idea sounded, the reality was much different. We were both a bit self conscious about the fit of the skirt and were fearful of what it would be like to wear it on race day. While confidence was the only thing that would truly help, Pattie thought if we were able to go a size up (even though I already had) that it might be better. She called customer service to see if they would have the skirts at the expo so we could exchange them. No dice. The mums were being discontinued and sizes were limited in the warehouse - and they definitely wouldn't be at the expo. However, the lovely service rep offered to Fed Ex us athletic versions of the skirt to our NOLA hotel. At no charge.

Since the skirts have compression shorts underneath (ours were yellow - like a ray of sunshine) and are a bit longer, I decided not to (Body) Glide. I figured I would be fine. I figured wrong. The shorts rode up even on the walk to the start line and I had a good bit of chafing by the time I handed over the baton. I was lucky that a little post-race Body Glide, I felt OK but I'm not so sure I'll be doing that again.

I'm also not so sure I'll be running distances in the skirt. I think it will be great for a fun 5K (maybe this summer's Diva Dash) but otherwise, I'll be sticking to Tempo Shorts. However, I will not trash the Running Skirt folks because they went above and beyond for us. Those ladies are classy!

Zensah. Leg sleeves - everyone has them. Up until NOLA, I had been a devotee of Recovery Socks but I couldn't help but be lured by the bright colors and patterns offered by Zensah. The fact that I could wear traditional running socks with the sleeves only piqued my interest more. I ended up with a yellow pair to match my little ray of sunshine mum skirt in small/medium, and I wore them during the race. Thankfully, they didn't give me any issues like the skirt. In fact, I practically forgot I had them on during the race (as a Zensah rep said).

See the Gu there, in my hand? P.S. I cropped the hell out of this photo so you don't have to see my extra skin. Seriously, I need to wear capris to a race so I can have at least one good photo.

Peanut Butter Gu. Holy mother of God. This stuff is good. So good. I carried the packet in my hand and by the time I took it at the 5K mark it was warm and easily extracted into my mouth. I felt like I was ingesting melted peanut butter. I'm pretty sure I wasn't but still ... I think I might be putting this on my pre-run bananas.

By the way, I had a feeling I would like the PB Gu so I picked up a few extra at the expo ... for you. Since you've put up with NOLA post after NOLA post, I have a giveaway for you.

*Assortment of Gu, including PB and Island Nectars Roctane.
*Biscoff spread (I keep seeing all this crap about it and since I finally decided to try it, I thought you could too)
*A copy of "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Runners edition"
*Brooks Printed Mesh Cap (in white/carrot)
*And anything else I decide to throw in. (I promise not to ship Miles, even though he has been up at 4:45 every morning this week.)


To enter giveaway, tell me in the comments section what item that you can't head to the starting line without.

Giveaway will end Friday, March 16 and the winner (picked via Random.org) will be announced March 17. Entries from anonymous commenters will not be accepted.