Vegas...the race recap

OK, so the vegas race report is a few days delayed. My bad.

But damnit, I was in Vegas for four days and really, recovery time was needed. If nothing else, Vegas was non-stop.

Several things about running in Vegas surprised me. Naturally, the first place I went upon arriving to Vegas was the sports book to check out the college basketball lines. Well, looking at the boards, the first thing I saw was the line for the Vegas Marathon.

Sweet! I could bet on myself to win the marathon. Wait. My name wasn't listed. What the hell. Come on. I signed up. I have a chance. I could win it. Where are my odds?

Then I noticed the word "field".

What.

Are those oddsmakers lumping me in with every other non-Kenyan runner. That's just not right.

I would have laid down a $5 bet had they put my name on the wager.

Oh well, it isn't like I was really going to win.

The weather in Vegas was cool and windy marathon morning. I enjoyed the cool weather. The wind, not so much. Also, the start line was chaotic as non-participants were mingling with participants in the corrals.
Needless to say, the start was chaotic and unorganized. But it was Vegas. What was I supposed to expect..


But once we got started, running down Las Vegas Boulevard was fun. Some of those casinos are just amazing.

That, and the fact that several couples were getting married at the "run-thru" chappel on the strip.

And what would a Vegas wedding be without Elvis.

The first 6 miles were a good time. Had the organizers done anything at all with the last 20, I may have enjoyed this marathon.

But once we turned off of Freemont Street, my attitude changed from "Wow, look at me. I am really rocking" to "Look, I just ran another 1/10th of a mile. I only have 143 tenths left".

The course was boring.

I ran faster than I wanted to just to end the misery.

It worked, too.

Because at mile 23, I was still ahead of the 5-hour pace group. I wasn't ready for that. I wasn't supposed to PR in Vegas. Not only that, but I didn't want to PR in Vegas. I wasn't ready for a PR. This was supposed to be a 5:30 struggle because I hadn't really run that much this fall.

But there I was. Sitting at 4:24 with 3.2 miles left.

And what did I do.

I started walking/running/walking/running.

My last 3.2 miles averaged a 14-15 minute pace. I finished in 5:09.

I then found Elvis.

And a beer.

And that was Vegas