2010 Hoover Dam Marathon

I'm not really sure why I decided to run this marathon. Probably because I like the races that Calico Racing puts together. Also I love eating in Vegas. Forget the gambling... they can have my money, but in exchange I want some good food! I took Friday off from work and drove up early in the morning. I got to the Strip early enough for a breakfast buffet, so I decided to head for the Bellagio Buffet. I wasn't planning on hitting a buffet, but what the heck... poor decisions are to be made in Vegas! :) Here's what I ate with a plate by plate breakdown:

1. smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage.
2. more smoked salmon, cantaloupe, watermelon, strawberries & cream.
3. cocktail shrimp, lamb, skirt steak, St. Louis ribs, spinach salad.
4. California rolls, rainbow sushi, sliders.
   

Last plate of food. The sliders were good!

I usually eat that much over 2 days. Oh well. I headed over to my hotel and stopped at Albertson's to pick up some snacks and drinks. This time I stayed at the Hampton Inn by the airport. It was pretty nice and quiet. I always try to stay away from the Strip whenever I'm in Vegas. From my room, I got to see a constant stream of airplanes landing next block over. You can hear the planes but it wasn't noisy enough to bother me.

My strategy for this race was to run as many 9:45 - 10 min miles from start to finish. My right ankle has been bothering me more as of late. Most likely because I've been running a race for 3 consecutive weekends. Our final race instructions stated that the full marathoners were to run the half marathon loop twice. This was because parts of the full marathon course was messed up by the recent rain storms.

My soon to be retired singlet :)

Goal A: 4:30
Goal B: sub 5
Goal C: don't hurt any more body parts

1st Half
I started off just as planned. The first 2 miles was a steady climb. A little after mile 2, we ran mostly on gravel fire roads. This was actually bothering me because my gimpy ankle was not liking the uneven surface. The tunnels were fun for the most part to run through, but I was getting somewhat disoriented in a couple of the longer ones because it was pretty dark. We reached the highest point of the course around 4.5 mile. The "switch-backs" down to the Hoover Dam parking structure was a pain in the butt to run down and up. The dam was the turn around point. It was getting kind of windy as I headed back to the starting area. I completed the first loop in about 2:10.
1: 9:34
2: 9:44
3: 9:45
4: 9:57
5: 9:33
6-7: 19:21 (9:40 avg)
8: 9:52
9: 10:29
10: 10:29
11: 9:42
12: 9:46
13: 10:59

2nd Half
The ankle took a beating on the gravel trails, so I decided to start taking my usual walk breaks at every mile marker. This was working fine until I started having GI issues around mile 17. Usually I stop taking gels when this happens. I also stopped taking my salt tabs as frequently. I don't know what else to do, because I'm not going to crap my shorts. But I started cramping all over going into mile 19. I stopped at the aid station right before Hoover Dam and took about 2 more salt tabs. One of the volunteers kept trying to give me stuff to eat. But I had to refuse because my whole GI system was going nuts. I finally left the aid station after sitting for a while and started walking or hobbling down to the Hoover Dam parking structure waiting for the salt to kick in. Something was not right and I asked the next volunteer if he knew where I could find the closest portapotty. He told me to take the elevator down to the first level and use the restroom. My goodness that was the best restroom break I've taken during a race. I almost had to DNF, but the potty break and endurolyte pills were good enough to revive me. I took another salt tab and grabbed a couple more when I returned to the same aid station. As I was trying to rally and finish in one piece the Miley Cyrus song, Party in the USA, popped into my head. Hey whatever works. The tunnels on the way back in were like wind tunnels.
14: 12:41
15: 12:54
16: 12:57
17: 13:21
18: 14:43
19: 24:41
20: 25:05
21: 13:26
22: 16:04
23: 13:27
24: 13:02
25: 11:36
26: 11:58
26.2: 1:50
Finish: 5:26:57

I guess this is my power song when I'm having a crappy race :)

After I crossed the finish line, I grabbed a towel to clean the salt off of my arms and face. I went back to my car to grab my camera to take pictures of my friends. One of them finished her 91st marathon of the year!

JQ to the finish line!

Yolanda finishing up her 91st marathon of the year!

Garlic Shrimp at Ohana Hawaiian BBQ

I continued to have GI problems for pretty much the rest of the day. I'm still thinking it's the gels that I'm taking. I've got to figure this out because it's not fun to deal with during a marathon. I'm definitely going to cut out buffets the day before a race. But I really don't think it was the buffet since things didn't go south until around mile 17.

The next day I was feeling better, so I walked from the Palazzo up to the Sahara. The legs felt ok, but the lower back was very sore when I got into the car.

I should stay here one of these days

Later that evening, I returned to the Palazzo to eat at the Carnevino. The hostess asked what brought me into town. I told her I came to run the Hoover Dam Marathon. She asked me how long was the race. I told her marathons are always 26.2 miles. She said she can't even run 1 mile. They always say that! I ordered the pre-theater 3 course meal. I was eyeing the bone-in New York strip steak, but I didn't know if my stomach could handle it. I had the calamari for course number 1. Then I had the filet mignon with the giant Madagascar shrimp added a la carte for course number 2. And to finish things off I had a small lemon cheesecake for dessert. I also had a couple of Gulden Draak Ales... described by the waiter as a couple steps below syrup.

Calamari, I love it when they include the tentacles!

Filet mignon with giant Madagascar shrimp

Gulden Draak Ale

I went for a walk down the Strip to work off the beer before I drove back to my hotel. Apparently what I drank was one of the stronger beers out there. I went from casino to casino, just looking at some of the action at the craps tables. Looks like a fun game but I never took the time to learn it.

Walking the Strip after dinner