I took Friday off from work to take the car in for service. I don't normally make an appointment for service and it just so happened that they were pretty busy. I said that I would wait and luckily they were able to squeeze me in fairly quickly. It was a last minute decision to run the Labor of Love Marathon. Last year I was registered but had to take a DNS because I was injured and couldn't make the trip even if I was 100% healthy. So after they were done servicing my car, it was off to Vegas I go. After about 3 hours, I got into town. The weather was pretty dang hot and nothing sounded better than some ice cold beer. I decided to visit the 32 Degree Draft Bar at the M Resort. I practically took a lap around the entire casino before I found the bar, but only because I remembered reading reviews where they mentioned that it was next to the sports book.
They had 96 different beers on tap supposedly served at 32 degrees. Unfortunately that list was dominated by crappy beer. I had 2 beers and a burger. The food here was not bad and definitely not overpriced. Granted nothing on the menu was fancy. I would come back here again if I'm thirsty and there's a good sports game on TV. They had a lot of screens.
Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA
1/2 burger with provolone cheese
Deschutes Mirror Pond
Later I made it over to the Courtyard Marriott on Greenway Valley Parkway. I always try to stay as far away from the Strip as I possibly can to avoid all of the smoking and the regular "crazies" that visit Vegas. :) This place was perfect. It was a non-smoking hotel with no casino. There was also an Albertson's supermarket right across the street. The room had a fridge and a microwave so it was very convenient.
Courtyard Marriott
TV, fridge, and microwave
After watching some TV and taking a nap, I went out to Monta Noodle House in Chinatown to eat dinner. I got the usual tonkotsu ramen with a mini fried rice. When I got back to my room, I laid out my race gear for the marathon before calling it a night.
Maniac suit up!
Saturday pre race
I got to the parking lot at about 6am. I got my stuff ready and boarded the shuttle for the short ride over to the starting area. The first thing I noticed was the purple portapotties. I've seen gray, blue, green, and brown. This was the first time I saw purple ones. I picked up my race packet. Since I didn't have a drop bag with me, I decided to ride the shuttle back to my car to drop off the race shirt.
Purple portapotties
Saturday Marathon
Goal: 6 hrs, take it easy
Calico races are fairly small and cozy races. The marathon, 50 mile, and 100 mile races all started at the same time. The race started right on time at 7am without much fanfare as you would normally see at a typical marathon. This race was a simple out and back type course. So whatever hill you run up, you get to run down it eventually. Right from the beginning, you're pretty much running uphill. I took the first mile a little bit harder until the pack of people broke up and I fell back into my plan of taking it easy. I was taking walk breaks whenever I reached a new mile marker or whenever I felt that my heart rate was a little too high.
3 miles into the race looking back
More uphill to go!
I would push the pace a bit on the downhills here and there, but still taking it easy. The turn around point was at mile 11. For the marathon, you would head in for 2.1 miles before turning back to the same turnaround. Then from there you head straight for the finish line. Around mile 20 something, as I was approaching an aid station, you hear a whole lot of gunfire. There was a shooting range right behind the aid station. I took a little more time here at this station as there was the huge long hill to climb from 21 to 22. The weather got pretty toasty. I kind of coasted the last final 5k and came in right where I expected to finish.
1: 9:39
2: 12:03
3: 11:55
4: 12:29
5: 10:43
6: 10:02
7: 13:38
8: 14:21
9: 14:42
10: 14:23
11: 14:38
12: 9:38
13: 11:22
14: 16:51
15: 17:49
16: 16:13
17: 12:51
18: 12:47
19: 14:07
20: 13:36
21: 16:46
22: 18:38
23: 14:51
24: 14:58
25: 15:57
26: 14:01
26.2: 1:50
Finish: 6:00:53
Saturday Marathon post race
It was a grueling hot race. The race warmed up in the 80s and 90s. I jokingly told Joyce the race director that I didn't know that I had signed up for the "Running with the Devil" race! I was able to reconnect with a few of the Marathon Maniacs at the finish area as well as meet new ones. I'm not sure why I didn't bring shirts with sleeves. I knew that the weather was going to be pretty warm. But still I only brought 2 singlets. My shoulders got pretty sunburned.
Race shirt, bib, and medal
Since I took so long to finish, the shuttle had stopped running. They were then taking us back in the Calico mobile. After changing shirts and getting my stuff in the car, I drove to the Big Wong Restaurant to eat a late lunch. My friend recommended that I try out the beef ramen. I ordered the salt & pepper chicken wings as well. Both were good and very inexpensive. The extra protein really helps in case you plan on running a double.
Beef ramen
Salt & pepper chicken wings
After getting back to my hotel. I laid out my second set of gear just in case I felt like running another race on Sunday. I picked up 2 cases of Snapple to re-hydrate myself. I drank fluids in lieu of an actual dinner. I ended up drinking 3 Snapples.
Gear for day 2
Drinking the non-alcoholic brew
Sunday pre race
I woke up feeling pretty okay. So I decided to give the second day race a go. I decided to run the half marathon. I got ready, packed up, checked out of the hotel, and headed over to the starting area to register for the race. Along the way there, I got to see a bunch of runners finish the Baker to Vegas relay race. This time I knew to park at the starting area to register and pick up the race packet before parking the car at the off site parking lot a couple of miles down the highway. I got to see Ed the Jester resting having just finished his 100 mile race, sub 23hrs and 1st in his age group!
After parking my car and riding the shuttle over, I hung out with my Nevada Maniac friends at the start. Sunday was feel noticeably warmer than Saturday. I was glad the second day was only a half marathon.
Sunday Half Marathon
Goal 3 hrs, no pushing the pace
The half marathon started promptly started at 7:30am. I took it slow and took walking breaks early and often. A couple miles into the race, I felt very hungry. I liked that those completing their 100 mile race all recognized me from the day before. I got to see a few of them headed to the finish line. As I was nearing the end of the huge downhill, I saw my friend heading up the hill headed for the finish.
My fast friend powering up the monster hill with a smile
The turnaround point was at mile 6.55. Going up the monster hill was very much like Groundhog day. I jogged wherever it flattened out and hiked the steeper sections. At the top of the hill, there was pretty much nothing left but flat roads and downhills. Still I kept things slow and tried to keep the heart rate down since it was getting pretty sunny and warm. The sped it up a little bit for the last 2 miles because I just knew that my awesome friends would be waiting for me to finish. I didn't want them to be waiting too long.
1: 10:18
2: 12:36
3: 13:38
4: 14:33
5: 12:44
6: 11:43
7: 13:22
8: 14:37
9: 14:28
10: 13:11
11: 13:34
12: 11:11
13: 11:09
13.1: 0:57
Finish: 2:47:59
Sunday Half Marathon post race
I got an extra medal for running a race on each day. My friends were indeed waiting for me. We shared with each other our race experiences and then caught the last shuttle back to the parking lot. It was pretty warm this year. I saw my friend's race photos from last year and they had snow!
Day 2 race shirt, bib, and all of the medals
As we went our separate ways, I went to eat at Big Wong again. The owner/cook recommended the short ribs. It was a new item on the menu. It came with bok choy and rice. I also got the salt & pepper shrimp. The portions were very generous. I guess he sized me up and didn't think I'd finish. He made a comment that I did really good with the food when he saw that I was going to finish everything.
Salt & pepper shrimp, bok choy and rice
Short rib in black bean sauce
I'm glad I didn't visit any buffets on this trip. Eating a lot of mediocre or less-than-stellar food just doesn't sound very appealing to me anymore. I love exploring the not-so-ventured to places in Vegas and the Calico races has helped. There is so much more than the Strip or the Fremont Street Experience. But I'll still come back for the good food that's abundant in Vegas.
All in all, I'm glad I decided to run both races on a whim.
Bling x3!
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