I guess that I was pretty eager to get to Vegas as I got pulled over doing 91 mph shortly after crossing the State Line. I knew that it was a speed trap zone, but my foot was extra heavy that morning. The highway patrol officer was just shooting fish in a barrel that morning. After he was done with me, he nearly clipped my car to go catch another speeder just as I was pulling back into traffic. Oh well, this was one ticket I definitely deserved. I was hauling ass the entire way. Mini Coopers are very fun to drive especially while cutting through traffic.
I drove straight to the expo... mostly because I need to find a place to pee. I parked at the LVH parking lot and walked over to the Convention Center. Per the usual, it was your typical Rock n' Roll event expo... only this time one thing was missing. It was the sign giving you a discount for signing for next year's race. Makes me wonder if this race could come to an end at any year. I ended up buying a Flip Belt. It looked interesting and might be a better way for me to carry my ShotBloks. I then left the expo to eat a late afternoon, early supper with my friend at the Wicked Spoon. On the way out, I bumped into a couple of my Marathon Maniac friends and their adorable baby.
I'm sure that I've mentioned it several times before... the Wicked Spoon is my favorite buffet in Vegas. I ate enough to skip eating a real dinner. I just ended up snacking and drinking water.
Plate#1
Plate#2
Plate#3
Plate#4
Before checking into my hotel, the Hampton Inn, I drove to the usual nearby Albertson's to buy some snacks and drinks. I don't have a sweet tooth, but I do love eating Mallomars when they become available during the Winter season. Always something to look forward to every year. If I remember far back enough, I believe that I started to eat Mallomars because they were mentioned in the movie, When Harry Met Sally.
While resting in my room, I went through the expo haul. I found some of my running friends in the Disney brochure. My friends are famous! Later I got my race gear ready even though the race didn't start until early evening the next day. I prepared to wear the arm sleeves since the weather does get colder as the race goes on, but it would turn out to be a bit warm to wear them.
Mallomars!
Expo haul
My friends are famous!
Race gear
Sunday
After checking out of my room, I ate a pre-race lunch meal at my favorite ramen shop in Vegas or even the entire United States, Fukumimi Ramen. Unlike last year, I remembered to not eat a bowl of spicy ramen! After lunch, I drove over to park at the Planet Hollywood parking structure. It's near one of the exits for the finishing chute and close enough to the starting area for me to walk. I walked over to the gear check area and hung out in the shade until it was closer to the starting time before checking my bag.
I love edamame
Best ramen in Vegas!
Gear check
I met up with a couple of Marathon Maniacs and bumped into one that was dressed up as Forrest Gump. He was pretty cool and happened to be deaf. We went into our separate corrals. I sort of decided to start with the 3:30 pace group just to get a few faster miles in. While waiting for the start of the race, I bumped into a Maniac named Eddie. He was just taking pictures of all the Maniacs that he came across. Both the half marathoners and marathoners started at 4:30pm this year.
Maniacs!
Forrest Gump!
Corral ahead
Corrals behind me
I do believe that some of those mile markers were misplaced for some of the later miles. I started the race running with or around the 3:30 pace group for the first 5k. Then I let them pull ahead of me during my first walk break. By the 10k mark, I was already getting tired and not liking the time of day. I always prefer running early in the morning. Also I was still having problems with my left ankle. The best section of the marathon course last year was running down Fremont Street. This year we ran it twice, once going out around mile 10 and again at around mile 22 while heading towards the finish line. Running up on MLK Blvd to about mile for the first out and back took forever. Then the second out and back on Carey Ave was pretty quiet and dark. Once you make that last turnaround at about mile 16.5, you knew that it was mostly all downhill to the finish. It wasn't until about mile 24, right around Stratosphere where we finally merge with the half marathon course on The Strip. I still think that running on The Strip is way overrated!
Course map
1: 8:00
2-3: 15:47 (7:54)
4: 8:27
5: 8:34
6: 8:42
7: 8:55
8: 10:06
9: 9:13
10: 8:56
11: 11:03
12: 10:00
13: 9:32
14: 13:36
15: 10:32
16: 14:30
17: 11:33
18: 12:10
19: 11:13
20: 14:53
21: 8:53
22: 12:41
23: 13:25
24: 13:36
25-26: 25:58 (12:59)
26.2: 1:41
Finish: 4:41:54
I was hoping to finish under 4:40... but hey close enough, I'll take it! I like this year's medal. I always prefer a more traditional round medal over any other shape.
Finish!
After the race, I bumped into and hung out with Eddie who I had just met earlier before the start of the race. We chatted for a while just shooting the breeze about our upcoming races and drinking our post race beer. It turned out that we both had the Tokyo Marathon coming up. Then it was time for the drive back home because I had work the next day that I couldn't skip out on. I cleaned up a bit in the hotel restroom before hopping into the car and making the long drive home.
No comments:
Post a Comment