Sunday, November 23, 2014

Journey to IRONMAN: Las Vegas Marathon 2014

So its been 1 week since I finished my 5th marathon on the streets of Las Vegas.  I really thought that I would have had this blog done and posted about 3 days ago, but man I got back and between recovering from running....and drinking, and getting back in the swing of my life, it is now a week later and I am just getting to it.  Wow.

Sarah and I left on Saturday afternoon last week amidst a crazy snow storm and winter.  It was so much fun to sit in the airport sans kids and just think about how much fun we were going to have.



I must admit, I was thrilled to be leaving the snow and freezing temperatures for the sun and mild weather.  The picture above captures it perfectly.  Goodbye snow....hello sun!

We were late getting into Vegas partly because we had to be de-iced, but we arrived at Monte Carlo, put our running clothes on and taxied our way to the Race Expo.  There is something so exciting and fulfilling about getting to the race expo.  You get your number and your instructions and it becomes real.  We have made it.


After the expo we ran 4 miles back to our hotel to warm up and let our legs feel the oxygen (and smoke) of Vegas.



We didn't drink, ate in, wore comfy clothes and spent our evening bumming around the M&M Factory.  Lily would have gone nuts with all of the choices available.

Race day arrived and I spent a glorious 2 hours drinking my tea and reading a book...completely undisturbed.  So nice.  We rested, ate, and got all geared up for our late night run.



The start line was bustling with over 35,000 runners.  It was crazy, and cold! BRRRRRR. We finally made our way to our corral, huddled together for warmth and waited the near hour for our time to GO! These Marathon Mommies were ready!



Right at 5pm we found ourselves across the mat and on our way.  We were ready and took off at a fast pace.  Trying to maneuver past thousands of runners, some I'm sure drunk, was exciting.....and scary.  We made it to the half marathon mark holding an 8:45 pace.  At the half way mark, I was not feeling it so I pulled back and sent Sarah on without me.  Unfortunately, the race course was cold, dark and lonely for about 11 of our miles.  It was kind of wretched.  Once we got off of the Strip and through Fremont street it just got dark.  

The Thursday before the run I had a traumatic fall down the stairs with Evie, and while we were both okay, I knew I had hurt myself more than I realized and at about mile 14 I really started feeling it in my hips and low back (I fell hard on my sit bone).  I slowed quite a bit after that and the race became quite a mental game.  I was tired and ready to be sleeping plus I hurt in ways I hadn't ever hurt before.

Funny thing about me though is that I just love to run marathons.  My time was suffering and I new it, but it was okay.  I run cause I love it.  Even when it sucks.....I still love it.

I came in at a nice 4:25 (a personal PR for me) and was so very glad to be done.  Sarah crushed her goal and I am so glad that I convinced her all those months ago that, "YES, she could do a marathon."  I love watching my buddies achieve something great.


Night running is certainly challenging on so many levels.  I just chalked it up to good training for IRONMAN.   I will tell you what, I have never been that excited for my bed! Sleeping was glorious, even if it was kind of painful.  

Monday was so much fun.  We started with Mimosas and just had a blast bumming around Vegas and making our legs work after a night of hard running.  It was an achievement worth celebrating and really made the months and miles of running so satisfying.


I drank....too much, but it was fun.  We headed home on Tuesday a little stiff, a little hungover, but very accomplished!


Number 5 is done!  Next is the Dopey Challenge!  48.6 miles of Disney coming in January!

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