Rock "n" Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon 2015

November 15, 2015

5th half marathon

Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon

Time: 2:38:35; Pace 12:06

Overall: 12811/23091; Gender: 6776/14280; Division: 1233/2577

There just so happened to be a work conference starting the very next day after this race! This means free airfare for me since it was a business trip. I flew out on Thursday and came back the following Wednesday. It was a really long time to be in Vegas…

I had no desire to return to Vegas. I had been there 3 times already and that was about enough. It’s becoming one big fancy shopping mall with all the stores I cant afford. It’s just not me. As Brian put it, “it’s the Wal-Mart crowd pretending they’re upscale” and I kind of agree. Plus the smoking everywhere is just gross. What I do desire is to run in different locations and the appeal of running the Strip at night was high. 

 I had been to Vegas only in the summer so it was hard to fathom that the weather in November could be anything like home. I had no idea it got cold there. And by cold I mean shivering cold! I was not prepared clothing wise. I didn’t bring sandals or shorts but I also didn’t bring a winter jacket…big mistake.  I planned on running the race in 5” compression shorts but I also brought capris as I planned on getting in a workout in the hotel’s fitness center. I ended up making a game day decision (or game hour) to wear the shorts anyway.  Good thing I had washed the capris I wore during my Friday morning run down the strip in the waste bucket. Who’s Wal-Mart-like now?

Brian and Beth flew out on Friday also for the race. It would be Brian’s first half marathon. The plan was to get plenty of rest prior to the race the night before and during the day. The race was at night so we could experience all the glowing spectacularocity (is that a word?) of the strip at night. That plan didn’t happen. I had 20, 000 steps on the books before we even crossed the start line.

 The night before we walked around downtown and had a late dinner. That morning Beth and I rode the Ferris wheel. On paper, walking to a Ferris wheel and back shouldn't really wear one out. Well, Las Vegas is like the reverse of the side view car mirror. Objects are farther away than they appear. It also takes forever to get to transportation. You can't just hop across the street. You have to go out of your way and cross the upper level walk ways.

 That morning I met them at Paris for brunch. This required a walk to the monorail from my hotel at the north end of the strip. At least the monorail stopped at the Paris hotel. After brunch I went back to my hotel to check out. Walk. Walk. Walk. They were staying at Planet Hollywood, which is next door to Paris but not connected. Then to get to the Ferris wheel we had to get back on the monorail to the Linq Hotel. The wheel is at the Linq but not right off the monorail. Do you see where I’m going here?

So all this walking wore us out. We had to stop at the aqua massage machine and oxygen bar for a little refresher before the race. As were sitting there with tubes up our noses trying to clean out our lungs Brian is texting wondering where we were. I could sense the panic. Beth and I have many a race experience under out belts so we know exactly what to expect and were not in panic mode. We made it back to their room to get ready. 

getting an aqua massage pre race

 Next, we had the race before the race. This was the speed walk from Planet Hollywood to the race start line outside Mandalay Bay. Beth and I were supposed to be in corral 34. We ended up in corral 45. Whoops! No one felt like muscling our way up the corrals so we stood there, inching forward like snails for the hour until we got to the start line. In that time it rained, the winds blew sand in my eyes and I the urge to pee grew. Beth had the foresight to bring garbage bags for prerace warmth.

farting around at the oxygen bar before the race

 The race started and all I could think about was how long was I planning on running in a garbage bag and when was I going to be able to pee. The race map was in a digital info pack, which was too small to read on my phone. I had no clue where the toilets were going to be. You can see my “gotta go” face  in the photo taken in front of the “welcome to fabulous Las Vegas” sign.  I ditched the garbage bag as soon as I saw the photo opp. Next we came upon the airport. I spotted a small gap between the fence and a 12-foot concrete wall. It looked like a great place for a pee. Some dude had the same thing on his mind so I followed him. I headed past him into the darkness of the space and shouted, “I have to pee too. I won’t look!” He seemed to have taken a long time for a guy. I swear I couldn’t see anything. I didn’t really care. I was the one with the greater exposure risk here.

the long wait in the corral

 Life was good again after that! After the welcome sign we headed straight up the strip. It was pretty cool to see the buildings from this vantage point. Of course I had a snap chat problem again and had to stop to take snaps and photos. I missed the run through wedding! But I did get a photo with some running Elivises.  Not many spectators along the way. It’s just too difficult for supporters to get to the course line and since there was only 5000 locals it’s safe to assume less friends and family were there to support their runners unless they all travelled there too.

 The drawback of starting in the end corrals, AKA the walker corals, was plowing through them at the end. The beginning was ok as most of the people around me ran at first. The gang thinned out on the widest parts of the strip making it fairly easy to get around. The end was terrible. The last 2 miles of the course was divided into two. ¾ of the course was for half marathon and ¼ was for full marathon. The full marathon course was thin and had more runners so I crossed under the yellow tape and ran with the big boys. This was until I saw the photographers only taking shots of the halfers so I crossed back and dealt with it. I also figured the video feed would be divided my full and half making it easier to find myself if I was in the correct lane.

A laser canopy marked the entrance to the finish line and colored light beams. I’m so sad I didn’t get a snap of that. Speaking of snaps, there is a side view finish line photo of me with my phone up taking a snap. It looks like I’m taking a selfie, which makes me look like an idiot. I got my medal, walked on and collected all the goodies: pretzels, power bar, beer, pea snacks and the much needed foil blanket. I felt good temperature wise. I wish the marathon had been this cold. The heavy winds cooled me down right quick! I ended up grabbing another foul and making a skirt out of it. I waited on the corner in front of Caesar’s to wait for Beth and Brian shaking and gobbling down the snacks. Was it dinnertime, or bed time? 

Other notable complaints: It seemed like all the volunteers went home toward the end. I guess out here in Vegas they can’t handle the cold weather. There were not mile markers at each mile. Not a huge deal but really… And lastly, they didn’t have signs saying water or Gatorade. You’d think the Gatorade cups would have just Gatorade but no. On the plus side it seemed like there were extra water stops. 

I really liked running a night race. It has a whole different feel! Normally I don’t care for external music on the course but this time it was different. I was singing along! One dark stretch on a side street near downtown was filled with colored lights and dance music. I actually turned off my own music for that!

So there it is, my second out of state half marathon. So far, I’ve run in 4 states including the color Run in Dallas, which probably should count as half a run. Only 46 more to go.

Luxor Hotel

Venetian Hotel