Las Vegas Marathon - RunMarathon


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Las Vegas, Nevada
United States
Las Vegas Roadrunners
51F / 11C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 53m 51s
Overall Rank = 1212/6024
Age Group = M 30-34
Age Group Rank = 156/534
Pre-race routine:

Tossed and turned all night the night before. Looked at the clock when I decided that no more sleep was possible. 3am. Nice. Tom was awake in his bed at 3:45. Alarm was set to go off at 4. Oh well. Who needs sleep anyway?

Had a Clif bar at 4 (2 hrs before the start), then took the usual hot shower to wake up (the mind and muscles). Started stretching on the floor while Tom took his shower. Then we flipped it onto the weather channel. Temp was about 45, expected to warm to the mid-50s. Not bad. Wind was from the SW at 20mph, expected to be gusting into the mid 30s. Not good.

I had brought several different clothing options. Based on the weather forecast, I decided against wearing long sleeves, gloves, or tights. Just went with my Prairieman race shirt and some shorts. We headed out about 5.

We were staying in the Luxor, next door to the Mandalay Bay where the race started and finished. It was a pretty easy walk over. Took a couple of trips to the portajohn. Then we tried to find a place to stay out of the wind. Should have taken the throw away jacket I got at the expo. That wind was cold just sitting and waiting.

Nutrition plan was simple. 1 PowerGel 15 minutes before, then 1 every 45 minutes. Water every 2nd aid station the first 10 miles, then every station after that. If I needed it, I would also drink Gatorade Endurance (on the course every other mile).
Event warmup:

Did some light stretching and some jumping around to stay loose. They had corrals at the starting line based on who you were. First were the pro women (started 15 minutes early), then the wheelchair athletes (started 10 minutes early), then the pro men, then sub-3hr runners, sub 4hr runners, and then all other marathoners plus the half marathoners.

Since Tom was in the sub 4hr group, I wanted to get up there with him. They were actually checking bibs to make sure you belonged in the corrals, which was nice. Except I didn't have a 4hr bib. They required you to send in certified results. As this was my first marathon, no such thing. But we figured out a way around it. Tom went into the chute and up the left side. I walked along the sidewalk until I met him. Then we exchanged race belts. Problem solved.

After that, there was a cool fireworks show (easy to see during a 6am start), and the national anthem performed by the Blue Man Group. Only in Vegas.

Blue Man Group finished, and my 26.2 mile journey to have a picture with a Vegas showgirl was underway.
Run
  • 3h 53m 51s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 56s  min/mile
Comments:

The first 6 miles were an absolute blast. We had the wind at our back and a huge, cheering crowd all along the strip. We ran past all the famous Vegas casinos. As if on cue, the fountain at the Bellagio went off right when we got to it. Cool.

We were a few seconds per mile ahead of where Tom needed to be, but figured that it would balance out with the wind. I wasn't really concerned about my time on this race. I was just trying to keep Tom from blowing up early. A pace rabbit if you will.

It was cool to see all the running Elvis's (Elvi?) on the course. Mile 5 we passed the world's only Marathon run-thru wedding chapel. I think they said 28 couples either got married or renewed their vows. Only in Vegas.

I didn't really watch my HR during the first few miles, I was just going by pace. When we passed the 10K mark at 45 minutes, I knew I was going to be in big trouble. My 10K PR being just under 48, there was no way I was going to be able to keep that pace up for much longer. It was then that we turned into the wind. Ouch. 20 mph in the face.

The clincher came about a half mile past the 10K, when we met the only real hill on the course on an underpass. One of those that would flood during heavy rains quite easily. My legs immediately filled up with lactic acid. I looked down at my Garmin and it said my HR was at 191. That's when I knew I was cooked. I wished Tom the best, and let him go.

Miles 8-10 were OK. We turned north again, so I was letting the wind do most of the work. Then came a killer stretch west for miles 10-14. No cover, nowhere to hide. Just me and the wind. I hit the half marathon mark around 1:41, but I knew it was going to be a struggle to do the next 13.1 in 2:20 to break 4 hours. I was that fried.

Ran a few miles of this stretch with a weird dude from Canada. It was his 53rd marathon. He was in the Canadian military, so he wanted to talk about how many Taliban he killed the month before. So I guess he used marathons as a rage outlet. I let him go around mile 15 when the 3:20 pace group caught us. I was in no condition to try and stay with them, so it was a good excuse for me to let him go.

Miles 14-20 I thought would be easier after fighting the wind going west. They weren't. Remember, it was a SW wind. So it was in my face down this stretch too. Mile 17 I finally started walking the aide stations. Up to that point I had made it without walking. At that point I was wishing I had signed up for the half. What really sucked was when I got through the water station and started to run again. Ouch. My thighs were screaming until I got a few steps into running.

Same thing at mile 18, but made worse when I stopped to pee. Really hard to get going again. I did manage to run miles 17-23 nonstop, only walking the aid stations, but each mile seemed to hurt more and more. And my all-too-familiar blisters were forming under the middle toe and the big toe on my right foot. Each step with my right foot just plain hurt.

Mile 21 there was a kid about Drew's age volunteering with his Dad. Not even paying attention to what he was handing out, I grabbed it and shoved it into my mouth. OH FRAK - PRETZELS! Luckily the water was 10 more yards. I shambled to the volunteers yelling "These pretzels are making me thirsty!" Unfortunately this group was from a local high school band, so my brilliant Seinfeld reference was lost on them. Oh well.

The course finally turned back east at mile 23. That's when I noticed I was really sweating buckets. I looked at my shirt and saw how salty it was. Off went the shirt (quiver ladies, quiver!), in went 3 cups of Gatorade Endurance. Didn't want to end up in the medical tent with dehydration.

Actually had a minor hit of speed thanks to having a tailwind. Met up with a girl who had already BQ'd and was just doing this one for fun. Ran with her the next 2 miles. It's amazing how many "2 mile friends" you make in these races.

At mile 24, the blister was just plain unbearable. And we turned back into the wind. Had to put my shirt back on as I started getting chills. Miles 25 and 26 were torture thanks to my thighs, my blisters, and the wind. It was all I could do to run 1 minute and walk 30 seconds.

Finally made it to the last turn. The crowd was awesome. I held back sprinting to the finish because (a) I knew it would really, really hurt and (b) there wasn't really any point, I wasn't trying to hit any specific time and (c) I knew it would really, really hurt. Strange that I wasn't more excited to finish. Guess because I knew this was just a stepping stone to my IM in September. When that day comes, better watch out.

Jogged into the finish, grabbed my medal, and got in line immediately for the picture with the showgirl. I was now officially a marathoner. Ow...I mean...yippee.
What would you do differently?:

Run my own race. I knew I was going to crack pretty early. If it had been just me I would have used my HR monitor to stay in Z2 the first 10 miles, Z3 the next 10 miles, and then push with whatever I had left the last 10K.
Post race
Warm down:

Stretched in the picture line, then walked around looking for Tom. Found him about 20 minutes later, and we decided to go get back in line for a picture of the both of us with the other showgirl.

After that, we tried to walk back to the Luxor. It took us about an hour to get back to our room. Lots of people were doing the same hobble-walk we were, so we didn't feel bad.

Then it was ice bath time, followed by a hot shower, some Mexican food, and some so tired I can't add to 12 Blackjack.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I blew up at mile 7 trying to stay with Tom. Unfortunately the wind killed him too. He hit the 1/2 at 1:36, but the second half into the wind took him 1:40. He missed BQ'ing by just over a minute.

Having a 20 mph wind gusting into the 30s for half the race didn't help.

Also, this was my first marathon, next time I do one I'll know more of what to expect.

Event comments:

Negatives - Race swag was severely lacking. I expected at least a dri fit race shirt, all we got was a tshirt. The mileage markers were way off though the course distance was about right. Glad I had my Garmin. The finisher's area had no organization to it. I heard massage and food were available, but I never saw any signs for either.

Postives - It's Vegas! Running up the strip was an absolute blast. Volunteers were great and numerous. Did I mention it was Vegas?


Profile Album


Last updated: 2006-10-16 12:00 AM
Running
03:53:51 | 26.2 miles | 08m 56s  min/mile
Age Group: 146/534
Overall: 1182/6024
Performance: Average
Mile 1 - 7:38 (HR 152), Mile 2 - 6:59 (HR 173), Mile 3 - 7:04 (HR 178), Mile 4 - 7:06 (HR 178), Mile 5 - 7:07 (HR 178), Mile 6 - 7:19 (HR 182), Mile 7 - 8:05 (HR 186), Mile 8 - 7:39 (HR 183), Mile 9 - 7:39 (HR 178), Mile 10 - 7:59 (HR 177), Mile 11 - 8:20 (HR 178), Mile 12 - 8:44 (HR 178), Mile 13 - 8:49 (HR 175), Mile 14 - 9:02 (HR 174), Mile 15 - 8:24 (HR 175), Mile 16 - 9:07 (HR 172), Mile 17 - 9:24 (HR 169), Mile 18 - 9:16(HR 169), Mile 19 - 10:30 (HR 160), Mile 20 - 10:31 (HR 157), Mile 21 - 10:02 (HR 161), Mile 22 - 10:12 (HR 157), Mile 23 - 9:50 (HR 158), Mile 24 - 9:16 (HR 160), Mile 25 - 12:27 (HR 147), Mile 26 - 11:04 (HR 155), Mile 26.2 - 1:19 (HR 158)
Course: Fairly flat loop up the Strip, the west outside of the main drag. Then we turned South through some residential areas, and back East to the main drag again.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 2
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? No
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4