Nov. 11-12th, 2017~ Las Vegas Marathon Week-end

Blessing # 1:
The moment I landed at McCarran International Airport, I rushed to look for the WAX bus to get to my hotel.  It took a while to find it & when I got to the bus stop, I found out that I was 3 minutes late & that the next bus was coming in an hour.:(:(  As I saw the sky slowly getting darker, I was getting a bit worried. 1/2 hour later, a bus showed up & the driver told me I could take his bus then transfer to another bus & handed me a bus pass.  
Me: How much is it?
Driver: Since you were so nice, nothing.  If you were a pain in the a**, it would've cost you $5.

Praise God for that!  Though I had missed the bus I was supposed to take, I still got to my destination & for FREE too!?!  The driver & I started talking & he thought I was from Portland, OR.  I asked him why he thought that & he said it was because I was smiling & kind, "unlike people here in Vegas", ahaha.

Blessing # 2:
My request at "Excalibur" was granted & my room had 2 beds & was near the elevator, yay!

Las Vegas Strip

Excalibur Hotel, 0.5 mile from start line of the race

Blessing # 3: 
My friend Claire, her husband, & their daughter picked me up to head to the Expo at the Convention Center & we had 45 minutes until the Expo closed!  

Everything I got from the Expo, hehe.

Dinner was a bit of a struggle.  We went to a food court to save money & I ended up getting pizza from "Sbarro".  Absolutely nothing compared to Chicago deep dish pizza, obviously, ahhaha.

Blessing # 4: The next morning, I worked out at the gym, which was nice, especially since I had had a stressful week & only made it to the gym twice.  I tried to do hanging knees & pull-ups but the bar was a too thick for my small hands AND my tibia kept hitting the equipment, which gave me bruises (I bruise like a peach!).  At one point, a guy who was wearing the same tee-shirt as me (Chicago Marathon) started lifting behind me then let me know that he was in charge of a running group & that he had a couple of race entries available for the New York Marathon, which he is willing to give me!?!  I'll contact him if I don't get in the lottery for that race.:p

I then was on planning on running to my friends' hotel (1/2 mile away) to eat breakfast together but I went to the wrong hotel & ended up running 3 miles, sigh.  I was afraid that all this unplanned running was going to harm me during the race, which was going to start at 4:30 P.M. that day, but thankfully, it didn't.  For lunch, we went to a British pub & it was pretty good!  It was so hard NOT to order French fries, my biggest weakness, but I kept focusing on 2 things: 1) you will regret eating fries before a race!; 2) you can have all the fries that you want after the race!!;p

Though I was just 1/2 mile away from the start line, I did not take into account 2 things: road closures & people.  After doing so many races, I should've known, yet I still make the same mistakes, tsk, tsk, tsk.  Like a fool, I followed the crowd & illegally made my way to the start line by going down some dirt path & climbing a fence (& I was wearing a skirt).  I kept saying "I can't, I can't!" but then I kept thinking, "You're about to do another marathon, of course you CAN climb a stupid fence!"  It helped a ton that a spectator piled on several sandbags, which allowed us to easily climb over the fence, haha.  Finding the UPS gear check trucks was a nightmare: there were over 40 000 runners & who knows how many spectators & tourists on The Strip & trying to wiggle my way through was no fun.  I had to ask where the trucks were & when I asked the security person how I was going to get there, she laughed.  Yeah, thanks.-___-  I ended up running to the gear check trucks & made it to the back of my corral.  The last time I did the race, back in 2012 (5 years ago already!?!), it was windy but this time, it was warm!  I even wish I had the option of wearing a tank top.  I ended up wearing arm warmers since I knew the temperatures were going to drop as time went on.  While I was waiting for the race to start, I overheard a couple speaking French so I ended up chatting with them.:):)  They were from Strasbourg, France & had never been to Vegas so they played & walked all week long!

It took us 20 minutes to cross the start line.  When I ran by Mandalay Bay, I couldn't help but look at the windows where the shooter was & think about our safety.  Thankfully, there was a strong police presence throughout the entire race & we all felt safe.:):)  

Since I busy running around to look for the UPS trucks before the race, I didn't get to use the porta-potties.  I held it for several miles but by Mile 6, I couldn't do it anymore so I had to make the decision to stop to use the porta-potties.  Do I regret it?  Not one bit because I felt so much better afterwards.:):)  The course has changed since 2012 & also due to last month's shooting from Mandalay Bay.  There was a ton of music throughout the course (this is probably the race w/ the most music for me) but it was taken to another level at Miles 16-18.  It was techno music, which I usually cannot stand, but when I'm running, it pumps me up!:):)  Miles 22-23 was annoying: we kept running around in a circle, which felt like a never-ending maze.  Thankfully, it was dark, which for once, was a good thing, because if I knew how this part of the course was going to be, it would've affected my performance, it was that bad!  I had never run so much in a circle in my life before!  Starting Mile 21, the 1/2 & full marathoners were running side-by-side but out of nowhere, at Mile 24.5, the full marathoners had to turn right for whatever reason!?!  "Uh, aren't we all going in the same direction?  Why aren't we turning right & the 1/2 marathoners are going straight???"  That was a bit mind-boggling.

I'm not sure why but I didn't really sprint to the finish line.  I should've picked up my pace way sooner.  My finish time for my 26th marathon was 4:33:05, 7 minutes faster than the last time I did this race but 7 minutes slower than my previous marathon in Chicago.  Ironically enough, I totally felt that I was running better & faster than in Chicago, I actually felt more energized!

After the race w/ my fav' background.:):)

Blessing # 5: I finished the race around 9:30 P.M. & I was so cold right before I crossed the finish line (& definitely after too) that I couldn't wait to get to the UPS trucks to get my bag & jacket (they ran out of heat sheets!?!).  As usual, I took as much goodies as I could after the race & my arms were so full that they were tired.  One volunteer, Alexander, offered me a bag.:):)  When I finally reached the truck, a race official, Dave, noticed I looked exhausted & made sure I was okay by walking me to the medals tent, which was super nice of him!:):)  He told me that he had gone to every single Rock'n'Roll series race this year, that his favorite race to work at was the one in San Jose, & that I should say "Hi!" to him the next time I do a Rock'n'Roll race, haha.

For dinner, we went to "Popeyes" since I had been craving French fries anyway, haha!  I asked the employee if I could just order 1 piece of chicken brest & fries & she said "yes".  Then, for whatever reason, she said, "What other piece of chicken do you want?"  I said, "Nothing else."  She repeated, "No, what other piece of chicken do you want?"  I really didn't want anything else but since she insisted, I ordered a leg of chicken, which I don't even like, haha.  When she brought me my order, I got a box with my cajun fries, my chicken breast, chicken leg, & a biscuit!?!  I hadn't ordered the latter 2 but since they were closing, she gave me extra food for free!:):)  Since Claire & husband got a lot of extra food too, they gave me some, which I saved for the next morning for breakfast, ahha.  When I got back to my hotel, it was midnight!?!:0

W/ my 2 medals (the 3rd one will arrive in the mail, apparently): marathon medal w/ a die that had the digits 262 (right), marathon challenge medal for having completed 3 Rock'n'Roll marathons (left).

The next morning, I ate the Popeyes leftovers, cold, & uh, it was gross.  I felt sooo full & gross that I didn't even anything until 3 P.M., haha.  But, I was thankful for the food, still.  Before checking out of the hotel, I used the gym 1 more time.:):)  The plan was to go to the "Paris" hotel, then "The Venetian" since it has a canal that goes through the hotel (I graded for 2 hours over there too), & then, on my way to "The Bellagio", I walked by "The Mirage".  The weather was sunny and warm, by the way, & when I strolled by the fountains, I could feel a drop in temperature!

So this is why I was cold as I was approaching the finish line!  Believe it or not, it DOES get cooler when you pass by it!

Oh yeah, sitting down at "The Venetian" was very much needed because I was walking around w/ my backpack & my mini suitcase...  Ridiculous, I know, BUT if I had left them at the hotel, it would've cost me $15/bag!  The backpack was 18 lbs. & the mini suitcase was 9 lbs.  You can imagine how my shoulders were feeling!:0  Anyway, my last stop before taking the bus back to the airport was "The Bellagio" because I wanted to get a pastry from "Jean-Philippe".  It tasted as divine as it looked, hmm, hmm, goooood!

My splurge at Jean-Philippe: fruit tart for almost $10!

 Blessing # 6: I arrived at the airport super early & thought of taking an earlier flight (my bro couldn't pick me up & I had work the next day so I figured I'd taken an earlier flight so I could sleep earlier, etc.).  & I was successful at changing flights, thank God.:):)  When I got onto the plane, I noticed my seat was taken.  I let the flight attendant know & he told to the guy and everyone around him, "None of you guys are seated where you're supposed to."  The guy who was in my seat said, "Well, if she wants her seat that bad, she can have it."  The nerve!?!?!  The flight attendant told me to follow him and gave me an even better seat: it was closer to the front of the plane, it had extra leg room (perfect for someone who had just run a marathon & who had walked a lot that day) & the seat next to me was empty!  Though I was seated where the emergency exit was, I could not have asked for a better seat!:):)  I so wanted to give a piece of my mind to that jerk but I controlled myself...

All in all, this was a wonderfully blessed trip, I loved it!  I remember my trip in 2012 wasn't as pleasant (I felt alone) so thank you, Jesus, for this pleasant trip.:):)  Also, I was a bit nervous about the race since I had only done 2 long runs prior to this race (I had 4 Saturdays to train between Chicago & Vegas, but I rested 2 Saturdays & the last long run (20 miles) sucked!).