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Comments: The first few miles felt fast, but looking at the splits, they were a little slower than I thought they would be. I was weaving through other runners and taking in the experience, so the pace might be deceptive. I had trained with a one minute walk break each mile, with the thought that I would walk the aid stations on event day and drink some water or Gatorade on the way through. I was a little distracted at the start and walked at the one mile marker rather than waiting for the aid station, but I got it sorted out and got in rhythm after that. Overall, it likely helped my overall time that the aid stations were a little over a mile apart, which led to more running and less walking. After getting into a good pace, I decided not to look at my watch at all - just run and take it all in. It was crowded and I had to be situationally aware for the benefit of everyone's safety, and it was too dark to really see the watch anyway. I would assess pace during the last few miles and see if my goals were still a possibility. Despite the crowds, I was able to keep up a pace that felt quick - my bigger concern was whether it would be sustainable. I dodged other runners as necessary, and tried not to think about the how many miles in I was or how much further I had to go. I looked ahead knowing the landmarks along the way - I had run here before (in the morning) and had driven this stretch numerous times - just check off the landmarks - Luxor, NY, NY, Caesar's, TI, Venetian, Riviera, Stratosphere. As we approached downtown, the course wound around a bit. It was during this stretch where we hit mile nine. In reviewing the splits later, I had put together a string of sub-10 minute miles that would make the race for me. The going got tougher between mile nine and ten. I reminded myself that it was the same distance as two trips around the loop in my neighborhood and I do that all the time. I was holding it together but I could feel myself slowing down and looking more and more forward to the walk breaks. The city was under a wind advisory all day, and we were now heading into the wind that had made the going faster when we were coming the other way. I braced myself against the gusts and tried to take my mind off the fact that the wind was indeed slowing me down. It was still difficult to see my watch, but I made out that I had about a 5k to go and 35 minutes to break my personal best for a 1/2. I would make it if I didn't do much walking. The last aid station came at about 11.5 miles. I braced myself for a long mile and a half. I negotiated mith myself for one more walk break. I could see a bridge overpass just beyond Fahion Show Mall. I would take a quick walk interval there and run the rest of the way past Treasure Island and to the finish at Mirage. As I walked, I checked my watch one last time and saw that I would finish well under 2:15 if I managed to run it in. I braced myself against the wind and my aching legs and trotted forward. The lights got brighter and the music louder as I approached. I crossed the line at 2:12 and change. Success! What would you do differently?: Nothing - I raced exactly to my plan and ability and met my goal.  Post race
Warm down: Grabbed my medal, a drink, and a mylar blanket to wrap around myself for warmth. I kept walking to the end of the athlete area and right out the back. I badly wanted to get back to the hotel and get cleaned up, so I skipped partaking of any of the post-race food or festivities. I saw a break where I could get across the strip. I crossed over and hailed a cab outside Bally's. Before I knew it, I was back at the hotel and calling Jennaa to tell her I was done. What limited your ability to perform faster: Nothing held me back. When I got started, I saw that I was able to set my own pace and I wasn't coughing much, so I had no excuses for not executing properly. I usually have issues with needing to relieve my bladder during long events, but being able to go right before the start helped. During the run, for two hours and 12 glorious minutes, my urethtral integrity was exemplary! Event comments: The event, while large and crowded, was well run. Things ran on time and the aid stations were well stocked. The event shirts were nice, as were the finisher's medals. The mylar blankets at the finish were welcomed as it was chilly and windy. Last updated: 2012-08-02 12:00 AM
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United States
Competitor Group, Inc.
60F / 16C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 6087/22087
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 693/1619
Approaching this race presented a dilemma. Based on a good season of running, I was hoping that I might be able to PR (2:15) for a 1/2, since the Vegas course is flat. My training had gone well, and I felt that my legs were up to the task. However, I had developed a cough leading up to the race, and the course was going to be very crowded with tens of thousands of runners. Getting into open space where I could run at my own pace might be challenging and frustrating. While I had registered for a race, I might end up participating in a parade instead. I decided that I would play it by ear and see what my lungs and the course were willing to offer. If I felt good and could get some open space, I would go for it, but if not, I would just enjoy the experience of running on the strip at night, which would be unique regardless, and the reason the event appealed to me in the first place.
Because Barkley would be challenging to travel with, Jenna decided to stay home with her and I would make the trip solo. I arrived in Vegas on Saturday afternoon and went straight to event check in. I was assigned to a corral for the 2:30 group, and I feared that being with slower runners would only increase the course congestion. On the advice of a friend, I asked to switch to the 2:00 corral in the hope that starting with faster runners would give me the space I would need.
I checked into the hotel and tried to rest and stay off my feet as much as possible. I was still recovering from the cough and wanted to get to the start as healthy as possible.
Starting an event in the evening is nothing short of weird. You really don't know what to do with yourself all day. You don't want to go out and do too much for fear of wearing yourself out, and you don't want to eat much for fear of having your stomach full or rocky when event time arrives. Being in Vegas, where there is so much to do and so many good places to (over)eat only makes this worse. Since I was traveling solo, I was a lot less tempted to do the things that I normally would do in Vegas with Jenna, so I was content to stay close to the hotel and eat Subway early in the day, leaving plenty of time to digest before the 4:30 start time.
I got dressed at 3:00 and went across the street to Hard Rock to get a cab. There were a bunch of other runners in the cab line, so I split a cab with three others. We agreed to have the cab drop us as close to the start as possible. We arrived fairly close to the corrals a little after 4:00. I immediately got in line for the restrooms, which ate up the remainder of the time I had prior to the start. It was great not having any 'waiting around for the start' time. I worked my way into the mass of runners heading toward the start line and was off with no wasted time.