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.

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.

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.


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.


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?