First Stop on the Way to Leadville: Vegas Baby!

A Rock n Roll Marathon event would not usually be on my radar. Several years ago, their contract with the city of San Antonio prevented other half marathons or marathons from taking place in the city within a timeframe around their race, which shut down multiple local events. When that happened, I said I'd never do another Rock n Roll event. On top of that, I'm training for a trail running series this summer, so there was no need to do a road race. I guess if you're going to compromise your principles, Las Vegas is the place to do it.

A flurry of peer pressure and discounted race entry fees last December led Orissa, Shelly and I to meeting up for a much needed girls weekend in Las Vegas for the half marathon at the end of February. Bonus: it was Shelly's birthday weekend! After a brief moment of panic when Shelly texted NINE HOURS before their flight was scheduled to depart that it had been cancelled (thanks American Airlines), Orissa and Shelly figured out a solution and we all arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday around lunch time.

We checked in at the Aria and headed over to the expo, checking out some delicious dining and enjoying some day drinking on the way. It was disconcerting at first to find that Las Vegas was just as crowded as ever, pandemic or no pandemic, but we quickly got used to all the people around us. I also didn't realize that they still allow smoking in casinos -- yes, you can describe me as an aggressive nonsmoker who can sniff out the smell of smoking from a mile away (more about this later).

We purchased some snacks in the store downstairs so that we could avoid any temptation from the minibar and returned to our room. We settled in, drinking wine and cosmopolitans while we admired the view of the Strip. Orissa and I had a hilarious moment when we tried to rearrange the unrefrigerated portion of the minibar. Above the refrigerator was a large decorative display with Fiji water and bags of cashews and other snacks. We tried to lift the display box up to move it out of our line of sight, only to find that it was connected with wires to the rest of the cabinet. Shelly warned that even if you so much as touch items on the minibar you can be charged for them! So we put the bottles and snacks back where we'd found them and hoped that we weren't going to get in any trouble.

Pre-race fueling

By this time it was 6:30 pm and I'm embarrassed to say that we were all ready to go to sleep. We forced ourselves to get up and go to see some sights. The Bellagio fountain and conservatory were just as beautiful as ever and Caesar's Palace was lovely even though we were politely discouraged from being seated at one restaurant for looking like we couldn't afford to eat there. 

The next morning we got up and spent a full day shopping, dining, and sightseeing. The race didn't start until 4:30 pm, so we had plenty of time to spare. We even got to see the Van Gogh Immersive Experience and all three of us were grateful to get to sit down on the floor for the 35 minute show -- our feet were already tired! As we walked back to our room to get dressed for the race, we congratulated ourselves on how well we had planned. We had about an hour to put our feet up before heading over to the start line.

It took one second after walking into the room for me to shriek, "WHY DOES IT SMELL LIKE WEED IN HERE??" Gross, it was probably coming through the air vents from another room. Moments later, Orissa exclaimed, "WHERE ARE THE CASHEWS!?" The large bag of cashews from the end of the mini bar display was gone. Immediately we surmised that someone had stepped into our room for a smoke break and helped themselves to a snack when the munchies kicked in. We checked the rest of the room and found nothing amiss, then called down to the front desk to report the break-in. We were nonchalantly told that someone from security would come up and take a report. The security person did not appear and we found it more important to get to the start line in time than to wait for them.

Arriving at the Start Village, we were late for my corral. The start area was somewhat chaotic because there were waves but they were based on no particular criteria. My wave was one of the first and Shelly's was dead last -- she had signed up late -- and there was an hour between the two start times! Our friend Q was also running the half marathon and had left the corral at her designated time. She texted me to say that they weren't checking bibs and to just go with the next group because there would be another mile to walk before the actual start of the race. What? Orissa and I talked Shelly into jumping the line and we nervously squeaked through the gate and into the chute to start. Then, as Q had said, we walked a mile to the start. Weird. I don't remember ever starting a large race without pace groups or corrals based on time.

The Strip looking ghostly as it was cleared for runners.

As we started the race, our conversation was drowned out by loud music and an energetic race announcer dressed like Britney Spears from the "Baby One More Time" video. Shelly, Orissa, and I wished each other well. My instructions from Nell were to start at a 9:30 pace and work my way down from there in the second half of the race if I was feeling good. I hoped for any time under 2:10, which would be an improvement over the last half marathon I'd run in August. Shelly and Orissa, who have not been running much distance at all lately, decided to aim for anything under 2:30 and hope for the best. 

As I ran the first three miles from Planet Hollywood towards Mandalay Bay and out of town, the sun was going down and I tried to run at 9:30 or slower to conserve energy for the second half. It didn't feel as easy to run 9:30 as it has on recent training runs, and I wondered vaguely if I was just too tired from all the training I've been doing. Then I reached mile 3 and the course turnaround. We had been running uphill! Suddenly I had to really work to slow myself down. I remembered that the old Las Vegas Marathon used to start in the desert and finish on the Strip and that it had a net downhill course. That meant we would run slightly downhill until the next turnaround, then run approximately the last 3 miles back up to the finish. 

It was awesome to have the Strip blocked off for only foot traffic. However because of the weird start, I was constantly running around people for the entire race and could never get a rhythm going. I felt the energy to pick up my pace at mile 7, but that's also the point in the race where you run onto the less populated part of the Strip. The sun had set and it was really dark outside! Without the bright lights of the casinos, the road was difficult to see and I had to step carefully to make sure each footstep was solid. As I ran past the wedding chapels, discount liquor stores, and cannabis shops, I felt myself losing momentum. At the aid station at mile 10, I felt tired. I took my last gel and willed myself to hold the pace to the finish. On the out-and-back section somewhere between miles 10 and 13, I heard Shelly and Orissa screaming from the other side and I was happy to know that they were running together.

Finally, the finish line appeared! I ran across in 2:06, feeling super stoked to reach my goal. I smiled and soaked it in. The only other finish lines I've crossed in the dark were at Ironman races, and that plus the loud music and bright lights of Vegas made it feel so festive. Another woman nearby was clearly enjoying the moment as she took a selfie right at the finish line! I laughed and then took a second look - it was Q! We couldn't have timed it better.

Q was just minding her business taking a selfie.

Photobomb! Q is like, who is this ridiculous woman ruining my shot?

Hahahahahahaha!

Q and I waited for Shelly and Orissa to cross the line - they made it in 2:29! Goals had been met all around. We went out for pizza and girly drinks to celebrate. It was so much fun to catch up with Q, who we haven't seen since she moved to Las Vegas a few years ago. We talked about San Antonio and and how hard the Wednesday night workouts at Dawn's house used to be when we were all training for triathlons together.

When Shelly, Orissa, and I returned to our room, we were happy to note that it didn't smell of pot anymore. We got cleaned up and examined our feet for damage (Orissa's was extensive - she had a broken toenail, Shelly had a couple of bruised toes, and my feet were freakishly fine). We called down to find out the latest on our dramatic break-in situation and hotel security had no record of our call down earlier in the day. We made enough of a fuss that a representative from security came up to take our statement, but he didn't seem too concerned. He said they'd find out who had swiped into our room and let us know. We still don't know, but the hotel didn't charge us for anything in the minibar and as an "act of goodwill," they didn't make us pay the "resort fee," whatever that is. 

The next day we had a lovely shakeout swim in the hotel pool followed by a delicious brunch with a server who was so entertaining and attentive that Shelly left her a thank you note. As the three of us sat in the airport waiting for our flights, we exclaimed about how wonderful the trip had been. Orissa commented that it couldn't possibly have gone better, which made me laugh. Their flight had been cancelled and our hotel room had been used as a pot smoker's break room. But we had such a good time that it cancelled out these minor inconveniences. 

I can definitely recommend the Rock n Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon and I really do hope to be back again next year. Shelly, what do you think about making this an annual birthday celebration trip?