This is an attempt to recount the weekend of my First Marathon - Las Vegas 2008.
I arrived on Friday evening at Las Vegas airport, for Christina to pick me up. What she hadn't told me, though, was that she and Jennifer (another close friend and fellow Trojan) had been planning for weeks for Jen to be there, too!! As I came down the escalator, I saw them BOTH and I was so excited I knew it was going to be a great weekend! :)
From the airport, we went to dinner and then onto the Welch's house. The Welch's are friends of Christina and her family, and were such gracious hosts! Even with 5 kids and an obviously full load of responsibilities, they took it in stride that another 3 people were in the house, and made us feel right at home.
Saturday the three of us did a little shopping (but I was good - I mostly bought Christmas presents for other people!!) and then headed to the Mandalay Bay, the race staging area where I needed to pick up my bib & race packet. That's when the nerves really started to kick in - this race really was happening for me! I made some phone calls, to Michelle, Tyler, and my parents, in an attempt to calm those nerves. Jen and I cooked up a CARB-O-Licious dinner of penne pasta and french bread, and by 9pm, I layed down in bed, hoping to fall asleep soon.... My alarm was set for 3:45am!
I didn't sleep very well that night, as I kept waking up, convinced that it was time to get up, or even worse, that I had slept through the race!! By 3:30am I gave up and just got out of bed, and started to get ready. Jen, Christina, and I left at 4:30am to head to Mandalay Bay, and when we got there, it was as if it was the middle of the day! There were people everywhere, and the weather was surprisingly warm for Vegas in December. Having heard from others about previous years of very cold weather, I had layered up and prepared for the worst - but by race time, it was about 55 degrees and a little overcast, perfect weather for running! I was wearing three long-sleeved shirts over my regular running shirt, along with a technical headband to keep my ears warm and some stretchy gloves for my chronically cold hands. But I felt confident 'stripping down' to one long-sleeved and my running tee, and nixed the headband and gloves, too, knowing that my visor would be enough head-coverage.
I met a nice lady while waiting anxiously for the start of the race, who advised me to "take it slow" (more on that later), and told me to just have fun with it!! Minutes later, the race had officially begun, and a few minutes after that, I officially crossed the start line, to a huge display of fireworks, which lasted for about 15 minutes.
Jen and Christina were right alongside me as I got ready to cross, and I knew that I would see them a little bit later on. For anybody who's ever been to Las Vegas, you know how cool the Strip looks at night, as bright as day, with stuff to look at from every direction.... But if you'd never run on the Strip, you don't really understand how cool it is! There was so much to see that the first 3 or 4 miles went by amazingly fast - I was in amongst a mob of bodies and felt like my feet weren't even touching the ground!
I drank all the water in my fannypack water bottle right before the race (I could really feel the dryness of the desert!), so my bottle was empty to start. That was okay, though, because I had planned to fill it up at an aid station right away, so I'd have some. True to my plan, at Mile 3, I grabbed a few cups of water and filled my bottle up -- and just as I put the lid on, a guy bumped into me, throwing my bottle onto the ground! Eeek!! I did a quick little spin-move and managed to pick it up off the ground (not an easy feat for anyone, least of all someone like me, who is, shall we say- balanced-ly challenged? - at times) without falling down and kept moving in the right direction. That was really the only 'hitch' in an otherwise 'hitchless' race. Yee-haw!
I kept watching my pace on my watch, and it was fast (for me)... 8:30, 9:00, and I think at one point it might have even been under an 8:00-min mile pace. I didn't feel like I was even doing any work, yet, so it was hard to slow it down. At about the 5 or 5.5 mile mark, the course split between the Half-marathoners and the Full-marathoners, so our route curved around to the east of the Strip before taking us back Northwest toward Fremont St (the "original" Vegas). As we neared Fremont St., I was running next to 2 guys dressed as Elvis (there were hundreds of these, by the way), and asked, "So, like, honestly, what's the sweat factor in a polyester jumpsuit like that?" They turned, laughed, and then deadpanned: "Like a whore in church."
Couple of time reference points:
- 10K (6.2miles) 56:24
- @ 1:00 mark - 6.6 miles
At about the 9mile mark, I passed by a group of three young women with neon signs made for a friend they had in the race. I passed them by, proudly wearing my USC visor (courtesy of Lisa), and they all screamed,"Yah! Fight on, Trojans! You go, girl!" I was so excited, and threw up my victory signs for them. It was such a great little boost from strangers, that just really felt good. At this point, my body was really feeling great, I was maintaining about a 9:30-min mile pace and felt like I was really in the zone. The mile markers seemed to just be whizzing by me. I made sure to take a few drinks of water at every aid station (there was one at every mile marker), and was taking a Gu every 40 minutes, as well.
Jen, Christina, and I had decided on Saturday that I was going to "meet" them at the the 13mile mark, so that Christina could jump onto the course and run Miles 13-23 with me (she was not an officially registered runner, but rather my own personal cheerleader!). So as I quickly reached the 11 and then 12mile mark, I knew that I would see them very soon! About a half mile away from out rendezvous point, I spotted Jen, with her hot pink sweater, and waved my arms wildly! Christina told me later that she turned to Jen and said, "Oh, good, she's smiling, and waving- that's a good sign that she'll be in a good mood while we run together!" I came up on them, Jen snapped a few pictures, and Christina jumped into the street with me. Thumbs up, and we were off for our 10mile jaunt through North Las Vegas (which has an amazing view of the mountains, and by then the sun had started to come out, so the sights were really spectacular).
Another time reference point:
13 miles 2:05:35 (about 1 min off my 1/2 Half-Marathon time from 11.02.08)
Miles 13 through 16 flew by as Christina and I chatted while we ran, laughed, and made some friends with other runners. She had challenged me to make at least 5 friends while I was running, and I was proud to tell her that when she met me, I'd already made 7 (including the previously mentioned Elvii)!! By Mile 18, I could tell my pace was slowing, both by knowing my body and also according to my watch. We passed the Mile 18 aid station, and it was the best station of the entire race -- next to Bonanza High school, with students cheering for us all as we ran by, loud music, and just a really great vibe!! Christina and I rounded the next corner, and out of nowhere, I started to cry.
For whatever reason, Mile 18 is some kind of magic running number ("The Wall") and it can really wreak havoc on your mind, even when you're feeling great. As I began to cry and gasp for air, Christina told me to keep breathing, try to make my breathing regular again, and tell myself that my body was light, that I could keep moving. My legs felt so tired all of a sudden... but between Christina's calming and Coach Lori's words in my mind that I just needed to push through this spot and remind myself that reaching The Wall means that you're almost done, I was able to keep moving! A few seconds later, I felt like I had regained control of my mind, and said out loud, "Oh my God-I only have 8 more miles left!" And, I was smiling as I said it (Sidebar: post-race, Tyler asked me, "A year ago, would you have believed anyone if they told you would ever say that?!" Without hesitation, I said, "Hell no!" and I had thought the same thing the minute I had said it during the race. What a victory in itself!)!!
Miles 18 through 22 were okay, not fantastic, from a pace standpoint, but overall, my body still felt pretty good. There were thankfully a few slight downgrades (after a few very gradual but still noticeable up-grades earlier in the course), that really was a needed relief on my hamstrings. My right knee and ankle, which have historically been problematic for me on longer runs, were both remarkably well-behaved, and for that I was, of course, grateful. The three girls who had cheered for me earlier in the race re-appeared along the course, and cheered once more, shouting "Fight on! We'll see you at the finish line!" That was an awesome feeling, to see some more "familiar" faces, and gave me a little bit of a spring in my step. Christina was once again impressed with my 'friend-making' ability!
Just before the 23.5(ish)mile marker, where Christina would step off the course to rejoin Jen, I began to mentally fight myself about walking. I told Christina, and she reminded me that while it might feel like a break, my body would still be in pain - it would just mean that I wouldn't be moving as quickly. But she also told me that if I were to walk, it would not diminish the accomplishment of my race in the slightest (Tyler had told me the same thing, the night before). For the time being, at mile 23, I decided to keep re-evaluating every few seconds to see how I felt. I had run the whole race up to that point, I really hated the idea of not being able to keep it up for the last 3.2 miles!!
We spotted Jen at our second rendezvous point (Yay, hot pink sweater!), and Christina and I waved and smiled as we neared the spot. I honestly don't remember what Christina said to me as she was leaving, but a few minutes before that, she had told me to find a few people to keep an eye on, as a goal for maintaining my current pace, if at all possible (by now, I was running sub-11, but was struggling to even maintain that pace). This is where I realized what all the fuss from everyone about "taking it slow" really was good advice that should have been heeded - I had almost run out of steam. Jen and Christina ran on toward the finish line, to see me at the end, and I continued along, singing to myself, in Finding Nemo-fashion, "Just keep jogging, just keep jogging...."
I can't give any more time reference points here, as I just couldn't hold any more numbers in my head. I had been doing algebra the entire race, calculating how much time I still had and what kind of lee-way I needed to reach my goal.... But I do remember that when I had less than 3 miles left, I still had 40min, so that was yet another mini-victory!
By this point, the course had returned to the back of the Strip, the west side of Las Vegas Blvd., behind all the casinos... As you can imagine, not the most scenic of routes, as you pass by parking garage after parking garage on one side, and the I-15 freeway whizzes by you on the other. There were still lots of people scattered along the course, cheering, which helped as I began to really become fatigued. I was still running (well, jogging at that point), and hadn't stopped to walk, so I was hopeful that my goal of running the whole time would be realized.
Mile 25 finally arrived, and the volunteers were still positive- "Only a little bit more than a mile! You can do it!" 25.5, and that's when the stitch in my side appeared out of nowhere."Oh, NO," I thought to myself, "not NOW! After allllll this?!" I quickly pinched my side, kept breathing, and really started to pump my arms so that I could keep moving forward (that was my mental chant - "Keep moving forward, that's all you need to do, you're so close!").
I passed by the 26mile marker, and a gentlemen just ahead yelled "Only about 100 meters! You're so close!" Let me tell you, though, that finish line still looked like it was hundreds of miles away. I passed by Jen and Christina, who were cheering wildly for me (I don't think I was smiling anymore, though!), and turned the last corner before the finish line. Jen told me later that she was fairly certain my arms were moving faster than my legs at that point, pumping myself forward, inching toward the finish line. My three other cheering buddies were there, too, and they screamed wildly for me, too - "YAH! USC! You're almost done!" I looked at the race clock, checked my watch, and knew that I was going to finish under my goal time. I crossed the line, remembered to look up for the camera guy at the finish line, and almost fell over as a volunteer put a medal around my neck.
OFFICIAL FINAL TIME: 4:27:41
Then began a few minutes of delirium - I was sobbing, hurting, wanting to lay down but knowing that I needed to keep moving, and frantically trying to find Christina and Jen, who were nowhere to be found. I wandered around for a few minutes, shook hands with a fellow Trojan who congratulated me on a job well-done, and took a bunch of water bottles from a table. I really wanted to drink them, but couldn't even begin to imagine opening the bottles to actually take a drink - that was just too much work. Then, thanks again to the hot pink sweater, I finally spotted Jen and Christina, who were waving their arms wildly (and apparently had been doing do for several minutes before I saw them). I made my way slowly to them, and they pushed their way past the "Runners-Only Zone" to wrap their arms around me and tell me congratulations.
Having Christina and Jen there was the best feeling in the world - in spite of having pain like I couldn't describe, and feeling so incredibly exhausted that every step was a struggle, I was so incredibly humbled and grateful to have them with me at the end. They took the stuff out of my hands, helped me put on a dry shirt so I wouldn't freeze (I actually took off my running shirt, so I was only in sportsbra, in the middle of the Mandalay Bay parking lot, and didn't care one bit - yet another mini-victory!) and called my parents so I could tell them that I had finished. I must have cracked some kind of joke, because Christina made a comment about me not only finishing under my goal time, but also with my sense of humor intact, which was a victory in itself! =)
After talking to my parents, I called Michelle while Christina and I waited for Chaffeur Jennifer to come around and pick us up in the car. As I was telling her about it, she asked me if I would want to do another one. Without hesitation, I said, "Oh, for sure. I'm just trying to figure out which race I want to do!"
"Oh, good," Michelle said, "I was hoping you'd say that!!!"
....so was I.
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