RnR Las Vegas Recap

I'm exhausted, but I want to get this out there. I'll add pictures later.

The weekend started Friday with Jessica, Jeff and us driving to Dallas, flying to Albuquerque and then on to Vegas. It was really late when we got there, but somehow we managed to stay up even longer to visit with Chandra and Mike who flew in from Montana and play a little.

Saturday morning we woke bright and early and explored the Strip a liitle...ok, a lot. We went to the Expo and got our race packets and bibs. I got to meet Dimity and SBs of Run Like a Mother and got them to autograph my book. We didn't get back to our hotel for lunch until 4. then we visited with some friends of ours that live in Vegas until we ate a late dinner...hey, we weren't going to let our all-day buffet pass go to waste!

Then Sunday morning, we all got up and headed to the infamous Las Vegas sign. Almost 10 years ago, Chad and I couldn't find that sign on our honeymoon, so it was a fitting place to renew our vows. Our friend Bill "officiated" the ceremony. It was fun and special to have our friends there and to look back on 10 years together...and look forward to many more!

After lunch with everyone, the girls decided to rest before the race. We thought we'd get down there for part of the concert, but by the time we actually made our way to the start line, we didn't see much. It got crowded quickly, and the wait was cold. We met up with Dana and Shad, who ran my first half with me in Dallas, in our corral. The wave start moved pretty quickly, and we all took off together. That didn't last long as the course was crazy crowded. There were tons of walkers all over the course making it very difficult to navigate. Chandra and I lost each other by mile 3 but found each other a couple miles later (only because she pulled off to the side and waited for me). Our first half was pretty good, but it went downhill quickly...or I should say, I did. Chandra ran a solid, strong race and easily could have finished ahead of me. But she stuck with me and kept me going. I basically fell apart.

I hurt pretty much all over from all the bobbing, weaving, dodging, and hopping on and off curbs we had to do. Chandra and I couldn't really even chat because we couldn't stay close enough tomeach other. It was a giant game of Marco Polo..."you there?"..."behind you"..."I'm here" etc. My neck hurt from being so tense from both cold and the maneuvering. We realized at about the halfway point that we had the potential to run a 2:10. But, mentally and physically, I couldn't find my stride. I was very disappointed that I never got that strong feeling I usually get at mile 8. I've run negative splits on every long run this round of training...but it wasn't there. So very frustrating. It was all I could do to finish last night. We still averaged under 11:00 miles and finished in the top third of women and about 1500 out of 4000 inour division. Our time was 2:23:31, which was slower than my first half and not the PR I was hoping for. Still, Chandra and I finished together!

It was crazy at the finish line. Luckily, we were able to walk through the indoor walkways to our nearby hotel. Others weren't nearly that lucky. The girls all showered and planned to eat. Jessica decided to stay in and rest, and I attempted to pull it together so I could eat with Chandra and Mike. We had an early morning flight scheduled, so I knew I wouldn't see them this morning. However, my body had other plans. I felt extremely nauseous and had to sit several times to avoid throwing up. I made it upstairs to the food court and realized there we was no way I could make it. Chad and I headed back up the room...where I proceeded to puke. I have never had that after a race. I'm still not quite up to par...the flights and car ride today left my stomach somewhat questionable, but I'm feeling better this evening.