Race Review: Vegas Mustang 50th Half Marathon

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Wow, has it ever taken me a while to sit down and write this. I've just been so busy there hasn't been time to think about blogging, never mind actually doing it! We had a great trip to Vegas and a nice mini vacation, but now it's definitely back to real life and of course training... but more on that later this week.

Let's rewind back to the Saturday before last when I woke up and headed towards the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to run a half marathon! As I headed down the elevator of Planet Hollywood to catch a taxi to the shuttle pick up point, most people were headed back to their rooms quite intoxicated. I got a taxi fairly easily (yay Vegas!) and the driver asked me if I was headed "home" for the night, where I insisted that no, believe it or not, I just woke up! I suppose it's rather unusual to wake up at 5:00AM in Vegas.

Anyhow, thanks to the taxi driver knowing exactly where to go, I found the shuttle between the Luxor and Excalibur quite easily and hopped on the first bus. I was keeping my eye out for Brandi & Kendall, but never spotted them in the dark.

I knew it was a bit of drive as I'd been there once before, well near there anyway, so I did my best to sit back and relax and not worry about how warm of a day I heard it was going to be...

When we arrived, we made our way through the tunnel and into the speedway. I've been to a drag strip before, but never inside a Nascar stadium. It was definitely a sight to see, way bigger than I imagined. The sun was coming up and even though it was windy and chilly at first, it warmed up quite quickly. They drove the winner's prize through the crowd of people standing around while everyone ooooh'd and aweee'd. Personally, I don't see what all the fuss is about, but obviously I didn't win the car lol!

I spent the next 20 minutes scanning the crowd for Brandi and Kendall and I finally found them in the restroom lineup! It was nice to see a familiar face and of course take some pre race pictures!

It sure was a gorgeous sunrise!

As we got ready to run around the Nascar track, which we would do twice during the race (once at the beginning and once at the finish), I started to think more about the course... I had looked at it very briefly and realized that we wouldn't be going very far away from here, so there was a very likely possibility that this was going to get rather repetitive.

Well here's the answer, it did. As far as courses go, I hated it. I ran 6 kilometers much quicker than I should have, like 33 minutes and then I found myself here.

An ugly dirt hill on the outside of the Nascar track and behind the drag strip. This is where they park all the motorhomes when there is a race, so the pavement is all rutted and dust was blowing in my face and yea, it was getting really hot.

I ran another kilometer and then I did something I've never ever done in a race, I turned around and ran in the opposite direction. I knew Brandi and Kendall were somewhere behind me, and I no longer wanted to do this by myself. I ran for a bit in the opposite direction then got tired of the people asking me what the hell I was doing, and parked myself for a few minutes to try to spot them.

Thankfully, they showed up shortly thereafter and off we went together. Brandi and Kendall had both just done a half marathon 6 days earlier, so their plan was just to finish and at this point, that sounded great to me.

For what I thought was going to be mostly a flat course, there were a few hills in there that surprised me. As we came up on this one though, we got the best view of the day. You can see the Las Vegas strip in the distance.

It was at this point, that we turned the corner and were back once again at the entrance to the Nascar track and the 2nd time we saw the mile 11 marker when we were not at mile 11...

Now we headed out onto the "roundy-round" track or the road course which was basically running or walking a lot in cone circles... Not exactly very entertaining. Here, Brandi demonstrates how it felt:

I guess we were about 13 kilometers in when they changed the flag from green to yellow because it was getting very hot. We continued on, stopping to take pictures whenever we felt like it.

My favorite part of the race was running down the drag strip.

After that, we came back out onto the road to once again enter the Nascar track which we would have to circle one last time before coming into the finish. It was just before this that I caught possibly the best picture of the day!

Way to go Brandi!

In the end, it certainly was no PR, not even close in fact, but I really did have a lot of fun and with my foot the way it has been, that's all I could have hoped for. So with a finish of 2:56:41, here's to another one in the books!
Thanks to Kendall and Brandi for getting me through another very hot race.

Race Review Summary 

Package Pickup/Expo:
There really was no expo, just a room to pickup your package at Mandalay Bay. For a one-off race, I expected some merchandise for sale, but there was nothing.

Price/Value: $95
For an out-of-town race, it was a pretty standard price. If they were going to be doing this race again, I would be griping more about the course, but it was part of the theme I suppose.

Aid Stations: 
There seemed to be lots of them for the size of race it was.

Course Difficulty: 
Wasn't very complicated other than the uneven broken pavement in places.

Medals:

I'm glad they put some effort into these, I think they turned out great!

LA Day 2 & Pre Marathon Eats

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Originally, I had planned on running the LA Big 5k because it came with our international marathon registration, however, with all of my foot issues, I decided to opt out. Nikki from Slow is the New Fast wrote a great race report of the hilly course here.

Instead, we had planned to "sleep in". When you're a mom this is harder than it would seem. I always think if I have the chance, I would sleep all day and enjoy the peace and quiet, but in theory it never works that way. Both of us woke up on cue at around 7:30AM. My sister is a 'dog mom' and I think her dogs might actually wake up before Griffin.

Anyways, I took my time getting myself together and trying to relax, all the well knowing a mere 24 hours later I'd be in the midst of running a marathon. We headed out in search of healthy breakfast. I really loved Santa Monica, but I did notice that not a lot is open before noon in the way of restaurants at least near the beach.

We stumbled on Cafe Crepe and the wait was quite short so we sat down to enjoy some lovely sunshine and oatmeal!

SIDENOTE: This is why my sister WINS at instagram (@shandandherdogs). Also, why I learned the iPhone camera is actually really lame, currently very seriously considering the idea of an android phone. I can't believe it actually captured the steam coming off my tea...

I find that in general, breakfast the day before the marathon sets the tone for the rest of my day. So as tasty as a crepe sounded, I've been caught in the port-a-potty during a marathon before regretting my pre-race eats...

Breakfast:
Earl Grey Tea
Steel cut oats with raisins and brown sugar
Cup of fruit.

Next up, we decided to attempt to meet the girls up at Griffith's park to get a pic of the Hollywood sign and check out a really neat view of the city. By the time we got up there parking was a total nightmare. Unbeknownst to me, this weekend was the 1st weekend of Spring Break so everywhere we went was pretty busy, but this was by far the most insane. The girls had found a parking spot that was at the bottom of a very large hill. Normally, I wouldn't care, I mean lets be honest, I wouldn't be pleased, but I will do a lot of things for a cool picture! However, on this day, I was doing my best to save my feet for the next day and I knew that anytime my foot/arch hit an uneven surface there was going to be added pain. So after a few attempts to get closer parking and finally being turned around by security saying there was absolutely no more parking within a reasonable walking distance we headed back down the hill towards the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The other girls decided that they wanted to head back and take a nap so they didn't end up joining us. We wandered a bit and had a great time! First up, we looked for a quick lunch. After all the driving at Griffith's park and knowing that we were headed for a very early dinner we knew our time for lunch was running out. I knew there was an In n' Out a mere 2 blocks off of Hollywood boulevard and my sister had never been there so off we went. It was extremely busy as usual, but delicious as ever. I never took a photo unfortunately. I did the next day though as I ran by:

I could have stopped, there was no line!

Not the best pre-marathon lunch, buy hey, In 'n' Out is probably the best and freshest fast food you can get. We will just call it carbloading...
Lunch:
LARGE cup of ice water.
Cheeseburger
Fries (skip the animal style... only this time!)

After a short walk up and down the walk of stars, checking out the hand prints in front of the Chinese theater, and getting a glimpse of the Hollywood sign from the top floor of the mall, we found ourselves standing in front of Madame Tussaud's wax museum. Obviously, I've heard of the wax museum but I've never been. We asked how long it would take and they said a half hour/45 minutes so we decided to check it out!

We had a great time! At first, I was totally freaked out because the first exhibit is supposed to be like a Hollywood party and the figures are just interspersed throughout the room. Out of the corner of your eye, they totally look like real people about to move. You are allowed to touch the figures everywhere but their hair and face, so we took that opportunity to get some pretty hilarious pictures!

I was hoping for Ryan Gosling, but Ryan Reynolds would have to do.

My sister got an epic selfie with Betty!

For the record, I am not a Belieber.

Grease was one of our favorite movies as children, so this had me in tears laughing!

I am all too familiar with how nasty LA traffic can be, so I decided that we should head to the spot where we intended to meet the other girls for dinner. At this point in the day, I didn't want to do much more walking so we found a parking spot and walked a block or so off of Beverly Dr to get a picture of the famous Rodeo Dr and then we went to sit down at the restaurant.

Seeing all of the signs mentioning the road being closed the next day for the marathon really started to hit home... and the nerves once again were alive and well.

For dinner, I had suggested Cheesecake Factory, not because I wanted cheesecake but because of the amount of menu items. I thought that at least everyone there could find something to eat out of the 100's of options. The only problem with this is that it is always so difficult to decide! I almost changed my mind at the last minute, but ended up being really happy with what I got.

Dinner:
I chose to have a marinated steak salad and at least 5 or 6 glasses of ice water. I have found that eating light for dinner, making sure to include a little bit of protein is usually my best bet. I even had a bite of Nikki's cheesecake before realizing that I still had a bit of a cold and it wasn't a great idea to give it to everyone else before their race... oops.

After dinner, I just wasn't ready to go back to the hotel room. That would mean that it was time for bed and this was all really going to happen, and I was in all honesty, completely terrified. We walked into a few of the stores before finally saying our goodbyes and heading back to Santa Monica.... or so we thought... The GPS had other plans.

Up until this point, we had relatively good luck with the Tom Tom and it's navigating skills. However, on my quest to find a Whole Foods to get some breakfast for the next morning, we found ourselves terribly lost.

The next morning, I would realize that we inadvertently drove most of the marathon route on our "little" detour. And unfortunately in the end, Whole Foods didn't even have what I was looking for! Thank goodness I had bought a couple of Kind granola bars at REI the day before.

I went to bed far too late even before you factor in daylight savings time, at around 11:00PM, thanks Tom Tom. I NEVER want to hear "keep left, and then keep left" again.

Next up, finally, my LA Marathon Race Review!

LA Day 1 & The LA Marathon Nutri Bullet Health and Fitness Expo

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We left late on Thursday night for Seattle, slept for a whopping 2.5 hours in a hotel room at a pretty horrible Best Western before heading to the airport to get on a plane to LA. I think our excitement is what kept us awake but it's hard to say, caffeine might have also been a factor...

I was still thinking about what was going on with my foot but still pretty excited to be headed off on a great trip with my sister. Our flight was relatively painless, we picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel for a quick change of clothes and then headed off to the Santa Monica Pier!

The weather was perfect, it was warm, not too hot, and lightly cloudy. All of which sounded just right for race day.

Special thanks to my sister and her awesome phone for all of these photos!

We also walked over to REI just off third street promenade so I could pick up my Skratch hydration for the race. I'd never explored Santa Monica before and was pleasantly surprised by all there was to do.

We walked around a bit, took in the sights, grabbed a bite to eat and then headed back to our hotel to rest for a couple of hours before heading to the expo to meet the girls! I was pretty in love with our awesome hotel room at one of the Santa Monica host hotels: The Shore Hotel.

 

The hotel was literally right across the street from the beach, so convenient!

Here I am at the entrance to the Nutribullet Health and Fitness Expo at the LA Convention Center:

I was super excited to see what the expo had in store. I've been to some big race expos over the last year so I think my expectations might have been a tad high... It was OKAY. Everything went very smoothly with bib pickup etc. The race merchandise was nice but I knew going in that I was only going to buy a hat. I was nervous about the possibility of not finishing the race and just in case that were to happen, I didn't want to buy another reminder... Also, I should have tried on the hat before buying it, more on that in my race review...

There were a few exhibitors but nothing really all that exciting. MarathonFoto was there offering a discount if you purchase your photos in advance ($65 for $100 gift certificate as opposed to $79 for the full digital pack after the race). I was thinking about it, but it turns out there was an issue with some Canadians and their postal codes, so that didn't work out for me. They gave me a phone number to call the next day but the inconvenience totally turned me off especially with the expensive price.

Among other things, I was pretty nervous about the time change on Saturday night!

They also had a wall similar to the one at Nike Town during the Nike Women's Marathon. Unfortunately, since I signed up only a few weeks before the race my name wasn't on it.

We had intended to meet Nikki & Jacki at the expo, but there was some miscommunication and issues using our phones so it didn't happen. Thankfully, we had dinner plans at Border Grill arranged in advance so we met there and had a delicious dinner! We were so tired after being up for practically 48 hours that we headed back to the hotel right after dinner and went to sleep.

Stay tuned for our 2nd day in LA and then for my full LA Marathon race review!

Preface to the LA Marathon

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Well, this is it, we are leaving tonight on our journey towards LA, and I'm coming face to face with my sort-of-last-minute decision to sign up for the LA marathon.

Foot Update (What's this about? Visit this post if you don't know what I'm talking about):
There's still some aches and pains on walking although it is somewhat better than how I felt on Saturday. I have not and will not attempt running again until race day as per Dr.'s orders which means the LA big 5k included with my marathon registration will not be happening. I've been to a physiotherapist, a chiropractor, had reflexology, and massage therapy this week. The Physiotherapist said it could be plantar fasciitis and the Chiropractor thinks it's something else. Either way, I'm confident that I've done everything I can at this point and the rest is out of my hands. I'm doing my best to think positive and hope for a pain-free marathon on Sunday.

How I'm feeling about Marathon #2:
So many things are going through my mind at this point. I woke up with a cold and Delta airlines won't assign us a seat for our flight in the morning which is making me wonder if it is oversold... So right now those are at the top of my list for concerns. 

I'm nervous and unsure about my foot, but mentally I feel ready. In all honesty, I've felt ready since finishing my 1st marathon. Yea, I did take a little break, but I knew that I had many more marathons in me and it was only just a matter of time. This weekend, however, I will not be attempting a PR but rather just to cross the finish line. I had originally hoped just to PR my 1st marathon time even by just a second, but at this point my foot is unpredictable and getting to the finish line is enough of an accomplishment for me.

Traveling to a race always adds some extra jitters to my pre-race nerves, but it can also be a lot more exciting. Not only am I heading into my 2nd full marathon, but I'm getting a mini vacation with my sister and my friends!

I've traveled to lots of races last year including Nevada, Disneyland, New York, Portland, Whistler, Seattle, and Disneyworld.... WOW thank goodness I'm not traveling that much this year haha! But seriously, I'm really hoping this race goes as smoothly as those did.

In an effort to think positively here are some fun facts about this trip:
I packed everything in carry on luggage! Since I'm only doing 1 race now, I only have to pack 1 running outfit, thank goodness!

There are tons of yummy places to eat in LA and we are going to try to visit as many as we can in the next 4 days!

Sisters' trip v2.0 is happening! My sister and I have the same sense of humor and she's always the best at cheering me up when things aren't going as planned.

LA marathon has set it up so you can leave supportive messages for runners that can be seen on screens throughout the course, you can leave a message for me here. You can also track me on Sunday here.

Have any advice you'd like to share for traveling to a race? Maybe you're a flight attendant and you can ease my concerns about our flight being oversold (please... somebody help!)?