Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Vegas Results 2009

Vegas Races Results
1:56:10 Chip Time
8:49 mile pace
2605 out of 17827 1/2 marathon finishers (Top 15%)
828 out of 11322 female 1/2 marathon finishers (Top 7%)
130 out of 1663 in my divisions F40-44 (Top 8%)
There was no PR as I had set my goal to be several months ago. At that time, I wanted to pull of a 8:25/mile. My training slacked a bit after Market to Market with busy-ness. I hate to admit it, but it's true. I let myself slide a bit. YIKES! With all of us going in different directions each day about 30 miles apart, I spend a lot of time in my vehicle so I coordinated with my son's wrestling practice to run at the track while they were practicing. I also added a new venture to my life, EIRO, and through all the excitement of building my team, (which is going well by the way) I skipped a few runs. I don't skip runs. Only when I was sick did I skip a run and I don't get sick. So, needless to say, I have no excuses for slacking - I just did. :)
I still enjoyed the race, it was my first trip to Vegas, and I think I still did well otherwise. I'm not totally sure I liked Vegas, but it sounds like we'll be going back to run it again next year. WOOP! And again in March, my cousin is getting married out there. Now that will be a good time!
We stayed at the Flamingo (ahem, I say this lightly - I wouldn't recommend it). They told us we had a walk-in shower - sounded cool - it was a handicap bathroom. The hotel smelled like cheap cherry car air freshener covering up loads of smoke - just like the taxi's. :D This smell did not set well with me - I suffer from major motion sickness - flying out was a little rough on me - and the car ride to the hotel started off with, yes, cheap cherry car air freshener covering up loads of smoke. :D
I have never traveled this extensively and done a race before so I am going to rethink my lofty goals for 2010. We did a lot of walking around, which was not good for my legs prior to a race, but we did have a lot of fun. We did the casino thing, went to a great seafood buffet at the Rio with friends, which I recommend, did some sight-seeing and visited the premier outlet malls.
Here's a few pictures at the Flamingo hotel:


At the Vegas expo:

Before race: I look like a total dork! heehee

With my friend Ryan from Nebraska:

Getting ready to cross the finish line:

And I'm done!

I recommend Vegas - it was an experience! Hope you all have a great Wednesday. We are off of school - snow day - could be a day to stir up some trouble!

9 comments:

kara said...

WTG! Under 2 hours is always a bonus : )

Pat said...

congrats on the time. Under 2 is great, at least in my book.

At least the Flamingo is close to a lot of cool casinos. We stayed there a long time ago. The Rio is a great place to stay and the views of the strip can't be beat.

KimsRunning said...

Awesome race! Under 2 hours is wonderful and your percents are making me envious!

Jen Feeny said...

Maybe not a PR but still a great race and time! Congrats!!!!

Wes said...

Wha? Did somebody say stir up trouble? Yeeeuzzzz! LOL... I am waiting for the day when I can go under 2 hours, and you are out there doing it at will! nice :-)

Last time I went to Vegas (and only time), I played in a chess tournament. It was fun, but too many distractions!

Ron said...

As a Vegas local I cringed when I heard Flamingo. Next time shoot me an email and I will help you decide where to go and where to stay! It was a well organized race huh?

Aka Alice said...

Awesome run...I actually think I walked past you in the morning in the hotel...I thought I recognized you and now I recognize the hat :-)

I knew there were rooms at the Flamingo when I made reservations, but opted for Priceline. If the smoke bothers you, the Westin is a smoke-free hotel, which was nice for sleeping. It was just really hard to get back to after the race.

Rookie on the Run said...

Great job on the Vegas RnR!! You are a fast runner! And it wasn't even a PR?!! Wow!

Sorry to hear the Flamingo was icky. We usually stay at the Rio.. the rooms are big and the views are amazing!

I hope your trouble-stirring was a success. Keep up the great work!

zbsports said...

Good race report, it is detailed and entertaining. I want to read a race report like this. Good job!!!