When you think of Vegas, one thinks bright lights & casinos. Nevada would be my 15th state marathon & my first race at night.
Struggled as how to prepare for a night run – when to stop eating (generally 14 hours before race time), what & how much pre-race activity is ok before running a full marathon. Lotta unknowns.
Since I was staying at the Luxor, pre-race pics with fellow Maniacs was super easy – took the elevator downstairs; check, done. Another first? Pre-race pic with Elvis. Yeah, everything tonite spelled Vegas.
And since this was a Rock n Roll marathon, watched Macklemore in concert an hour half before the start. Not sure if standing at a concert before running 26.2 miles was great prep but the experience was crazy fun 🙂
Vegas would also be my largest race to date – more than 44,000 participants. Starting 10 corrals back @ 1,000 runners per corral = no actual running until 20 minutes after the first firework blast. That’s a lotta bodies running at a lotta different paces.
First 4 miles down the Strip, soooo many runners but WOW — still kinda cool. Mandalay Bay, Luxor, MGM, the Mirage, Circus Circus — all colorful ginormous hotels. Unexpectedly however, found my favourite part of the Strip was Fremont Street in downtown Vegas – casino lights coupled with a flash of Vegas past.
From mile 4 to mile 21, not a whole lotta positive. Ran for miles on a highway in the dark, thru Vegas suburbs on dim roadways, past homeless under bridges. Vegas is a tough town – whether homeless by choice, self-inflicted circumstance or just plain bad luck, unfortunately there are many homeless in Vegas. Really puts life in perspective.
Mile marker signs dropped off after mile 21. Positive – the Vegas skyline is soooo BIG, I could see light by mile 23. Return pass thru Fremont — felt like I’d been running all night. A fellow Maniac called out at mile 25 & I tagged along. Many thanks Othman.
Nearing the Finish Line, Ash, Tom & Stephen screamed encouragement. FAAANNNNNTASTIC finish!
Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas – Marathon
OvrPl Bib Name City, State Time
1829 10078 K R Haga Louisville, CO 4:36:50
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- pre-race pic w/ the King
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- Macklemore
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- 44,000 strong
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- marathon magic
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- FINISHERS!
Up early & in the hotel lobby at 530am. Met-up with my sis & walked a few blocks over to today’s marathon start. Crazy cold morning, 20° & windy. I’ve run in winter before; it’s the dramatic temp dive that made acclimating difficult.
Today’s start near Indiana’s state capitol dome marked my 5th state capitol start (preceded by Baton Rouge, Austin, Atlanta & Des Moines). ALSO first time running with my sister – & Tammy travels with a pack so there were 10+ of us. Awesome day!
Super crowded start – full and half marathoners lined up together. Five minutes back from the Start Line, I spent 6 miles weaving in & between runners. Thankfully half marathoners peeled off after mile 7, where I picked up pace.
3rd straight marathon [purposely] going out fast. Slow n steady hadn’t been working – found I’m just as tired at mile 19-21 whether pacing steady or racing hard.
Goal was to locate a pace group. Quickened my clip to 7-minute miles & caught the 3:55 group at mile 8. Too many bunched together so picked up speed again & caught the 3:45 pace group at mile 12.
Running thru Butler University 17 miles in & still felt strong. Pleasantly surprised hills at miles 11 & 17 were only slight inclines – Indy was a fairly flat course. Nice! Fatigue finally set in at mile 22 – but dang, only 4 miles to go.
SUB-4 started running thru my mind. Didn’t think this possible ‘til 2015.
Never saw the 3:45 guy but was lapped by 3:55 pacers just after mile 25. Passed Sailors & Soldiers Monument & kicked hard.
Ice in my veins: SUB-4 AND a PR!
K R HAGA – finish at 3:55:21
— at Downtown Indianapolis #BeMonumental
Finishers’ medal, Mylar wrap & chocolate milk, then secured a spot near the Finish – not just me marathoning this day. Watched my sister cross 30 minutes later – SPECTACULAR!
Folks, I come from strong stock. Better than running a marathon? Marathoning with family – nothing like it.
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- Good Mornin’ from crazy cold Indy!
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- booyah – new PR & 2nd sub-4 finish
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- we come from strong stock – Go Sis!
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- 13 marathons in 13 different states within 365 days
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- Indiana State Capitol
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- Soldiers & Sailors Monument
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- sharing cocoa w/ my sis: post-marathon celebration
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- haggard, early morning start — good to be home 🙂
Two weeks between Iowa & Indy marathons, re-focused on nutrition. I’m marathoning more often but no longer training three disciplines concurrently [Ironman], so no good reason why I can’t pick up my pace.
Started a food journal to better understand intake & track good fuel days. Adding turkey to salad & eating lamb in race weeks for protein pick-up. Upping my spinach & kale usage – for increased iron. Rotisserie chicken makes me feel ick. Bread & white rice are not food friends. I feel mentally down the following day, which leads to inconsistent training.
When the body feels blah, best to take a day off. When the mind feels blah (poor nutrition), it’s a wasted training day (also spills over into work – less productive).
Learning to listen to my body. Been running consistently without injury since October 2013 – wanna keep that streak alive thru 2016 (50 state marathon goal).
*BIG NEWS* 26 marathons scheduled in 2015 (2 races are lotteries – fingers crossed)
- 11/01/14 Monumental Marathon IN
- 11/16/14 Rock N Roll Las Vegas NV
- 11/23/14 Route 66 Marathon OK
- 12/06/14 Rehoboth Beach Marathon DE
- 01/10/15 Mississippi Blues Marathon MS
- 01/25/15 Miami Marathon FL
- 02/14/15 Myrtle Beach Marathon SC
- 02/22/15 Hyannis Marathon MA
- 03/01/15 Little Rock Marathon AR
- 03/14/15 Montgomery Marathon AL
- 03/29/15 Ocean Drive Marathon NJ
- 04/12/15 Go St Louis Marathon MO
- 04/18/15 Garmin Oz Marathon KS
- 04/25/15 Kentucky Derby Festival KY
- 05/02/15 Wisconsin Marathon WI
- 05/09/15 Fargo Marathon ND
- 05/24/15 Vermont City Marathon VT
- 06/07/15 Casper Marathon WY
- 06/13/15 Rock N Roll Seattle WA
- 06/27/15 Charlevoix Marathon MI
- 07/26/15 San Francisco Marathon CA
- 09/20/15 Morgantown Marathon WV
- 09/26/15 Adams County Marathon OH (Amish Marathon)
- 10/03/15 New Hampshire Marathon NH
- 10/10/15 Hartford Marathon CT
- 10/17/15 Baltimore Marathon MD
- 10/25/15 Marine Corps Marathon VA (Lottery)
- 11/01/15 New York City Marathon NY (Lottery)
- 11/22/15 Philadelphia Marathon PA
- 12/05/15 St. Jude’s Memphis Marathon TN
Gonna be a busy year – Go Big or Go Home. Would leave only 7 states remaining for 2016. ALSO, secretly have 2 big international adventures, one in 2015, one in 2016 — good to have dreams, better to make them happen 🙂
Planes, trains & automobiles…off to Indy for marathon #14.
Welcome to Indianapolis!
