Run Laughlin Half Marathon Race Recap

I'm finally starting to come back to normal after my very emotional finish! You may already know that I had the most amazing race on Saturday - pretty much start to finish - and the icing on it all was a shiny, new PR.

I was pretty nervous the day before and the couple hours leading up to the race. Despite having a great plan laid out, I was having some issues that I really thought would derail that plan and prevent me from having the race I so desired.

My recap has to start with the day before the race because it helps set the scene of why I was so nervous about the race, and why I was so emotional at the end.

Friday

Even as I wrote up my Race Day Goals & Strategy, I had a feeling that the worst was likely to happen. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about! I wrote my goals hoping and hoping that my period and corresponding cramps would hold off until Sunday.

They did not. Much to my dismay my period arrived on Friday, which meant the cramps would hit just in time for the race Saturday morning. I kept trying to will them to stay away. Hence, my nerves the night before. I still wanted to have a great race, but I really didn't think it was in the cards.

Kristy, from Runaway Bridal Planner, picked me up to make the drive to Laughlin, NV. We'd never met in person before, but I was excited for a tiny little runcation with my blogging friend. Jeff walked me to her car to say good-bye, and I fretted about not having packed enough ibuprofen. He said to not worry about it and to just buy some more if I needed some. D'uh.

We arrived in Laughlin, checked into our room, dropped off our stuff, and headed to packet pick-up. It's a pretty small race, so there was no expo. It was literally just pick up your bib, pick up your shirt, and grab a small bag with a couple goodies in it.

We were hungry, so we googled "where locals eat" and decided on a restaurant based {almost} solely on pictures of the views of the Colorado river. Nope, not location or pics of the food. LOL The restaurant was a bit out of town, but we got there just as the sun was setting.

The sunset was totally worth the drive!

We each ordered the burger our waitress recommended. It. Was. Greasy! Delicious, but we both kind of worried that it might not have been the wisest of decisions.

After dinner, it was still pretty early, so we walked along the river a bit and then sat and listened to a band before heading back up to the room. While listening to the band, it occurred to me that I forgot a toothbrush. We stopped at a hotel shop and I bought a toothbrush/toothpaste and grabbed some Midol as well. Just in case.

It was still early, but for some reason, I was already exhausted. I was in bed before 9PM. I think.

Here's the thing. Laughlin is right on the Arizona border. Arizona doesn't do Daylight Savings, so they are in a different time zone this time of year. Our phones and watches kept randomly changing times on us! It was both amusing and annoying.

I'd like to say I slept well, but that would just be lying. I tossed. I turned. I got up to go to the bathroom. I fretted about the inevitable cramps. I had this terrible, pain isn't quite the right word, in my diaphragm. It was uncomfortable, but I kept falling back asleep. So, I was getting at least some rest.

Race Morning

Kristy's alarm went off at what her phone thought was 4:15. In reality, it was only 3:15, as confirmed by the clock in the hotel room, which wasn't randomly changing like our phones. We were both glad for the additional hour of sleep. 😌

When I was getting ready to catch the shuttle, I sent Jeff this message:

I was so uncomfortable! I took two Midol, hoping that it would make me feel better so to not completely derail the race.

I wasn't very optimistic on the shuttle to the start.
Nor for the hour+ waiting in the high school gym.

Kristy and Jeff were both very encouraging, though, so I tried to keep an open-mind.

By the time, we were lining up at the start, the Midol had definitely kicked in. The cramps had subsided and the excitement of the race had set in.

The Race

As I crossed the start line, I pushed the RACE screen on my Garmin. I kept glancing down at my watch to check my pace. Around 0.35 miles, I finally noticed that all the other fields were still showing zeros. Yep. I hadn't actually pressed the START button.

I had all kinds of alerts programmed into my Garmin, so I'd know when to change my pace. I decided to still go with those alerts - even though they were a bit off of the official distance.

Mile 1
In the first mile of the race, we ran from one parking lot at the high school to the track and did one lap around the track.

This was probably one of the most complicated parts of the race! Racers were entering and exiting at the same point, so it was a little tricky making sure you didn't bump into anyone.

Miles 1 - 3.5
This was the first uphill climb of the race. It was tough but I was pretty good at sticking to a sub-10'30" pace. There were definitely a few spots that my Garmin was beeping a bit crazily for me to speed up.

The first two aid stations were in these early miles. I skipped them both. I didn't start the race with a full water bottle, but I figured I'd easily be able to make it to the next stop. I was wrong.

Miles 3.5 - 7
This was supposed to be my speediest section. It was a solid, steady downhill. I set my slow alert for a 9'30" pace. I shouldn't have had a problem maintaining that pace, but obviously I kept slowing down because my Garmin kept telling me to go faster. While the views were incredible (when I remembered to look around)...

I think I got a little bored on the downhill. I was also concentrating on not tripping and falling.

I had a gel at 45min. My plan was to take a salt tablet at the same time; however, I was running low on water and wanted to conserve what little I had left. I decided to take the salt at the next aid station, which had to be coming up soon.

Turns out that next aid station wasn't for another mile and a half.

Miles 7-8.5
This was the 2nd uphill climb, but first, the aid station. Yes!

I unscrewed the lid of my handheld as I approached the water stop. I grabbed a cup from a volunteer and dumped it into my handheld. I handed him the empty cup and grabbed the 2nd cup in his hands. He looked at me so confused as to why I was handing him my empty cup! My bottle still wasn't full, so I handed him the 2nd empty cup while grabbing a 3rd cup from the guy next to him. By the time I handed my 3rd empty to the volunteer, he seemed less confused. LOL I still didn't take a salt tablet because I didn't want to waste any more time at the water stop.

Free photo courtesy of Run Laughlin

Since I started my Garmin late, it still thought I had 0.35 miles before hitting the hill. I tried to still speed my way up the hill, but quickly decided it wasn't worth it. I slowed down a bit but still tried to stay close to a 10'15" pace.

Turns out my goal for this section was a 10'25" pace. I was pleased to see that alert pop-up, because this uphill seemed a little relentless.

We crossed over the Davis Dam and into Arizona! And continued the uphill.

Free photo courtesy of Run Laughlin

Finally the turnaround was in sight!

Miles 8.5-10
The uphill was over! It was the final pace reset. 9'45" slow pace. This was when the real fun began. I didn't need to worry about conserving energy. I had run a great race so far and now I could really focus on getting to the finish.

Since this was an out-and-back portion, I wanted to look for Kristy on my way back down the hill. But, I got lost in my music and footsteps until I heard her call out Good Luck to me. I waved and continued on my way. I also waved to a couple Vegas runners I knew as I saw them making their way up the hill.

I was really starting to groove to my music and was having a great time! My head was bopping along and I kind of felt like I was dancing. I may or may not have accidentally sung out loud a few times, but I tried to control myself.

Miles 10-13.1
I was cruising along and fighting back tears. It was really starting to become real. I WAS GOING TO PR! There wasn't really anymore doubt. I felt so STRONG and I was having such a great time!

Free photo courtesy of Run Laughlin
I do not know this jumper, but she was having a great time, too.

I sucked down another gel and actually took a salt tablet this time.

And then Starships by Nicki Minaj came on.



MY FEET WERE FLYING! I couldn't slow down. At the end of the song, I restarted it. Yeah, it was moving me that much.

It was good song after good song right until the finish, though I don't remember what they were.

I do remember thinking, This is the strongest I've ever felt during the last few miles of a half marathon. I kept pushing and trying to build on that momentum.

The course met up with the 10k and 5k racers. Lots of runners commented, You're doing great! All I could do was say Thank you! I probably should have said You, too, but honestly, I was too focused on my own race to comment on anyone else's. Does that make me a bad racer?! 😬

Every time someone said something, it put just a little more pep in my step. It's hard to describe how I was feeling. I was just gliding along, but still pushing it. I was so incredibly happy and proud that I was fighting back tears of joy.

Around mile 12.5, I did start to feel a bit tired, but I was SO close. I kept pushing myself. I saw the 6 mile marker for the 10k and thought only 0.2 miles to go. Then I saw the 3 mile and 13 mile signs for the 5k and Half. I forced myself to lengthen my stride and finish STRONG!

I crossed that finish line with pure determination on my face!! {and a LOT of salt}

Free photo courtesy of Run Laughlin

Post-Race

After getting my medal, I stopped and asked a guy where to get the official results. He pointed me to the tent, and I made a beeline to it - bypassing the tables of water and food. When a laptop freed up, I typed in my bib number and snapped a photo of my results.

I sent a message to Jeff on the way to the restroom.

I had been hoping to squeak out a PR with a 2:10:14 (previous was a 2:10:26), so I was blown away and so, so excited to see my official time!

I washed my face and went back to get some nourishment and free beer. I'm not a beer drinker, so I didn't even drink half of my small cup. It was a bit too bubbly. 😄

Still so emotional, I paced around the finish area trying to control myself. Waffling between smiling and crying. I was a mess inside!

I was hanging around the finish chute to see if I could see Kristy approaching when I overheard a trio of people talking about medals. It took me a minute to realize they were talking TO me! Apparently, they had run out of half marathon medals, and one girl was asking if she could borrow mine to take a picture. Of course, I said yes!

And then, I walked around some more. Trying to decide if I should head back up to the room to shower. I just wasn't ready yet. I couldn't bring myself to leave the finish area. I probably looked like a crazy person - pacing around the finish area, fighting back tears.

Finally, I saw Kristy approaching the finish line. I was doing something on my phone, so I couldn't snap a picture. I met her at the finish and then someone else asked if they could borrow my medal for a picture. I said sure and followed her to where she wanted to take the picture. Then she handed me her phone, Oh you want me to take the picture? LOL I snapped a few and then Kristy and I went to snap a few of our own.

Photo courtesy of Kristy

And that's the story of how I got my PR. A solid plan and a couple of Midol, without either of those, Run Laughlin definitely wouldn't have turned out so well.
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After showering and relaxing a bit, Kristy and I did grab some lunch and do a little exploring before heading back to Vegas, but I'll leave that for another post.

I'm linking up today with Erika, Marcia and Patty for Tuesday's on the Run. This week's topic is Favorite Race in 2017, so I guess this post is pretty much perfect. :)

PJ 5k Recap

The PJ 5k takes place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and is the only time Glittering Lights is open to foot traffic. It's 3 miles of really cool holiday lights and displays.

This was my 3rd year running this race, and it just keeps getting better!

FroYo 5k Recap

It's was a beautifully cool morning on May 9th. Perfect for a 5k.

The FroYo 5k started at 9AM, but I always worry about parking and race morning packet pick-up, so I wanted to leave early. This was a local race, but it was at a park that I'd never been to before. I'm glad I left early because I *may* have gotten a little lost on the way. And I was *so* close to the park. So close that I was on part of the course. lol.

I finally arrived and there was still plenty of parking. Whoo hoo!

And I was still early enough that packet pick-up was a breeze.

After hanging out and killing time for a bit, George and I met up with some friends.

The whole group. I only knew 2 of these peeps before race day.

An official photo of a few of us. 

As you probably know I've been kind of chasing a sub-25 minute 5k, so in the back of my mind, I was kind of hoping this would be my race.

And then I saw this the day before the race.

You see that elevation profile? Crazy, right?!

I'm sure there are hillier courses out there, and steeper hills as well, but my 5k PR was on a very flat course, so I wasn't holding my breath for a PR.

George and I started with the 9:00 min pace group. The first hill was crazy! I wanted to walk some of it. So. Bad.

But I didn't. Good thing it was at least cool out; I was wearing arm warmers, after all.

I'm kind of a flat running girl. Uphills make it hard to breathe; downhills hurt my knees (and I fear that I'll fall). But after about the first mile, and slowing down too much on the uphills for my liking, I decided that no matter what, I would try to push myself on the downhills at least. Something I rarely do.

It actually felt pretty good! And that I could give myself a tiny break on the next uphill. :-D

There were a few times when I was pretty tempted to walk, but I DIDN'T! I just kept plugging away. Easing back a tiny bit on the uphills and flying (to my mind) on the downhills.

Probably around mile 2.5 or so, I took off my arm warmers. I was cruising! And getting a little warm. lol.

I could taste the finish line ... and the FroYo ... so I kept pushing it and pushing it.

Suddenly, it was within sight.

George: Ready to really push it to the end?
Me: No yet.
Me: But you can go ahead, if you want.

A few steps later...

Me: Okay, I'm ready. Let's do this.

And we took off to finish STRONG! Shortly after, a little kid ran onto the course and almost tripped George. :/

But we kept going, and we finished HARD.

It might not look like it here, but trust me, I was booking it!

After walking around a bit, so I could catch my breath, we headed to the FREE FROYO! That was the point of the race, after all.

I got cheesecake FroYo with a couple toppings (gummy bears and ???). It was good, but maybe not the best FroYo I'd ever had.

So, do you want to know how I did? Did I beat that PR?

No.

But I did come in 54th overall out of 782, so I was pretty pleased with that.

My time was 26:38. Which when you think about it, it's that not that far off from my PR of 26:33. And did I mention the hills?

Of course, the course was a little short, closer to 3 miles than 3.1, but I'm still very happy with how I did at this race.

As we were eating our FroYo, another woman said to me, "I tried to keep up with you at the end. You passed me, and I just couldn't keep up. Great job!"

#BestComplimentEver!

It was a beautiful morning and a super fun race (despite the hills), and I'd probably do it again.
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Ride the Wind 16-Mile Recap

On May 3rd, I ran a 16-mile race. Ride the Wind.

It's kind of an odd distance for a race, so automatic PR for me! Whoo hoo!

But wait... It gets better...

I was 4th overall and 2nd female to finish... out of 7 overall and 4 females. :-) Yeah, it was also a super small race.

Since it was so small, I really felt no pressure at this race. Which was good, since it was a last minute decision to register/run this race.

Ready to hit the trails!

I was just happy to be out there on the trails. It was so quiet and peaceful and gorgeous!

Sometimes you'd turn the bend to a view like this of Red Rock in the background.

Absolutely breathtaking.

Around mile 2, we passed a couple of girls and a couple of guys that were running one of the Ultra distances. It then became our mission to stay ahead of those 4 for the rest of the race.

About 4-5 miles in was the first aid station.

Yes, that's a tarantula

Me: Is that a tarantula?
Volunteer: Yes. It was hanging around right over there.
Me: Oh. I thought maybe you'd brought your pet.

After fueling a bit, we took off again. We didn't want to linger, as the girls we'd passed were closing in on us.

The next 5 miles were filled with uphills...

 And downhills.

And more gorgeous views.

We were rewarded with a 2nd aid station around mile 10. This station was unmanned, but fully stocked. As we were signing in on the check-in sheet, one of the girls we'd passed early on caught up with us. So much for staying ahead of both of them. We fueled up a bit. I applied a little more sunscreen to my face, just as the 2nd woman we'd passed was hitting the station. We reminded her to sign in on the check-in sheet, and we were off.

Off to face 3-4 miles of a big, relentless hill.

They warned us about the hill at the beginning of the race, but I kind of didn't believe it until I was out there. Running walking the hill. The hill that didn't seem to ever end.

And then there was the wind...

Ride the Wind? More like Fight the Wind. While I appreciate the breeze, why does it have to be a headwind UP this relentless hill? Would definitely love a tailwind to help push me up the hill instead. :)

At the top of the hill, we had about two more miles to go. I must have looked pretty hot and tired, because George gave him his instant cooling towel that he'd been filling with ice at the aid stations.

Downhills aren't always my best friend, and I knew that George wanted to fly down the hills, so I told him that I was in no fear of not finishing. That he should just run down the hill.

I sucked down one more gel, saw the 2nd girl that had caught up to us at the unmanned aid station rounding the bend, and took off down the hill. There was just no way I was going to let her catch me. :-)

I wanted to take a couple more pictures during those last couple miles, but well, I didn't want to stop even more.

The course was very well marked throughout the race with pink ribbons and sometimes orange arrows on the ground.

The only spot where I was a tiny bit confused, and almost went the wrong way, was at the very end. I chose the correct way. :)

The finish was a little lackluster, but I can't really complain. There were only a few runners, after all. And the finish support was awesome! They had so much food and a whole cooler of ice.

Cuz everyone should jump in an ice cooler after a 16-mile race in the desert.

Overall, I really enjoyed this race. It was small, yes, but very well supported. It was a warm morning, but not unbearable.

I would definitely run another race put on by Elemental Running.
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Sprinkler Sprint 5k recap

This past Saturday, Jeff and I met up with some friends for the 2nd annual Sprinkler Sprint 5k. Last year's race was on my birthday in Aug, and we had so much fun running it, that we knew we wanted to do it again in 2014.

We bought another Groupon for the 2 race entries, which meant no shirt this year, so we just wore the ones we got last year. :-)

We biked the 3+ miles to the race start to make the 5k into our own little duathlon. We hadn't ridden our bikes in forever, so we left with plenty of time to take a nice, easy ride. It was a great warm-up!

Trails of Fury Race Recap

Saturday morning, I got up bright and early - so early, it wasn't even bright yet actually - to head out for Trails of Fury. In a moment of insanity, I'd registered for the Dirty Double - which meant a race in the morning and a race in the evening. I'd decided on the Half Marathon to start the day and a 5k at night. Since I'm still a little new to trail running, I didn't want to push it any more than that.

And it's a good thing, too, since I ended up exacerbating a little injury during the half. I don't think I could have done any more than I did. More on that later.

Race #1 - Half Marathon
What a gorgeous morning for a race!

Ready to run!

The race started with a pre-race briefing.

Going over things like the race course and some basic trail race rules. You know. Stay on the trail. Unless you see a desert tortoise or a rattlesnake. Or a wild horse. Or if you need to step out of the way, so another runner can pass.

The course started out on a single track trail, actually the majority of the race was on a single track, so it was a little crowded at the start.  We started out a bit faster than usual, and I knew I wouldn't be able to maintain that for the full 13.1, so I stopped off to the side and let a few runners pass.

Desert Dash did a fabulous job marking the course. They felt it should be a race - not an exercise in orienteering. :-D

The course was absolutely gorgeous!

The weather was perfect. For me. Others probably thought it was a bit too hot, but I loved it! It was in the low-to-mid-70s with a nice cool breeze. I never really felt too hot and uncomfortable. Like I said, perfection.

George and I had previewed part of the half marathon course the week before, so we were familiar with about miles 2-5. These were some of the toughest miles of the course, in my opinion.

There were aid stations around miles 2.75 and 6. We ran right through the first aid station. I still had plenty of water and didn't really need anything. I did pop 3 ShotBloks from my own stash around mile 3, though.

We took advantage of the 2nd aid station, though. I grabbed a bunch of pretzels and some M&Ms. Plus we just took a short breather.

Shortly after that 2nd aid station, we ascended Satan's Escalator. This was most aptly named. Haha!

Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. George zoomed up the switchbacks as I slowly plodded my way to the top.

Finally near the top of Satan's Escalator

View from the top of Satan's Escalator

Miles 6.5 to 8 was a fantastic, mostly flat, savanna stretch of the course. It was so fun to just run and enjoy the beauty all around me - without feeling like I was going to fall down the hill or die struggling up the hill.

The 3rd aid station was around mile 8. We spent a bit of time here. They had all kinds of goodies. Bananas, oranges, Oreos, potato chips, pretzels, water, Coke, Island Boost, Tailwind. There might have been more, but that's all I can remember. I tried most everything. :-D

This aid station was located at Wilson's Tank, which has a gorgeous view of the Vegas valley. You can see the Strip WAY off in the distance, but I didn't get a great picture of that.

I was way too mesmerized and excited about the WILD HORSES down below.

Sorry it's such a bad picture. They were so far away! 

I'm not sure why, but I'm incredibly fascinated by the idea of wild horses. Until a couple years ago, I never really knew that wild horses still existed. Apparently, if I were a stronger, faster runner I would have seen one up close. The volunteers at the aid station said there was one right in the trail for awhile that startled several runners. Then the horse moved off the trail and hung out behind the volunteers for awhile. I wish I could have seen that!

Way down there in the valley are some WILD HORSES!

5 more miles to go!

Probably about a mile or so later, my butt really started to hurt. It's a pain that I've been ignoring for awhile too long now. After looking at some images, I'm guessing it's my sacrotuberal ligament or obturator internus muscle or maybe piriformis muscle. It's basically a nagging pain near my tailbone.

It got progressively worse the further I went. And maybe it wasn't the smartest idea, but I kept running along - thinking if I kept going, at least it would be over that much sooner.

George started to have some IT band issues and kept stopping to walk. I kept running ahead, but then I knew he wouldn't have left me, so I stopped and ran/walked with him to the finish.

Around mile 10.5 or so, we got to a really pretty part of the course. I wanted to stop and take pictures at nearly every step.

The beginning of some absolutely breathtaking views

Probably around mile 12, a girl that we'd leapfrogged with the first half of the race had caught up to us. That was enough motivation to keep running with no more walk breaks.

The finish line was bittersweet. It was wonderful to be finished! The pain in my ass had moved down into my knee for the final miles, and I was in a good deal of pain, so it was good to be off the course.

But the course was so beautiful and the weather was so gorgeous that I could've spent the whole day out there!

Time: 3:25:44

The post-race treats were great!

I had some salted watermelon, a banana, and a quarter of muffin. It was a perfect spread.

After the race, we headed back to George's car, which had been broken into. Booo! He had a credit card stolen and some cash, and they stole one of my credit cards as well. There were a few other cars that had been broken into as well. So sad.

I wasn't going to let it damper the rest of my day, though.

We headed to the M Resort's pool. We'd reserved a cabana for the afternoon. I'll save a recap of the pool for another day, but it was a lot of fun!

Unfortunately, even splashing around in the water irritated my knee. I knew it was going to be slow 5k.

Race #2 - 5k
Jeff met us at the M pool and we hung out there until around 6:45pm, when we headed back to Cottonwood Valley for our 2nd race. George had left the pool earlier, so we met up with him back at the race.

The race started with the Race Director doing a roll call to make sure everyone was there. I'd never been to a race where they called off everyone's name. It was kind of neat. Roll call was followed by the race rules. Pretty much the same thing as the morning, so I know I didn't pay as close of attention this time around.

About 1/2 mile in, we turned right for the 5k loop. The 10k-ers did this loop twice; the 30k-ers did this loop at the beginning and again at the end. Not too sure of the 50k course, but it started with the 5k loop as well. :)

I knew I was going to have to walk most of this race, as my knee and butt were in a lot of pain now. George and I started way in the back, and we stayed there for the full race. I think there was just a slow walker behind us.

We were both A-OK with walking, but we did try to keep up a good pace.

Only pic George took of the 5k; I took none.

The downhills were much worse for me, and probably half of the course was downhill. There were some downhill switchbacks after dark. George's IT band apparently didn't mind the downhills as much, so he took off while I slowly made my way down. It was difficult to see in the dark, and I'm pretty sure that I missed part of the trail and cut across the rock. Oops!

We were passed by a couple of the 10k-ers, who started at the same time we did. Oh well. We still finished strong and under 1hr. Yay!

Time: 55:02

Oh the things we runners do for bling! I love that I got a medal for the 1st race and a pilsner glass for the 2nd.

Despite my injuries, this was a fantastic race! It was my first Desert Dash race, and I would definitely register for another one of their races. Their signage was perfect and very helpful for both distances. The aid stations were nicely stocked with all kinds of goodies and provided a perfect breather. The weather was amazing, though Desert Dash didn't really have much control over that. :-D The volunteers were awesome as were the race directors.

Now, it's time to focus on healing this injury.

Did you race over the weekend?
Have you ever pushed through pain in order to get to the finish faster?
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Mustang 50th Half Marathon Recap

If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or if you read yesterday's post, then you already know that I had a great time at the Mustang 50th Half Marathon on Saturday. :)

In a nutshell, I was simply out there enjoying the course, but I also pushed myself several times throughout the race. I enjoyed the scenery and the fact I was running on the speedway! I enjoyed the conversations I had with some of the other runners on the course. No PR, but I wanted to finish around 2:15, and I came pretty close. A PR would have been 2:11.

Overall, I'm very happy with the day and the race I ran.