We did it!

 

Pre-Race 4:30p

After 6 months of training, 7a Saturday runs, and enduring aches and pains, we finished our first half marathon! Eddie's time 2:27 min and Melissa's 2:45 min. We waited at the start line for 1hr before we finally began at 6:00p. It was 30 degrees - fortunately we stayed warm for a short time thanks to a free demo of PlayStation Dance Revolution, we boogied to Rihanna's "Rude Boy". It took 1 mile for me to get warm, but the worst was weaving through the walkers. Thanks to some gel cubes I kept in my jacket - I was able to run the whole way. The course was mostly dark with bands greeting us intermittently, curving towards some sketchy neighborhoods, but a sigh of relief when we finally saw we were headed back to the strip. The Mandalay looked so close, but with each step I wondered why it was still so far.

At the finish, we were handed our medals (heavier than I thought) water, and food. A snicker's performance bar never tested so good (I did try this again later, but really didn't care for it). With my hands full with of bottles and food, wrapped in a foil cover to keep warm, I trudged slowly towards our agreed upon meeting spot. Eddie greeted me with a big smile, full of energy, as if he had just got up from the couch watching TV (a common recurrence) rather than having ran 13.1 miles.

After party? Out of the question. We milled through the hotel like ants with 40,000 people colliding with attendees for the upcoming Michael Jackson Cirque De Soleil show. Making it back to the room, we ordered room service, who advised that it would be 2 hrs for chicken wings, a sandwich, and fettucine to arrive. Oh well! We weren't going anywhere. We couldn't go anywhere. Barely able to walk, one painful shower later, we watched The Hangover until we finally dined at midnight. What a day!


Post-Race 10:00p