Vegas Race Recap

Sunday was the day of the half marathon, it didn't start until 4:30pm and I've never done a night race before, so I wasn't really sure what to do all day. I decided to make 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' match me, and just followed his lead. :)

My tutu didn't have all the cookies on it yet. And that was the 'run happy' beanie he won.

We slept in, and then got up and set out to eat breakfast and get stuff to make sandwiches for lunch. We got the sandwich stuff and settled on Ihop for breakfast. It took FOR-EV-ER!! It took so long that we ended up not even making the sandwiches later on.

After the worlds-longest-breakfast, we went back to the hotel and watched football. (Let me rephrase, the boys watched football and I worked on my costume some more. Yes, I am a procrastinator ok?) I also gave in and took some really-awesome pictures with 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' that he had been BEGGING me to take with him. ;)

This is our 'ganster' face. Obviously, I nailed it

 Before I knew it, it was time to get ready and head down to the start. It was pretty windy, so I was nervous about how my cookies and tutu would hold up... 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' REFUSED to dress up as a giant cookie but did end up wear a cookie on his race belt. It was adorable! 

Jay and Anna dropped us off at the start and we immediately got into the super long lines for the bathroom and headed to our corrals. (Since Jasen is super-duper fast he was in #5 and I was in #12.) He dropped me off in #12 and kept on going to #5.

The last time we were in Vegas we took a picture in the Hooters car, so we had to keep with tradition!

The timing really worked perfectly. I think I waited in my corral for maybe 10 minutes before the start. As we slowly made our way towards the start line, I jumped out and used the port-a-potties one more time. (Only in Vegas would they have hot-pink port-a-potties!)

I quickly got back in the front of my corral and some-guy-dressed-as-elvis counted us down, and off we went.

The wind was insane. 5 minutes in, I was already looking ahead for the turn-around point because I wasn't sure how much longer I could make it. The turn-around was no where in sight.... so I did the next best thing. I found the tallest, biggest guy I could and ran behind him. It worked like a charm too! Added bonus, he was totally going my pace!

It was so cool to run down the Las Vegas strip at night. We ran past the iconic "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign and runners were actually stopping and waiting in line to get their picture taken in from of it! We also ran by the Pawn Stars shop and runners were stopping and going in there too. (When people said they just run this race for fun- they literally were not kidding!!)

I saw SOO many Elvis costumes and someone dressed up as 'that-guy-from-the-Hangover'. I eventually lost my wind-breaker-dude and was on my own. :( However, it was beyond great to have so many people scream out "GO COOKIE MONSTER!" or "Coooookies!!" at me and definitely made me smile.

This was not my best race by far- my stomach started hurting about half way through and never stopped. I had brought a water bottle with me (after hearing the horror stories about the water last year), but still needed to used the water stations to refill it. (I don't know if that's what caused my stomach issues but they didn't start until after I started drinking the Vegas water. It could all be coincidence though...) All the volunteers were awesome at the aid stations and were non-stop cheering for everyone- it really helps, especially when you want to quit. I also grabbed a Gu at an aid station (I have NEVER used GU's in my life, but I figured it couldn't make matters worse.)

One thing I thought was weird, were the mile markers. I didn't see one mile marker until we reached mile 9 and even then there wasn't an actual 'marker', it was a lady at a corner screaming "THIS IS MILE 9! YOU HAVE REACHED 9 MILES!" I had my GPS watch so I guess I wasn't really 'looking' for them, and it was dark- but usually they are pretty obvious.  Then at  mile 11, I think the marker fell over or something because it was some spectator trying his hardest to hold up the sign in the crazy wind.

The last 2 miles were amazing. We merged with the full-marathon runners and were headed back on the strip. People were on both sides of the road and on all the bridges cheering and screaming for all the runners. We were SO close, and yet I was still barely moving.

Once we reached the last mile, I forced myself to pick up the pace. I just kept telling myself 'Run as fast as you can for 10 minutes and it will be over'. I could see the finish line and was getting closer to it. I heard a familiar voice scream out "HEY COOKIE MONSTER! GO COOKIE MOSTER!" I turned and saw Jay and Anna screaming and waving to me!!

Pretend the sweat isn't there

 SO awesome to see them, and definitely kept me going. I was so close to the finish line and I knew 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' would be there waiting so once again, I tried to pick up the pace.

I finally finished. 2:28. It wasn't the PR I was hoping for but with the crowds, crazy wind, and stomach-ache I did the best I could. All I wanted to do was sit down once I finished, but I couldn't. They fence in all the runners and you're forced to keep walking. They give you your medal, some water, chocolate milk, gatorade, food, and everything else you could want (but didn't want to carry) except cupcakes- no one ever has cupcakes!

 I finally made my way out and found 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter'. I was able to sit down on a curb for about 2 minutes while Jay and Anna made their way over to us.

Guess what they brought us?! CUPCAKES!! I was SO excited to see cupcakes them!! I again, just wished I could sit down so I could eat them!

They had Sprinkles ANNNND glitter on them! My favorite!

 We then had to walk 2.68 miles back to the car parked at Hooters. (Yes, I know exactly how far it was because I forgot to turn off my watch. Opps!) We grabbed our wallets, left the tutu, and headed inside for dinner.

We ordered our food and I was seriously not feeling well. (I think 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' could tell right away, because he kept asking me it I was OK.)

Right after our food came out, I knew I was going to be sick. I went to the restroom and THANK GOSH it was empty. (I could already hear the jokes about the Cookie Monster loosing her cookies). I felt a MILLION times better!

When I got back to the table 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter' asked if I wanted to leave and go back to the room. I told him I felt SO much better and was ready to win all my money back!! Yeah.... $40 dollars lost at roulette later... I was broke and ready to leave.

'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter's' friend Brianne lives in Vegas, and met up with us for some late night gambling. Once we headed back to the room, we were all hungry again and decided to go get food. Our first choice of Weinerschnitzel was closed. We went to a small bar and realized I forgot my ID at the room and Jay only had a paper ID (long story) that they wouldn't accept. So, we got kicked out.

Moving right along, we found a Buffalo Wild Wings and again got rejected with my lack of ID and Jay's paper ID. However, they said we could get to-go. SOLD! 1 hour and 20 minutes later..... (I really wish I were kidding here) we had our food and headed back to the room.

We ate our food so fast and immediately went to bed, it was only 3-something in the morning. This is what everyone does in Vegas right? ;)

We leave tomorrow and I'm super bummed. I've had such a blast here!