Viva Las Vegas!

This weekend 'Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter's' friends, Jay and Anna, went up to Las Vegas to celebrate their wedding anniversary and we got to tag along! Not only did we tag along for the fun, but we both ran the Rock n' Roll half marathon!!

View from our room

We left for Vegas after work on Friday and got up there around 10. They were already there and checked in, so we dropped off our bags and headed to Hooters for dinner. (Keepin' it classy here! :))

The highlights of Hooters would probably be that Jasen (aka Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter) ate wings that the waitress told him were "80% butter" and he said that was under estimating!! GROSS! And then the small fact that I lost $100 dollars playing roulette in less than 10 minutes- no joke! I bet on black every time and it never once hit- the second I lose all my money and stop playing.... BLACK! 

The next day, we had to go to the expo to pick up our race packets. On our way there, we decided to stop and get lunch. Someone threw out the word buffet, and next thing you know I'm three plates in ending with this beauty. 

Best pre-race fuel ever! ;)

I was so surprised at how organized the packet pick up and race expo was! I had read a lot of not so great reviews of the Vegas race, so I was pleasantly surprised. 

*Added bonus, I got an email saying that the coupon code I used was for "NYC marathoners" only and would be required to show our NYC registration when we picked up our packets....??! Neither me nor Mr. Sprinkles and Glitter were signed up to run the NYC marathon. I freaked, and when I called they informed me I would have to pay the 20% I saved. Bummer.... big $70 dollar bummer! 

Well when we got there and picked up our bibs, they gave them to us- with a big red piece of paper saying to verify our NYC registrations- and never got asked for any sort of verification or payment. It all happened so quickly I didn't even realize we were done with everything (and got out of paying) until we were walking into the 'expo' area. Not having to pay the $70 dollars was awesome! (Let's not forget about the $100 I lost at Hooters, ok?)

I tried to get Jasen to pose like the guitar guy, but he wouldn't go for it

So, we made our way into the expo and wandered around. There was an extremely large, weird looking bus in the middle expo and the company Brooke's had sponsored a whole carnival set up- complete with games and prizes! We of course, signed up and headed over to the prize area. (I saw they were giving out blue sunglasses (that would TOTALLY match my Cookie Monster costume), and immediately crossed all my fingers and toes that I would win those. Again, remembering what happened last night at Hooters, I knew luck was not on my side and I made both Anna and Jasen promise that if either won them, they would trade with me.)

Jasen won a t-shirt, but all they had was small so he got a super cool, bright blue beanie that says 'run happy' on it. And me? What did I win? ....The Cookie Monster blue SUNGLASSES! You would have thought I just won a million dollars I was so excited! Anna won the sunglasses too and we immediately opened them and tried them out. 

This was us, in front of the weird bus with our totally-awesome, Cookie-Monster-blue sunglasses and some random glass we found? (Seriously though, what's up with the bus?! Look at the dudes super-buff arm and then his face. And what is that long thing on the right? A sword?!)

As if winning the coolest sunglasses ever wasn't enough, I saw one of my blog/running idols, SkinnyRunner!! (She is a crazy-fast marathoner- who has actually WON marathons!) I knew she was going to be at the expo that day, but I for sure thought we were too late and missed her. I literally freaked when I saw her and Anna was the one who convinced me into going over to her and asking for a picture. Thank gosh she did! 

Not only did I meet her and take a few pictures with her, but I freaking made it onto her blog!! I know, I still can't believe it either!

Pulling an "LC"

Best expo ever! I saved money, won free stuff, and met one of my idols. What more could you ask for?!

After the expo, we headed to OutBack for some real race fuel. We ended up getting free appetizers because they set us at a table and had to ask us to move one table over. We hadn't even ordered our drinks and literally had to walk MAYBE 6-feet but if they wanted to give us free apps, we definitely were not going to argue.

After OutBack, we went back to our hotel and watched a movie while I finished up my costume. Can't wait to show you my home-made Cookie Monster costume in the next post!! :)