Viva Las Vegas!

I understand it has been a while since my last post, it's been busy. I know it hasn't been that long since my last run post but here comes another one anyway.

October 22nd and 23rd, 11 people and I decide to head off to Las Vegas, Nevada to run. Yep that's right I went to Vegas, avoided the gambling, strip clubs and all the other things it is famous for. We tackled yet another Ragnar Relay. The team, Pig Envy was made up of most the same group we had when we did the Wasatch Back relay. We headed out on Thursday afternoon, got stuck in Provo traffic for over an hour and finally made it to Mesquite by 9:00 p.m. Nevada time. Just enough time to eat and go to bed. Sleep is a priceless commodity when doing one of these races. We had to be to the Valley of Fire by 7:15 a.m. Friday morning to check in because the race started at 8:15 a.m.

So there I am at the starting line. This was not near as crowded as the Wasatch Back but it was still pretty busy. I was not the first runner, I was #4. Being #4 on the team my first run was around noon on Friday. We thought the race wouldn't be as bad as running in the back hills of northern Utah but boy were we wrong. The first 7 or so legs of the race were pretty difficult. There were a lot of rolling hills and ups and downs. We ran to the marina at Lake Mead where we passed off to our 2nd van. Then it was time to get a little rest.

This is where I passed off to #5.

We had a few brief hours to catch our breathe and it was back to running. Our second runs were in the evening, so it was dark. But the second leg was much easier than the first. I was unable to get any real good photos because it was dark so you'll have to just take my word for it.

After leg 2 we headed off once again to another exchange checkpoint and waited for the other van to get there. We had about 4 and a half hours to settle in sleep then get up and get ready to run again. I crammed my tired but in the third row of a minvan and attmepted to get some rest. After tossing and turning for an hour or so my body was just so exhausted it fell asleep. I think for a total of 1.5 to 2 hours is all I got. Then it was time to get back at it.

My third leg started out really well. Having already run almost 10 miles I was feeling good. I started out easy enough but at the two mile mark my run went from pavement to unpaved roadway. Just look at the shoes I had on and you will see this was no easy task. I went from a 8 minute mile to 8:30 because I had to keep an eye on the rocks that were getting the better of me. This run was also in the dark at about 4:00 a.m. so seeing wasn't very easy. But after 7 total miles I finished and boy was I ever happy to be done.

Once our van finished we headed to the Red Rock Casino in west Vegas. I must say this casino was amazing. I had never been there but I was very impressed by it. The finish line was around the back of the casino by the pools. I had my parents arrive to pick me up so they were also there to take the finishing photos for us.

So there it is, we defeated Ragnar Relay Las Vegas. Oh and times and places? We can in at 29 hours 1 minute. We were 38th place out of 258 and we were 3 overall in public safety co-ed.

One of the best parts of running this? The medal of course. If you were man enough to do both Wasatch Back and Las Vegas you got the coolest medal of all...

Saints and Sinners!!!