December 2nd, 2012 marks this years Las Vegas Marathon. This is the second year that the race has been run on “The Strip at Night”. Last year’s race was a huge success and over 48,000 runners flocked to the Las Vegas Strip to participate in the inaugural “Strip at Night” event. That is correct, people actually run an entire Marathon in Las Vegas under cover of darkness. In fact this is the worlds largest nightime running event. Couple this with running the entire length of the Las Vegas strip, both directions, with thousands and thousands of spectators at the roadside cheering you on! It is easy to see why this is a such a great race. Furtermore, what better place in the world than Las Vegas, to host a race such as this, at night! The only down side is; it is the only race in the world that I have participated; in where you can actually smell the cigarette smoke in the air. It is difficult to tell whether it is pouring out of the casinos while you run past or pouring out of the lungs of the spectators cheering you on. Beyond that, this has been a well-organized race since Competitor group purchased it in 2009. Many of you that know me are aware of the fact that I lived in Las Vegas for nearly a decade. During this time, I had the opportunity to participate in the Las Vegas Marathon on two other occasions. This year marks my 4th race. Las Vegas has an allure about it. This allure reaches far beyond the famous strip and has the ability to pull me back multiple times per year. In 2011, Ironman moved the 70.3 World Championships to Las Vegas from Clearwater Florida. This movement caused the Triathlon world to take notice of the wealth of resources the Las Vegas valley has to provide athletes. With over 300 days of sunshine, mild winters and less the 4.5 inches of rain annually, Las Vegas has become a cycling mecca. Many professional athletes live in the community and many more flock there to train on the endless miles of pristine blacktop that graces the Lake Mead Recreation Area. Last year, I had hoped to cross the finish line in 3:30 or better. Unfortunately I fell short of that mark at 3:41.06. I had a solid race but had too much left in the tank near the end and I realized that I should have pushed harder. Race officials also made a crucial error in setting up the course at the Marathon & Half Marathon Merge. 35+thousand half marathon participants merged with the 13,000 marathon participants and the bottle neck caused many runners to stop dead in their tracks with simply no road to run on. I actually found myself running on the sidewalk and dodging people left and right to find road to run on. This year the course has been modified to prevent this from happening again. As this race is a Boston Qualifier, many Marathoners were upset that their chances of qualifying were stripped from them simply due to poor planning. Marathon specific training is very different from Triathlon training. As a triathlete, we swim, bike and run. these sports are uniquely intertwined and a weakness in one can dramatically impact your ability to perform another. Marathon specific training involves a significant amount of long runs, speed-work and recovery. Furthermore, many of the Elite Marathoners only run 1 or 2 Marathon’s per year. This is due to the breakdown and impact the Marathon has on the body. This year because of a nagging knee injury, I have decided to run the ½ Marathon and have set no expectations except to enjoy the race with my wife and family. I often follow this mantra; it’s not about the pace it’s about the journey. My journey back to Las Vegas this weekend will be about enjoying the company of old friends, family and a bike ride down memory lane. All I have left to do now is cross my fingers and toes! Here's to Rocking the W in 2013! T minus 10 days and counting!!!
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