I couldn’t have been more depressed this year when I waited too long and was denied entry into the 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon. Having participated in four of the last five races (missing the inaugural race in 2006), this weekend became an annual family vacation that we all looked forward too. We had already booked our room so we simply moved our reservation to Halloween weekend to make sure our kids (and my wife) got their “Disney fix” for the year.

We usually go to Disneyland at least two times a year and we’re hard core. We’re at the gate when it opens and don’t leave until the last firework has been shot. That’s a long day anywhere but when it’s Disney, there’s a lot of walking involved. One a normal race weekend, we run the 5K the day before and then I run the half marathon the following day. Both days we hit the parks immediately afterwards. No rest for the weary they say!!!

I’ve always wondered how far we really walk on a typical day at Disneyland so I wore my Garmin one day on our vacation and the result surprised me. During the course of a 13 hour day, we walked exactly 12 miles. 12 miles!!! On any other given day if I had to convince my kids that we were going to walk 12 miles, it would never EVER happen. I specifically did not tell them I was tracking our distance because I knew the mere mention of how far we had gone would have landed us in the hotel before you’d know it.

Even though I didn’t get to race in the Disney Half Marathon this year, I did nearly get all my miles in with my family in one fail swoop. If I’ve learned anything over the past year, it’s register for your favorite races early or you’re going to miss out.

RMFR

So many times we get caught up in our training runs that we forget how enjoyable running can be when we put all that other crap else behind us. Such was the case with me last week.

Coming off what I considered a somewhat disappointing Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas Marathon, I was entering a runner’s low. I took off the whole week before starting up training for the Walt Disney World Marathon. I needed a recharge and it came with snow.

Las Vegas occasionally gets snow every winter and this year has been no different. Instead of putting in a short easy run to get the muscles firing again, I put on the trail shoes and headed up to the white fluffy stuff. Overnight, mother nature had deposited a nice dusting of snow up in the foothills. Since running in snow is something I don’t get to do that often, this was a situation I had to take advantage of!!!

I had my Garmin but didn’t look at it once. Instead I let myself blend in with God’s creation and tried to take everything in. I stopped. I walked. I even thru a couple of snowballs. When I reached a point to turn back, I took photos. I even took the time to call my dad and share with him the beauty that surrounded me. This was running for the pure enjoyment of it. I didn’t care what my mile splits were. I didn’t have any goal except to be one with the moment. Yes, my batteries are recharged and I’m going to try and remember that running IS enjoyable. If it’s not any fun, why do it?

RMFR

The Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas Marathon is in my backyard and it’s my fourth time running some form of this race. I thought I’d be as helpful as possible and breakdown the marathon course for first timers and those of you traveling to our wonderful city to run this event. First of all, congratulations to the Competitor Group for a marathon route that is 100x better than previous routes. After running my first marathon on the old course, I promised myself that I wouldn’t run it again until they changed it. For those of you running the half marathon, you’ll be basically running the entire race on the strip.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the course and I will try to answer them the best I can.

RNR Las Vegas Marathon Course

Mile 1 (Ascent 38 ft./Descent 4 ft.) –  If you’re aiming for a PR, beware of the first mile. Since they’re shutting down both sides of Las Vegas Boulevard, the marathon is starting south – instead of north like previous years. This fact doesn’t concern me. Near the airport and the train tracks, the course turns north to the other side of the street. If the organizers expect 15,000 runners to squeeze thru the opening left by the tracks, it’s going to be tricky. Even if they turn us around at the stop light at Sunset Road, it could cause a backlog – especially for those back in the pack.

Mile 2 (Ascent 29 ft./Descent 43 ft.) – After navigating our hairpin turn, it’s back towards the start and Mandalay Bay. Could get interesting if there are a bunch of early morning flights since we’ll be running adjacent to the airport.

Mile 3 (Ascent 94 ft./Descent 73 ft.) – Here is where the sightseeing really picks up. As you near Tropicana Avenue, the Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, Tropicana and MGM hotels dominate the skyline. There’s usually tons of people during this section. Watch for spectators on the walkways over the strip. There is some construction right around 2 1/2 miles on the left side of the road. Not sure if it’s still going to be there in two weeks but it could cause some backups. Try to stay to the right side of the road if possible.

Mile 4 (Ascent 214 ft./Descent 280 ft.) – Don’t let the elevations fool you because any grades are gentle. Our newest behemoth, City Center, looms on your left and check out the huge video screen at the apply named “Miracle Mile Shops” at Planet Hollywood – there’s usually a running message on it on race day. I don’t seem to recall if the Bellagio Fountains or Mirage Volcano were on during past events but there’s always the possibility.

Mile 5 (Ascent 171 ft./Descent 195 ft.) – Remember the Fashion Show Mall. That’s where we will be turning on our return trip down Las Vegas Boulevard. Besides the Wynn, we start to leave the glamour and glitz behind.

Mile 6 (Ascent 14 ft./Descent 28 ft.) – Not a lot going on here. We’ll pass the Riviera, Circus Circus and Sahara and some construction. This section is really flat. Might be able to really find your stride in this section and the pack should be thinned out.

Miles 7 – 9 (Ascent 107 ft./Descent 148 ft.) – Here we’re heading towards downtown Las Vegas. Previous routes went down to Fremont Street but we’re spared that this year. The turnaround comes at Garces Avenue and the route winds thru some older residential neighborhoods and commercial/industrial buildings before reconnecting with Las Vegas Boulevard heading back south.

Mile 10 (Ascent 68 ft./Descent 63 ft.) – Déjá vu will strike as we head back. It will be interesting to see how many people you’ll see on the other side of the course. Depending on how fast you are it could be quite a site.

Mile 11 (Ascent 108 ft./Descent 56 ft.) – Right around 10 1/2 miles the route turns west at the Fashion Show Mall and Treasure Island. At the second light we veer off Spring Mountain Road to Mel Torme Way (you’d be amazed at some of the streets we have named for entertainers around here) and down to Industrial Rd. There is some construction on Industrial so mind your step.

Mile 12 (Ascent 132 ft./Descent 64 ft.) - Driving this was confusing but it should be well marked to get onto Twain Ave. Here we meet our first real incline as we pass under Interstate 15. It’s not that long but could zap you a little if your not ready for it.

Mile 13 (Ascent 63 ft./Descent 39 ft.) - Twain is basically uphill since the Strip lies in a valley. It’s a gradual ascent and the street is nice and wide. At almost 13 miles the route turns south on Decatur Boulevard.

Miles 14 & 15 (Ascent 77 ft./Descent 56 ft.) - Decatur is mainly a commercial street and it should be easy sailing along this stretch. There are some inclines but they’re not that bad.

Mile 16 (Ascent 81 ft./Descent 29 ft.) - Make Hacienda Avenue your friend because you’ll be seeing a lot of it for the rest of the way (about 8 miles of it). Mile 16 comes right after Jones Boulevard and is blocks away from where I work. I’ve run on Hacienda countless times and is one of my favorite city streets to run on. The incline is gradual and we’ll be running thru residential neighborhoods.

Mile 17 (Ascent 70 ft./Descent 10 ft.) - For those in dire need, we’ll be passing Spring Valley Hospital at Rainbow Boulevard (although I’d suggest having someone take you to St. Rose Dominican Hospitals San Martín Campus a few minutes away – shameless plug for a client). The route also brings another hairpin turn into play. Once we get to Rainbow, we turn north towards Tropicana Avenue and double back to Hacienda. There is a gentle incline/decline on Rainbow that may come into play – depends on how tired you are.

Miles 18 – 20 (Ascent 168 ft./Descent 98 ft.) - Back on Hacienda, we run up the backside of the Spanish Trail Country Club. It’s filled with some high end homes and I have to assume they will be more than a little annoyed that this street will be closed. This section of Hacienda is my favorite. There’s not much going on as far as scenery but it’s just a straight simple road that’s fun to run on. Again it’s uphill but it’s gentle.

Mile 21 – 24 (Ascent 92 ft./Descent 197 ft.) - It’s all downhill from here!!! How many times have you heard that? That gentle incline we just went up now turns into a gentle downhill. Enough to keep you headed in the right direction but not so much that it will tear up your hamstrings. The Strip comes back into view here too. On the first part The Hotel will be right smack dab in front of you and then the Luxor will dominate your view. The elevation change is skewed slightly because we hit a nice bridge over the railroad tracks right before mile 24. This could be our version of Heartbreak Hill.

Mile 25 (Ascent 46 ft./Descent 85 ft.) - There’s another climb on the bridge over Interstate 15 down to the Luxor. Let’s call it Heartbreak Hill Too.

Mile 26.2 (Ascent 157 ft./Descent 234 ft.) - I think my Garmin started smoking crack at this point. It’s flat to the finish. A lap around a Luxor parking structure gets us down to Frank Sinatra Drive (remember what I said about street names) to the back of Mandalay Bay to the finish. If it’s like any of the race finishes before, they’ll have a huge setup in one of the parking lots. There’s tons of room for spectators, food and rubdowns.

Total Ascent: 1,730 ft.
Total Descent: 1,704 ft.
*Approximate since my Garmin obviously has a drug problem.

Can’t wait until race day!!! Hope everybody’s training went well and you’re heading into the event injury free.

RMFR

With the 2009 Portland Marathon quickly approaching and race day now only 6 days away, my wife has thrown down the ultimate challenge… RUN THE PORTLAND MARATHON WITHOUT MY GARMIN!

Can you say…Race plan? Splits? Pace? Heart Rate? How in the world am I going to stick to my plan? She contends that I don’t need to run with the watch because I know my body and fitness level so well that I will “know” where I am, and frankly, “who cares!” Meaning, I should run free, run for fun, run because I have trained hard and let the chips fall where they fall.

Is she crazy? Or is it just me? I am honestly struggling with this dare. Especially coming from your wife…this is a serious test. In part I have to agree with her, but the obsessive, perfectionist side of me says “stick to your plan and monitor your performance as you go”.

As you can tell, I am torn by this dare. Largely in part, due to the fact that I am the ultimate competitor and want to prove to her that I could run Portland or any other marathon for that matter without my watch and still PR…after all it’s not the damn watch that is doing the running, its my LEGS  and HEAD.

With that said, I am putting it out there to the running world for a survey!

Run with the Garmin:

a. YES
b. NO

It happens every time I travel to run in a race. “What did I forget?” On the eve before I pack up the family to spend 5 well earned days in the California sun (and smoke), I know I’m going to leave something behind. I procrastinate and pack the night before (opposed to my wife whose been packed for 3 weeks). This always leads to me scrambling to get my running gear together.

[x] Shoes
[x] Socks (different kinds for different conditions and moods)
[x] Shirt and shorts (warm and cold options)
[x] Band-aids and Vaseline
[x] Garmin and sunglasses
[x] Clif shot gels and Tiger’s Milk energy bars

Yep, I’m ready…or am I? I’ll lose sleep over it tonight although I know that anything I forgot will be readily available at the expo. Feel free to comment if I forgot something obvious. I’ll be back on Wednesday with race reports of Mickey’s Main Street U.S.A. 5K and the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon.

You ever have one of those luxury items that you think you can’t live without but it’s priced high enough that you can never pull the trigger? I’ve been drooling and fantasizing about getting a Garmin watch for years – three to be exact. After visiting my first Expo at the Las Vegas Marathon in 1996, I sat thru a 15 minute demonstration followed by a 15 minute Q&A with one of the Garmin representatives. I was hooked from the minute I saw my reflection staring back at me thru the water resistant watch face.

Fast forward three years and I finally have my Garmin Forerunner 205 (thanks mom and dad). How DID I live without this modern miracle of the 21st century? I’m a statistics guy and I’ve found every way possible to analyze my runs (during my run and after). Has it improved my running? form? pace? endurance? Maybe.

When it comes down to it, I don’t care. I love to know that my last run had an ascent/descent of 688 ft. I love to see how high I can get my max speed and how long I was able to hold an 8:30 pace. The GPS watch isn’t the end-all-be-all…but to me, it’s close.

First, let me say that I’m guilty. Guilty as the rest of you. From the minute I started running, I read the articles, scoured running stores and purchased nearly every gadget, gizmo and accessory I could get me hands on. When asked about gifts for birthdays and Christmas, I’m more than willing to ask for latest “need” that will enhance my running experience. So the culmination of all these purchases has now left me a “Running Gizmo”.

Think about why you got into running. For me it was easy – I didn’t need to have a lot of stuff to run. All you needed were a pair of shoes. That’s it. You didn’t need the latest breakthrough in footwear. Lace ‘em up and run. Period. As time wore on, you checked out the stores and slipped on the glass slipper that is now your running shoe of choice and you can’t imagine life without them. You run at night and need to see, so you get your head lamp. Don’t forget about hydrating on your 18 milers – put on your CamelBak. iPod’s, Garmin GPS watches, heart monitors, Shoe Wallets, braces, Road I.D. tags and even some protection to beat off dogs, coyotes and old ladies in walkers – they all serve a purpose.

As my running has progressed thru the years, so has my gear. Love it, hate it or come to terms with it. It’s what I am…a “Running Gizmo”.

I’ve been struggling as of late so I thought I’d throw a wrench into the workout routine. I went on a trail run. I know for most of you, this isn’t a novel idea but for me I’ve been an “Urban Warrior” since I started running. The crazy thing is, it’s not like I have to go very far to get to the desert and trails – less than a 1/4 mile.

I live on the west side of Las Vegas adjacent to the Spring Mountains and the Red Rock Conservation Area. There’s a lot of construction going on and it’s amazing how easy it was to run up there. There are semi-graded roads that could literally hold four lanes of traffic. This morning, the most they held was myself and a couple of bunnies.

Here’s an aerial of the area (from what I can measure online, it’s about 3 miles up to the first outcroppings of red rock). NOTE: If my family or friends want to know what to get me for my birthday in June, click here or here!!!

I was really hoping for some spirituality this morning taking in God’s creations (being one with my surroundings) and with “God Skys” (right B?) it was looking good from the beginning.

My son doesn't call these "God Skys" but says that people go to heaven by going up the rays of the sun to God.

The climb was steep but I didn’t think about it much. With my mantra by my side and trying to figure out which way to go, it didn’t take too long to reach my destination.

This goes back forever and I can't wait to get a descent pair of trail shoes and an entire morning to explore how far back these trails goes.

The way back down was a piece of cake and took about 15 minutes less than it took to get up here. I “hanked” a left when I should have gone straight and came out 1/2 mile from where I entered. It’s funny how things look entirely strange from a different perspective.

This photo is from my highest point. The red circle indicates the Las Vegas strip. The yellow circle is the Red Rock Resort.

The point of this entire post is that changing things up is good…no GREAT!!! Was I fully energized? No. Was I fully in a meditative state with God? No. Was my running desire restored? You bet your “Slump Buster”!!! Now I’m going to pick up a pair of Nike Air Terra Humara’s tomorrow.