Running On The Strip

This weekend I was in Las Vegas. My run Saturday was set for just twelve miles. We were staying right near The Strip so I decided to get in my 12 miles by running there. It was awesome!! I started out just after 6 am and it was still completely dark outside. I ran out to Las Vegas Blvd and all the Vegas Strip lights were still on. There were still some inebriated stranglers roaming the streets. Guess they hadn't been home yet after having some fun the night before? It was quite interesting. Anyways, I headed south on the strip. It was a little apprehensive at first being in an unfamiliar area in the dark and especially with what Vegas is known for. But once I saw a few other runners out, I relaxed. I was surprised by the amount of above the street walkways. This was nice because I didn't have to wait at every intersection for a walk signal. But it also meant LOTS of stairs to climb! There were escalators and elevators, but I was running -- why would I take those? I was just amazed by all the lights and it's always exciting to explore a new place on a run. Once I got nearer to the south end of the strip, the sun began to rise. It was absolutely beautiful with the mountains in the background. I took some detours down some side streets to get my mileage in and then headed back up the strip. By now, the inebriated folks had made it home to sleep and the streets were now full of the older generation with their Starbucks coffee. Oh and of course lots of other runners! I was actually surprised by how many there were out. It's always a good feeling seeing other runners out like you. My dad met me for the last 20 minutes or so and then we stopped at Starbucks before heading back to the condo.

Vegas was fun! I ran Sunday (easy 30 minutes) and Monday was supposed to be 30 minutes or off. But I just couldn't resist getting a nice longer run in on the strip so I did an hour and switched Tuesday as my off day. By the last 20 minutes or so of my Monday run, my legs were just beat. I had done TONS of walking in the previous days. I finished the run fine but reverted to walking the stairs.

Tomorrow we cap our endurance training at 22 miles. I'm excited but as usual a bit nervous. We'll see how it goes!!