The Las Vegas Marathon

The trip started Friday right after work. We loaded up the bags, gave a goodbye hug to the dogs (who stayed with a friend), and the three of us piled into the car for the long journey to Los Angeles. Five hours, a few pit stops, and one sleepy child later we arrived at my cousin Kristi’s house for the night. Since we got in after 10pm, it was basically a quick “hello” and then all of us were off to bed. In the morning Landon got in some play time with his cousin Sophie while the grown-ups got situated for the four hour drive to Vegas…Kristi’s husband Kris was also going to run the full marathon with us (his 19^th…what an accomplishment!), while Kristi, her brother Brandon, and little Sophs rooted us on with the rest of the family. The drive was pretty uneventful and before we knew it we were in VEGAS BABY, VEGAS!!!

The vast majority of us were staying at the Luxor, and for those of you that don’t know, it’s a ginormous pyramid right on the Vegas strip. The really cool/goofy thing about the hotel is the elevators that actually go diagonally instead of up and down. It’s a very odd sensation when you first get in there and I think Michaela got motion sick on more than one occasion. As we got in fairly late in the day on Saturday, we headed straight over to the Run Expo to check in and look around….little did we know, it was also the Cowboy’s Christmas Gift Convention as well…so when we tried to park there were about a million “double-wide” trucks lined up in the parking lot which made it fairly difficult to squeeze our Xterra in there. We eventually found a spot, maneuvered through the ten gallon hats and big-ass belt buckles, and made it to the Expo. After cruising around for a bit we headed back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of our posse and went to get some grub at the Luxor buffet and then it was off to an early bed for the big race the next day.

Waking up at 4:30am typically sucks, but when you’ve been sitting in bed for an hour thinking about the 26.2 miles you’re about to cover, the alarm is actually a welcome sound. Michaela and I did our typical pre-run preparations and headed downstairs to meet the crew. For the record, Michaela, Kris, her cousin Brandon, Adam, and I all ran the full marathon. Michaela’s Uncles David and Chris, Aunts Susan and Debra, and cousin Katie all ran the half marathon.

As we headed out to the strip it really started to “set in” what we were doing and how many people were actually there. I don’t know the final headcount but there was something like 30,000 people there…the streets were lined with people of all types, including hundreds of Elvis', Santa Claus', and Elves…and speaking of lines, don’t even ask about the wait for a “Port-O-Potty” before the race!

Michaela and I both set a goal of completing the run in under 4 hours, which we thought would be very challenging for us, but doable.

The Fiver Marathoners decided to run the first half together, and then we’d all settle in on our own pace. As the gun sounded, we all gave each other high fives and got to it. With so many people there, it was a little tough to run through the crowds and we were all bobbing and weaving for most of the first half. Brandon was self-proclaimed to be the “least-trained” for the run, but he really did great. He was actually pushing the rest of us the most by sprinting ahead, then falling back to us after a few minutes before doing it again. By the time mile 13 rolled around we were all feeling pretty good, except for our bladders which were ready to explode. As I mentioned before Kris is a very-experienced runner and to be honest with you, we probably held him back more than he’d have liked but he was really cool about running with us for those first miles. At the half-way point the rest of us did a quick pit stop for a potty break while Kris let loose on the course. While it was one of the quickest potty breaks ever, those two short minutes would come back to haunt Michaela at the end.

I was first out of the john with Michaela shortly thereafter. I decided it was time to hit my stride and pick up the pace. The back half of the course is full of switch-backs so we were able to see each other every so often. In fact, I determined that I was only about 2-3 minutes behind Kris and a few minutes ahead of Michaela. Brandon had to work through what looked like a knee or cramp issue so he fell back a ways and Adam (who came into the race with a bad knee but was determined to finish) came in after that. The course was pretty flat but there were a couple of unexpected hills towards the end of the run that kept us on our toes.

I ended up walking through each of the aid stations where I’d gulp an energy drink, then another cup of water before running again. I knew I was going to be close to the four-hour mark, but unfortunately my iPod crapped out on me around mile 22 so I really couldn’t tell if I was going to make it or not. All I could do was run as hard as I could until my legs told me I had to walk for a while. Michaela and I both agreed that we hit spots on the course where we knew we needed to pick up our pace, were telling our legs to go faster, but our legs were telling us “hell no! We’re done!”.

As I hit the mile 25 marker I got that late-surge that I was hoping I’d have and I started picking up my pace again. I passed in front of our hotel and saw Landon with Papa Steve and Nana Rachael cheering me on…”You’re almost there! It’s just around the corner!” they cheered…”Wow, just around the corner…I can go faster!” I thought….so I accelerated again….as I turned the corner into Mandalay Bay all I saw were more runners and no sign of a finish line….”Oh damn. I can’t keep this up” I realized….so I reigned it back in a couple of notches before I fell over right then and there. I could hear the announcer on the microphone though and doing the math in my head I figured I had to be close….as I rounded the next corner I saw it….”Let’s go!” I thought and lowered my head and went for it. I passed quite a few people in that last home stretch, even though the only thing I was actually racing was that little clock. As I crossed the finish line I stretched my arms out in triumph….”I just ran a marathon! Yes!”…..I walked as gingerly as I could over to grab two water bottles for me and one for Michaela who I knew would be coming soon. I had a “you finished” medal placed around my neck, I turned and waited for my wife to come charging in as I knew she would. I wished the clock that was mounted on the finish would show our official times, but it just shows the race time, and since we crossed the starting line a good 15-20 minutes later, it told me nothing.

After a few minutes I could see her charging past people with her infamous last-charge that she’s so good at. I was waiting with a bottle of water and a hug as she finished, and we both realized that the four months of training that we put in had finally lead us here. Our official times, which we’d get later in the day were 3:56:20 (Dustin) and 4:01:44 (Michaela)….yup, that two-minute potty break cost her…I couldn’t be more proud of her, but she’s determined to either wear Depends or “just go” next time. Ha!

Kris finished his 19^th marathon in 3:52 (we think we cost him a good 5-10 minutes in that first half), and both Brandon and Adam finished their first marathons, even with injury. All things considered, we all felt a mixture of satisfaction, relief, and exhaustion on Sunday evening. After the run Michaela somehow found enough energy to go with Rachael and Landon to the local aquarium to see sharks while I sat on the couch, drank beer, and watched football with Steve. Let me tell you, that was about as sore as I’ve ever been in my life.

Sunday night we met up with Adam and his parents for celebratory burgers and drinks. We packed up our bags, and on Monday morning we headed to Santa Monica for the second leg of our trip…this time…Disneyland!....

To be continued…