Race Day! First and foremost, we made it to the race on time despite the one hour time difference. I’d gotten a great night’s sleep and woke up ready to run after two full days of sitting; first in the car on the way over and the day before just lounging around.
Pre race prep
Thankfully, we’d learned the day before that the travel trailer does not like my little travel toaster. I set off the smoke alarm in the trailer twice while trying to toast bread for my lunch. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the toaster but apparently it doesn’t agree with the smoke alarm. So, to avoid the smoke alarm going off at 4 A.M. I created a little set up outside of the trailer to toast my Ezekiel English Muffins. Thank goodness for external power outlets on trailers!
Breakfast consisted of my normal pre long run food. I live by the rule of nothing new on race day. I ate an Ezekiel English Muffin with almond butter, a banana and of course, my beets and vinegar. We were in the car and on the way to the high school for the start of the race by 5:45 A.M.
Selecting my race kit
Picking out race day shoes can be so hard for me. I went back and forth between my Saucony Speed 2’s and 3’s. I decided quickly against my ASICS Novablast 2’s because they can feel a bit heavy and don’t have Speedroll for a comfortable, bouncy feeling at faster paces. In the end, I decided to wear my Saucony Speed 2’s but not before walking and jogging around the house with one of each shoe on each foot to see which one rebounded better. They both felt good but the 2’s slightly edged out the 3’s in forefoot comfort. Thereby, becoming my race day shoe.
The weather was supposed to be in the upper 40’s to mid-50’s and cloudy which is exactly what I’ve been running in for the past few weeks. So, I knew exactly what to wear to be comfortable. I wore capri leggings, a technical t-shirt, long sleeve pullover, and gloves that I would take off around mile 4 and put in the side pocket of my capri’s.
I had my Run Pro Shokz headphones and I listened to my Harry Potter book the entire time. I thought I might switch to music at the end to get my pace up but I never even considered it. I’m in a really good part of the book, so I just enjoyed the story and my run.
Starting line
This was one of the easiest races to navigate to and park at that we’ve ever been to. There were buses available for runners to get transported to the start line from the Tropicana Casino. However, with someone driving me there was no reason to add that extra time and stress. I also turned out that the final bus was a little late which pushed our start time out about 10 minutes. The only downside I found to this race was that there was only one bathroom in the gym where the runners gathered to wait. It made for a long line and it was getting close to the start time. It ended up being fine and it was really nice not having to use a Port-a-Potty!
Race musings
The course started off in the main parking lot of the school. It wound down to the bottom of the school for a lap around the school’s track which was really nice. I’d never run on a track before so that was a new experience for me. Then, we headed up our first incline out of the school and up the highway toward the dam road.
I’m happy to report that all of my hill training paid off in dividends. The hill was long but not really steep. It was exactly like the bikeway path that I’ve been running on for the past several weeks for my long runs. It has a gradual incline the entire way with small reprieves where it will either lessen the grade or decline a little before returning to the incline.
Then, all of a sudden we reached the end of the incline and crested the hill to a glorious, very long downhill stretch along the highway. The views went on for miles and miles with mountains as far as you could see in the distance and all around. It was breathtaking and I was completely distracted by the scenery. Quite out of nowhere I was passing the mile 5 marker and heading to the dam road.
There was a young, teenage girl off to the side of the road who looked like she was in distress. When I stopped to ask if she was okay she burst into tears. My heart completely broke for her. I comforted her for a minute and she was able to put a plan in place to take care of herself. She wasn’t injured but distraught, just the same. I saw her later in the race as we passed going in different directions. She was still running but she looked like she was struggling. Poor thing had a really hard race that day but I was happy to see she persevered.
The dam hill and river crossing
As I turned the corner at the bottom of the hill to head toward the dam I looked at the hill in front of me. It looked exactly like the half mile hill that I run every Monday on hill repeat days. It was steep and long, at least from my perspective at the bottom of it. However, as I started up it I realized it was not quite as steep as my hill at home. My heart rate climbed and I slowed my pace a bit. I was able to run the entire hill and at the top I was rewarded with a beautiful view of the Colorado river.
It’s kind of funny that the draw of this race was that you could run a half marathon in two states and two time zones in one race. However, after staying in Arizona and going back and forth across the river into Nevada now twice during the trip, that concept sort of lost its specialness. So, when I crossed the river on the dam and saw the marker noting the two states, I just kept running. I noted it but didn’t see a point in stopping and taking a picture.
What I found most special about the dam crossing is that I don’t believe this is open to the public on a normal basis. There were gates and car barricades leading to the road, so I did especially appreciate that privilege from running this race.
The middle miles
I was having such a good time that I forgot to take my second gel. I’d taken my first gel at mile 4, as I usually do. Then, my second one was supposed to be at mile 7 but I forgot about it until about 8 ½ miles. I had two Huma gels and one Maurten’s gel with me and planned to take them at miles 4, 7 and 10. Since I missed the second one, I pushed the last gel out to mile 11.
Miles 9 through 12 were the most scenic as they ran through a new walking/running path and parks that follow along the edge of the Colorado river and next to a cliff side. I just watched the river flowing past me and listened to the birds for these miles. I was so engrossed in the scenery that I was shocked at how fast the mile markers kept coming up.
With so much downhill running in this race I was making much faster time than I’d anticipated. I had already passed two pacer groups that I seen early on in the race and I knew I was making much better time than I had expected. I was worried that my sister would be late to meet me at the finish line if I didn’t give her a head’s up, so I texted her at mile 12 to tell her where I was. It turns out she’d been tracking my progress on her iPhone and was rushing to finish what she was doing because she could see I was getting close to the finish.
Finish line
The last mile of the race runs down the main casino strip and ends in front of the Tropicana Casino. This isn’t the prettiest part of the run because it’s in the city but it’s certainly the most populated. I thanked each of the officers standing by their cars blocking traffic as I ran by them.
I crossed over the finish line with a 16 minute personal best time over my previous half marathons and I placed 6th in my age group among 25 other women. I attribute some of that time to the lengthy downhill sections but I also give myself credit for all my hill training. Being able to run up the hills absolutely made a huge difference in my performance in this race. The total elevation gain over the entire course was 682 ft and the total elevation loss was 1,129 ft.
Post race recovery
Following the race I stayed with my normal recovery and refueling plan of a Skratch vegan chocolate recovery drink and Nelly’s peanut butter protein bar. We hung out at the awards ceremony for a little while and tried to find my name on the photo background banner. We finally lost interest and decided it must have included names from another year because my name was nowhere to be found on it.
To celebrate, we went out to dinner at the one and only healthy restaurant I could find in the area that served both vegan and gluten free options. If you are ever in the neighborhood of Bullhead City, Arizona, it’s called Pro-Fit-Kitchen and I highly recommend it. The food was delicious and the peope were extremely friendly. I had the Impossible Vegan Burger with sweet potato fries (no cheese) and a Super Beetz juice.
Later that night we finished our celebration with a mini bottle of sparkling wine and chocolate truffles we found at the local Safeway. Don’t knock it. It was awesome!
Final thoughts
I wish I could recommend this race for anyone to do next year but sadly, we learned just before race day that the race has lost its sponsorship funding. The race organizers are still hoping to find new financing and if they do then they may be able to continue the race but possibly with a different course. The road closures and police assistance alone costs the race $35,000 according to their email. I really hope they can find a new sponsor since this was one of the friendliest races I’ve come across. It wasn’t a large race with only about 250 participants but the heart was big and they were very well organized. I hope for them that they can find a way through their tough times. If they do, then don’t hesitate to sign up and make a trip of it.
Final race finisher medal. Last event after 8 years running.
Workout
- Half marathon tune up race – 13.1 miles
- 4 miles conversational pace
- 6 miles at or above race pace due to downhills
- 3.1 miles faster than race pace
Way to go girl !