Running on Eddie

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

The rest of the southwest trip

Notice the family resemblance?

Introduction

I did a lot more than run my marathon on my trip to Arizona and vacation in Las Vegas. I was able to stay at my brother's apartment in Tempe for the weekend and while I didn't get to visit the hotspots or do the Super Bowl in Glendale, I did get to do a few cool things:

Saturday Night

After my marathon I pretty much huddled in bed and whimpered. Well, not really whimper, but if you've run a marathon, you know what I mean. I pretty much spent the afternoon wanting to do something (over caffeinated) and wanted to sleep (but I couldn't because I was over caffeinated).

Shari and I did have to go to her best friend's house in Goodyear Arizona. All of her high school girlfriends were going to be there for a reunion of sorts. I've always gotten along with everyone there (as their husbands would also be there) so it was an evening of conversation and food. Shari was worried I'd be a sour puss (I tend to get crabby after long runs) but I will say I was chipper enough.

Sunday Morning

Cactus outside Casino Arizona

We had another busy day planned with Shari's friends. But first off we needed food and I was ravenous. We opted to go Casino Arizona and hit up their breakfast buffet. My brother, Tom, lives right around the corner and I anticipated it being a zoo with a long wait. Luckily the wait wasn't bad at all.

For $16.95 a piece, the buffet was a bit spendy. However, you did get champagne (which we didn't touch) and they had crack-your-own crab legs. I was expecting tiny shoe-string size crab legs, but these were huge and they really didn't require much effort to snag the prize. The food was pretty decent and I easily cleaned up there.

I wasn't that impressed with the casino. I didn't find very many machines I was itching to play and I wound up circling the joint watching others play. My mother in law dropped a good hundred there in short time and Shari played a little of her winnings from the Mirage but wasn't getting anything. I wound up getting a nice bonus round (including a re-trigger) on Bally's Lucky Money Tree that netted me a profit of $40. I stuffed that in my pocket and quickly took off.

Sunday Afternoon + Evening

We came back to Tom's apartment before cleaning up and heading to another one of Shari's girlfriend's condos for a pre Super Bowl party. I hung around there for about an hour and a half. Shari and her friends were going to a sports bar, while I would drive back and spend some quality time with my brother.

We wound up watching the Super Bowl together and I worked on my blog a bit, putting up my marathon recap. The game was fun to watch, but to be honest, I couldn't make up my mind which team I disliked more so I had no emotional investment in it.

Monday Morning + Afternoon

We wound up taking off just shy of noon to Vegas. The weather was sunny and warm, which netted an opportunity to take some great desert photos.

I will say that Utah still the best in terms of speed limits. We don't mess around. Arizona must be limp wristed. I am driving in the middle of the desert and the speed limit was 65mph. Come on! And there were tons of cops sitting in ditches with radar guns waiting to tag people. I was a good driver and kept it reasonable, even though I was dying to be back in Utah.

A few miles south is the area of my marathon

Cactus

Desolated areas

Rodeo outside Wickenburg, AZ

Joshua Tree Forest

Crazy Rock Formations

Cactus while getting gas in Wikieup

Approaching Lake Mead Area

All in all, the trip took about 4 hours or so.

Monday Night

To break up the trip, we opted to spend the night at Sunset Station in Henderson, about 15 minutes drive away from the strip. The room was pretty cheap $34, but they nailed us with the stupid resort fee bringing the total over $50.

I was starving as I hadn't had much to eat the whole trip, so we jumped into the buffet. We managed to get the lunch prices just as it was turning into dinner... score! Shari and I were already club card members, so we ate for about $8.99 each.

This buffet didn't have much premium stuff like shrimp or crab legs but it certainly had enough to keep me filled. I wound up inhaling a TON of food. The buffet decor reminded me of the Red Rock Resort. For the price, I felt like it was worth it, but I didn't feel it was a steal. Food was good, but not the best buffet I've ever had. I loved the over sized plates and utensils though. They mean business there!

Never can have enough dessert

After eating we gambled a bit. Shari's mom continued losing. I played for several hours but really didn't get anything. I was really getting frustrated and maybe I'd win a bit, but more often than not, I was getting very little back for my money and my wallet was getting considerably thinner.

The casino was filled with a TON of older machines. I've never seen more video poker and old school WMS machines. I am not a big fan of those types, but I do enjoy dabbling with video poker. Also I discovered the video black jack didn't allow splits or double downs -- total rip off. For a huge place I was kind of disappointed with the offerings and again spent more time circling the casino than actually playing something I really like (hint: get some Fu Dao Le machines). They had a bowling alley and a cinema, but no poker room. I wasn't really impressed with the comps I received either. I've gotten a lot more in Wendover or the Boyd Casinos.

Shari was the only one who had a little bit of luck and we wound up calling it a night close to 10pm.

I slept pretty well and for the price, the room was very nice. Not as big as Wendover's Montego Bay, but spacious enough. I'd stay here again for sure:

Tuesday

I was up and rearing to go back to Utah. I was really tired of gambling and running around. I simply wanted to kick back in my own house / bed.

I got Shari and her mom coffee and jumped into the buffet line. I wound up using my comps so I had breakfast for a whopping $4.37. Like the lunch, there wasn't much premium stuff on the menu. I did have a nice omelette and polished off at least half a dozen oranges. Once again, I was like a bottomless pit.

While Shari and her mom ate after they had gotten dressed (it takes them a minimum of 60 minutes), I wound up dabbing with the machines. I am happy to report I probably made a very small profit. I'd put in $5, win a few bucks and move on. I was just happy to come up on a positive note for once.

Shari and her mom did some gambling. Shari won a $100 on a Rumble Rumble machine but dumped another $50 trying to do a repeat. Shari's mom continued to hemorrhage money and by noon we hit the road. It was largely smooth sailing but we stopped in Scipio and Cedar City (we had a very brief lunch at the Dairy Queen there) for gas and bathroom breaks. It wasn't until close to 8pm that I finally arrived home.

Conclusion

Gambling-wise this trip was a bummer. I hate gambling on the Strip because I know it is a sucker's bet. However, they were the only ones with Fu Dao Le machines. I am sort of disappointed how the premium stuff on the Strip has disappeared. I don't think I had a piece of shrimp the entire trip and the buffets and offerings seem parred down. I hate to say it, but I kept saying, "I remember the good old days". I must be getting old.

Shari and I had hoped to see a bit more of Arizona. It is on our radar of "some day" moving there. Part of the trip down there was to ascertain whether we would like it. For me, I wasn't sold on it. I can't imagine running in 115 degree weather and getting up at 5AM to get my miles in doesn't appeal to me at all. Having the casinos close by is both good and bad. I like to gamble but I hate when it becomes the "only" or even a "primary" outlet for entertainment. I'd rather hike or experience something new than sit in front of a slot machine. Shari was already picking out lots near her friend's house. I sense a conflict coming up....

I was able to knock off Arizona off my state's list for marathoning. I think I've done 7 or so. I've got a long way to go in doing all 50 and whether I complete it or not remains to be seen. I don't really have the vacation time or the funds to visit, say New Hampshire or Vermont. Oh well, it is a goal and we'll see what happens.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

The trip to Las Vegas

Introduction

Shari had planned an Arizona weekend with her friends during the last weekend of January. The trip from Salt Lake City to Phoenix is about 10 hours and being that my mother in law was visiting we decided to break up the trip by spending the night in Vegas. Vegas is about equally distant from SLC and Vegas.

Shari's has been playing the Vegas World on Facebook and had scored a bunch of discounted buffet passes as well as a discount room at the Mirage.

The Trip to Vegas

Originally, we had planned to leave early Thursday morning, but knowing how long it took for my mother in law to get ready, I figured I'd just go to work for half a day. Since I'd be driving close to 1500 miles we opted to rent a car. Thank goodness we did as when I checked my tires on my car they were sorely in need of replacement.

By the time we got everything squared away it was pushing close to 11:30.

The trip down there was largely uneventful. We had rented a 4-door sedan but they upgraded us (for free) to a Chevy Captiva SUV. It is a nice car, but I wouldn't buy it. I hate the gear shifter and the engine is noisy. I am not a big fan of driving down I-15 to Vegas as I find it fairly monotonous, but the time went by quick enough.

We barely beat the Vegas freeway traffic and arrived at the Mirage just shy of 4 Pacific time.

The Mirage

We got settled into the room and decided to hit the casino. They hadn't moved "my" Fu Dao Le machines and I settled into my favorite one: the one that I gotten rich off the last time I was there.

I was betting conservatively but managed to change my $20 into $120 with a series of hot bonus rounds. I was pretty excited. However, the machine got cool after a while and I wound up cashing out with $80. It was an awesome way to start the trip:

After gambling a bit we hit up the Cravings Buffet at the Mirage. Shari had scored a 2-for-1 dinner pass, so we both ate for about $30.

They had an easy access to hot crab legs. I easily inhaled 4 plates of them. They've also done away with the servers getting you drinks. Now you get your own, but they had cool Coke dispensers where you could pretty much serve yourself any type of coke. I love vanilla coke, but it was a even nicer to get diet, no caffeine, cherry vanilla coke.

The rest of the buffet, was sort of ho-hum. I still think the Montego Bay buffet (seafood night) beats this one. Nothing was really fabulous and most of it just seemed warmed over and not terribly fresh.

After eating we hit up more machines. Shari had a good run of luck and wound up winning $100. All my good luck turned into bad, unfortunately. I wound up giving my $60 of Fu Dao Le money back to the machines and then some. By the time I went to bed, I was $60 in the hole. I also had an opportunity to try a Wonder Woman slot machine. I am a regular watcher of the seventies series that they rerun on MeTV on Saturday nights and it was good to see her in action. I did manage to get a nice bonus round, which may make me want to play this game in the future.

Friday Morning

I actually slept pretty well and in the morning I went to the Bellagio Gardens and took pictures of the strip in the early morning.

I spotted another Fu Dao Le machine that was ripe for the picking at the Bellagio. The red envelope jackpot was up at $180 and I figured why not play it. I wound up putting in $40 and made a $10 profit. I was hitting a ton of bonuses but none of them were terribly exciting. Also, I didn't even get teased with the potential of a red envelope payout.

I chased the jackpot with another my profit and another $40, but once again, my luck wasn't good.

Sort of pissed off, I walked back to the Mirage and had their breakfast buffet. Once again, we had a two-for-one pass and we ate for about $20. Their breakfast buffet wasn't the greatest either. While there was plenty of food, I just wasn't wowed with anything. I kept mumbling that the Wendover buffet was so much better -- and cheaper!

The Trip to Phoenix

We wound up taking off at 11AM to finish up our trip. It was raining but driving wasn't too bad. Driving through Boulder City and seeing the Lake Mead area as well as Northern Arizona was absolutely stunning. There are a ton of canyons and sprawling vistas.

The trip to Phoenix was interesting and most of the northern section of the state is pretty rural and isolated. They have nothing on the speed limits in Utah and we were capped at 65mph, max for most of the trip. Once we got into the Phoenix area we got hammered by traffic, but we still managed to get to my brother's apartment in short order.

All in all, it was about a 5 hour trip.

Friday Morning Vegas Stroll

Introduction

On my recent trip to Las Vegas, I had some time to kill on Friday morning. Shari and her mom had to pack and get ready and that is usually at least an hour long task, so I took the opportunity to venture out on the strip. I didn't want to run, with my marathon less than 24 hours away, so I threw on some clothes and headed with the goal of hitting the Bellagio to check out the gardens.

The Strip

I headed out of the Mirage and headed south on the strip. It was about 6:45am and it was still pretty dark out. It was also raining a bit.

There was hardly anyone out at that hour except for a few cussing drunks and a few runners. It gave me a great opportunity to snap a few pictures while the casinos' lights were still on.

The Linq section seen from the Bellagio

Tower of the Bellagio

Planet Hollywood

Looking north along the strip

Looking at the Venetian Hotel and Casino

Forum Shops

Caesar's Palace

Looking north at the strip from Caesar's Palace

Fountains at Caesar's Palace

Drai's, Giada and Cromwell

Bally's and the Paris Tower

Bellagio

Atrium at the Bellagio celebrating the Chinese New Year

After making it to the Bellagio, I quickly made my way to the near empty casino to the gardens. They were celebrating the Chinese New Year. I pretty much had the place to myself, which gave me a great opportunity to take some pictures:

The heads on these goats move

I was near an incense station, hence the haze

Arizona Desert Classic Marathon 2015 Race Recap

Official Time: 4:07:05
Placement: 17th out of 49th, 2nd in the 45 - 49 age division
Results: Here
Race Website:Here
Weather: Mid 50's to start, mid 60's at finish. Cloudy and somewhat humid by Arizona Standards

Mile	Time	Comments
1	9:35	Starting the climb
2	9:45	Feeling awfully warm. Am I going out too fast?
3	9:39	Enjoying the views and the fact that I am going to knock Arizona off my list
4	9:31	Still more climbing
5	9:21	More climbing
6	9:19	Will this hill ever end
7	9:19	Still going up.
8	9:11	I think I see the summit!
9	9:14	Made it to the top.
10	9:00	Finally downhill. Hard to contain it. But am I going too fast?
11	8:57
12	8:44	Feeling pretty good
13	8:56	Half in 2:01:35, wow, I wanted to hit 2:05
14	8:53	Gentle up hill again.
15	9:25	I thought it was all downhill, nope uphill
16	9:24	Not a lot to work with. Running solo
17	9:31	Ditto
18	9:21	Passing a few stragglers. Feeling tired, but I can hang on.
19	9:12	Running with the downhill
20	9:57	Okay, I thought I was running down, but it feels like I am climbing again
21	9:00	Wow, where did I get this?
22	9:34	Running out of gas
23	9:45	Feel like I am running uphill
24	10:24	Hurting so bad. Took a 30 second pee break I think.
25	9:28	Somehow picked up the pace.
26	10:25	Shuffling along, begging for mercy
26.24	1:55	Downhill to the finish

Total Miles: 26.24

Introduction

Shari and her girlfriends had been planning a trip to Arizona for a long time. It was decided that since the Super Bowl was being played in Glendale, Arizona that everyone should come down and spend the weekend doing Arizona related things. Once the date was settled and carved in stone I hit marathonguide.com and searched out for a marathon. Lo and behold, I discovered a very small marathon in Surprise, Arizona about 30 miles southwest of Phoenix.

I didn't preregister for the race, unfortunately. I wasn't sure of the weather (it had rained all day the day before), my health or whether I'd get permission from the "control tower" to run it. I wound up paying $95, cash on the day of. It should've been $90 but I got the tech shirt rather than a cotton one. This was a little pricey, but I'll pony up for a shirt that I'll actually wear and I really wanted to knock Arizona off my state's list. If I am going to actually complete my 50-state goal, I need to get rolling on it.

Pre-Race

I actually slept pretty good the night before the race thanks to a night at my brother's apartment. At first, I almost just turned over and went back to sleep when my alarm went off, but I had to do this run. I ate some Wheaties, chugged some Gatorade and nibbled on a power bar before heading out the door just a hair after 5:30AM. About 6:15 I arrived without any problems in Surprise. I managed to get one of the last parking spots. It was still pitch dark out but it was easy to find the registration area.

Race starting area was at the Riverboat Bingo Parlor in Surprise Arizona

By the time I got everything squared away, it was close to 6:35 and I knew I wasn't going to be able to use the porta potties. They were only a few of them and the lines were 20 people deep. No one was around and it was still dark. Shamelessly, I did what I had to do.

I was in such a rush to get everything squared away that I forgot to put Vaseline on my chafing spots. I did wind up using Gu Brew and loaded up my gels.

After an impromptu Star Spangled Banner, about 150 half marathoners and 50 marathoners headed west along Bell Road from the bingo parlor at 7AM.

The Race

Start / finish line after the race

I had hopes of running 4 hours but given the course, I knew that might be a tall order. I had worn shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt. I also put on gloves, which I wound up pocketing after a few miles. I was worried it was going to be cold and had been tempted to wear a wind breaker, but I am glad I went with less rather than more as I quickly heated up.

The race doesn't have many flat sections, as evidenced by the elevation map. In fact, most of the race felt uphill, even though it was an out and back course. I am not sure what to make of it but a lot of other people also felt the same. Imagine putting a treadmill on 1% - 3% incline and that is sort of what the entire race felt like.

There was minimal crowd support there. A few cars passed by and either honked or rattled cowbells. There were a few by standers with posters, but I could probably count the number on one hand.

The entire race was on asphalt and you ran on the side of the road. It was entirely coned off and only a few times in the early miles did I feel like I was hemmed in.

To the left, was a beautiful, fog encased set of mountains. On the right was a vast wasteland of cactus and desert shrubbery. There was also a certain smokey smell that permeated the air as well. The scenery didn't change much and it was only punctuated once by a Del Webb city.

Typical view to the north

Typical view to the south

The mile makers were SPOT on. My Garmin was right on the money for all of them. Also, like clockwork, there were aid stations every 2 miles. They either had Gatorade or water and the volunteers there were friendly and competent. I am glad I brought my own Gels though, as they weren't stocked with anything but fluids.

Running the Race

I felt like I was running a bit fast. I had confidence in my training, but I was really worried about my pace. While I had run the first few miles where I wanted (9:40's to 9:45's) I was starting to panic because I thought I had put too much energy into going uphill. While I didn't feel particularly winded (it is so much nicer breathing low elevation air) the marathon is a race of patience and I feel the race really begins at about mile 16.

I only stopped momentarily in the early miles to snap a few pictures. I wanted to take a few more, but I wanted to do well, so I didn't want to waste too much time.

After the half marathoners turned around, the course really thinned out. Up until that point, I was running with a pack of people. Once I got past 7 miles, it got really peaceful. I had brought my phone and put on my headphones. I've been on a bit of a KPop music binge of late and I find the upbeat music of chick bands like SNSD and Lee Hyori keep me pumped up (even though I only understand about 50% of what they are singing about). However, my stupid headphones have been giving me crap and the left ear bud was going in and out. Frustrating but whatever.

I hit the half marathon point at 2:01, which I was surprised about. One it was about 4 minutes ahead of where I wanted to be, two, just a few months ago I was racing halfs at 1:57 and most of this race had been up hill. Had I gone out too fast? Was I going to crash and burn?

I really hoped to pick up the pace even more as I recalled from the elevation charts that it was largely downhill. But everytime I reached another crest of a hill, I got a brief downhill and then I had to climb again. Mentally, it was really devastating to me, because I expected a lot more of a downhill race and it never seemed to really happen. I wasn't the only one who felt this way, but the elevation chart doesn't lie.

I really didn't start to feel "dead" until about mile 22. I was breaking down the quarter miles at that point and while I was still running at near goal pace, my legs were tired and I was gulping down whatever fluids at the aid stations I could. The last mile or so was really trying and I saw a walker who I wanted to pass, but I think he saw me coming and he wound up beating me to the finish line.

Post-Race

There was hardly anyone at the finish line. I did get a brief cheer from the spectators and other finishers as I galloped across the finish line in 4:07. Without going to the bathroom and taking a few pictures, I suspect I could've hit 4:05. I talked with a few people and all of the half marathoners had already taken off. There were probably only about 40 people hanging around.

I was hoping for a 4:00 hour marathon, but given the hills it was going to be a tall order. However, what I did get was my first major race improvement in sometime. I finished 9 minutes faster than I did in Las Vegas, about 20 minutes faster than South Jordan on a MUCH harder course. I haven't run a 4:07 since I did the Layton marathon in 2012.

After chatting with various people I realized I had placed second in my age group. They were super prompt with giving out awards and I was super happy to get my first age group award in a marathon. Granted the field was pretty small, but it was nice to come home with a bit more hardware.

Plenty of food from the friendliest volunteers ever

I ran towards those mountains

Empty parking lot, post race

Finisher's medal, age group medal and t-shirt

I grabbed some food and somehow managed to get it down. My stomach tends to be really touchy post race. There was also a LOT of food left over. Usually marathoners get the short end of the stick, but there was plenty of bananas, cookies, chips and Gatorade. Not a lot of premium stuff, but enough to get my blood sugar back into sync.

I would've hung out a bit longer at the race, but Shari had put me on a tight schedule. So I wound up hitting the road by noon and getting back to the apartment 45 minutes later.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed my experience. Granted, it was pretty expensive, but given that I registered the day of, I guess that's the price I pay.

The race was professionally run, well supported and a good experience. If you need massive crowd support, constantly changing scenery, or rock bands on every corner, this race is NOT for you. It seems to be a local running race that offers a certified marathon. I certainly wouldn't recommend traveling specifically for this race but if your travel plans take you through the Phoenix area during this weekend, this race is certainly good enough to fill your needs.

They needed another bathroom (or two) on the course. There were only two potties and the one time I thought about using it, it was occupied. During the latter miles I was able just to step off the course and hide behind some bushes to take care of business.

I feel pretty good post race. I am not very sore and while I was pretty trashed the few hours after the race, I've certainly felt far worse. I was actually able to be polite and social at an evening party with Shari's friends.

Finally, I am glad that I was able to turn in a time that was a significant improvement and it gives credence (at least to me) that more mileage is better when it comes to running a marathon. Hopefully this is a sign of awesome things to come in 2015.