Saturday, December 12, 2009

Continuum

Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon/Half Marathon Event - Part 2

Still with me?

Back to the souvenir shop...

Renata and I stayed somewhat warm for a while, but I wanted to find the medical tent for a couple of Tylenol and ice for my calf. The medical tent was somewhat hard to find. It was way across the venue, on the other side of a huge trailer, tucked away in a corner. Not good. My calf was cramping, but not that bad, but it was still far away, and I couldn't imagine what it would have been like for someone who was really hurting. Yikes. Renata stayed in the souvenir shop to wait for her husband, Gil. Once I found the medical tent, received some Tylenol and ice for my calf and a little rest, I felt better and got up to look for Michael. He finished his race in 2:42. He was just a couple of tents over with a few San Diego Track Club members. We managed a quick photo op with them and one of the running Elvi:

Me, Donna, a running Elvis, Kelly , Michael.

We made our way to the beer, saw more RU people, then started towards the gear check area. It was about that time we found Dawn. She was slowly making her way into the vendor area, looking for the medical tent. She was hurting and needed some attention. We helped her make her way to the medical tent, which was WAY across the venue.

Thumbs up! We made it to the medical tent!

Once Dawn was settled, Michael and I made our way back to the gear check, which took some time, gathered our belongings and made our way back to the medical tent to check on Dawn. I guess she must have been OK because she was gone by the time we got back. Sometimes a little rest, Tylenol and ice is all you need just to get up and going.

By this time my phone was chiming that I had a few text messages. I just missed AKA Alice. She had finished a while ago and was already settling down somewhere for some breakfast. Renata texted me that she found her husband and they were also sitting in one of the hotel bars to keep warm. I guess that was our cue to take off, too. We walked through Mandalay Bay to get back to Luxor (the hotels are connected), and while passing by one of the bars, we ran into Mitch and Doreen from the track club.

Mitch, Doreen, Michael, Me.

After chatting for a while, we all decided to grab some lunch at a deli near by within the Mandalay Bay hotel. Hot soup and a hot pastrami sandwich never tasted so good. It was great catching up with Mitch and Doreen as we talked about our future race plans and Las Vegas happenings.

Some place between Mandalay Bay and Luxor was this huge Christmas tree. We decided it would be a good spot for a photo :

Christmas card potential?

We finally made our way back to our room to crash. I really couldn't sleep but I just showered, iced my left leg/foot and rested. (Our room didn't have a bathtub, so I couldn't fill the tub with ice.) We needed to rest since we had plans with everyone from RU for dinner and dancing.

Yeah, dancing...

I thought I was going to over pack, but it was quite the contrary. I under packed the going out clothes. 3 pairs of pants but no dressy tops. I had a dress I could easily accessorize with some bling, but I forgot the bling. I had planned on wearing black tights with short boots with that dress, but when I went to put on the tights, they were a child's size. *GAH* The package was mislabeled. No back ups.* No dressy tops. I couldn't go without tights or hose because my left leg was so bruised up. Did I mention it was cold???? Well, it was COLD. Michael of San Diego found a Fredrick's of Hollywood within the confines of Mandalay Bay and bought me some black hose. Those almost didn't fit right, the waistband kept slipping down, but they had to work. I could no longer wear the boots, so I wore the heels I brought. (At the time, being on heels didn't feel all that bad.) Luckily, we made it down to the bar and found some of our group looking rather sharp, and we joined them for a martini:



Eventually, the entire group made it to the lobby, all dressed up and ready to go out. There were about 20 of us all together, and took a couple of limos to the restaurant and night club.



Other people were taking pictures at dinner, so we didn't get too many dinner shots. We sat across from people who happened to know a few of our neighbors from our previous address, and even attended the same high school as Michael, just several years apart. Someone pointed out that the breakfast menu had waffles, but breakfast was not being served. Waffles sounded delicious, but I was so hungry that a crummy little mint seemed like a delicious confection.

The night club was in the same area as the restaurant, and we were supposedly on some list, but come to find out we were not, and we were supposed to wait in line behind the infamous velvet rope. Someone in our group, a very smart, pretty, leggy blond said something to the bouncer and, somehow, we all got in. I'm not very savvy at that kind of thing, so I was rather surprised that all 20 of us got in. Michael snagged a few photos of us at the night club, which soon became very crowded.

The lady in the middle jumped in between the two blonds (who were with our group) and started dancing with them. It was awesome.

Michael took a lot of random shots like this one...
Don't know the guy on the left, but that's me, Renata, Gil, and Bryan in the front.

After a while it was kind of tight in there.

You know the saying "What happens in Vegas stays it Vegas?" It should be changed to "What happens in Vegas shows up on Facebook."

Michael and I left about 12:30 am, and I heard that everyone else left around 1 am...

By the time we made it back to our room, it was probably about 1 am. I happened to look down at my feet and noticed that I was now donning cankles -- calves and ankles become one. Yikes. I needed ice. Luckily, our room was right near the ice machine. I don't remember too much about what happened after icing the feet, but I'm sure sleep was involved.

Monday 12/7

THE NEXT MORNING

I had only two drinks the entire night, therefore, no hangover to deal with. My feet, or I should say my left foot in particular, was still rather swollen. Getting out of bed was interesting. My feet didn't want to cooperate. (Remind me why I thought wearing heels after running a half marathon with an already injured calf would be a good idea.) I downed a lot of water and a couple of naproxen and put my feet up for as long as possible while Michael made some calls to the office and followed up with clients. I was craving breakfast in a big way. (Remember, at dinner the night before, someone saw waffles on the menu, but it was the breakfast menu.) I woke up craving waffles. I had to have waffles. We eventually made it down to the buffet, where there was only about 30 minutes left for breakfast. As we made our way through the line, the staff was already replacing the breakfast with lunch items. *Panic* Luckily, for me, there were still plenty of breakfast foods still out, including waffles... fluffy Belgian waffles... with butter and maple syrup... Whew.

As Michael and I were enjoying our breakfast, Justin, his girlfriend and their friends came down for breakfast. They were looking a little sleep deprived and planning to drive back home right after eating. We briefly talked about the trip, the run, the night out, shared some of the photos from the night before, and went our separate ways.

For us it was more rest, some shopping at the outlet mall (which did nothing to help my calf and feet), and dinner back at the buffet. Michael originally wanted to walk up and down the strip that evening, but it was raining, plus my swollen calf. The outlet mall was all I could deal with. I know. We're in Vegas opting NOT to go out.

Tuesday 12/8

It was actually nice to have that Monday to putz around. Once we arrived home on Tuesday, it was back to business for Michael, and for me it was attending my office holiday party, and getting out all of the Christmas decorations. (Evan requested decorating the house many times. I had to oblige, even though I wasn't planning on putting up the big tree this year, just the small one.)

How can Evan escape childhood without making a star out of cardboard, pasta and foil? Evan was really excited to create this star with me. The star now resides a top the rock pine outside, next to our front door.


The left calf is still sore and the left foot is dealing with water retention due to the calf injury. All I can do a this point is RICE, stretch and massage. I go back into RU next Wednesday. I thought about posting pictures of my calf and ankle/foot, but the swelling has gone down since Las Vegas, and most of the discoloration is gone. My ankle was about the size of a grapefruit. I just didn't think to take pictures of it when it was at it's most "ripe."

Before I forget, we stayed on the 13th floor. I didn't think hotels in the USA had 13th floors, which are normally reserved as a utility floor. Superstitions, I guess. I had no problem with 13. We were running a half marathon, 13.1 miles.

Other happenings...

Michael and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary on Friday, 12/11. I looked up what the traditional and/or modern gift would be. For 27 it's furniture. I never knew that. It doesn't look like I'll be seeing any new furniture soon, but I was surprised with the roses Michael brought me, even though we agreed on no gifts this year since we went to Las Vegas. We kept the day simple and went out for sushi at our favorite place in our neighborhood. Cheers.

We still have our trip to Guanajuato, Mexico. Our friend, Sam, is thrilled to be taking us to his home town and brought us several brochures and maps of the area. We'll be staying with his family for most of the trip. We're keeping everything no-frills and packing as light as possible. He even mapped out routes for us to run on, if that's what we decide to do.

Saturday's song:
Loose in Las Vegas - Monty Byrom & David Neuhauser - From the "Deal" soundtrack


PEACE

PS: Do you know how many times I've edited this post due to glitches and minor typos? *sigh*

* Where was Tim Gunn When I needed him? It wasn't in the budget to buy an outfit just to go out for one evening, otherwise, I would have trekked to Macy's for some sort of ensemble, or at least some inexpensive bling/accessories.




12 comments:

Pat said...

Is it my computer or do you have a couple paragraphs repeated? Anyway, sounds like you had a fun time, even with the ankle issues.

take some time and rest. But, not too much. When's your next big run?

Irene said...

Pat,
Thanks so much for catching the extra paragraph(s)!!!! I had a problem with the photos and it kept duplicating paragraphs! I thought I deleted them all before posting. I'm not sure if it was a blogger issue or a computer issue. I just couldn't get delete the extra verbiage. I'm glad you caught it! I'm resting today -- I really need it. My next race is Carlsbad HM on January 24, I think.

Anne said...

Congratulations to you and Michael on 27 years of marriage!

Unknown said...

All your editing was worth it! Great post, loved the pictures and Happy Anniversay, wow, 27 years. We're right behind you, congratulations! Sounds like your trip was way more than the race, I love that!!

RunningLaur said...

I can't believe you went out in heels all night afterward! You're so hardcore! Happy 27th too :)

Jill said...

Wow...a picture (or many) paint a thousand words! I loved your race report and what an so very happy for your race! Congrats on the 27 years - that's truly an amazing accomplishment!

Jo Lynn said...

Your post looks great and so did you!! Don't sweat the small stuff, huh? ;)

Aka Alice said...

Two days later...

LMAO at your packing. Mine was pretty much the same. Lots of running clothes. No going out clothes (or not the right ones) and definitely no casual going out clothes. I had to wear the LVRnR race shirt on the plane ride home because I really had NOTHING else to wear...

You are my hero for going out in heels after the 1/2 marathon. I bow to you in awe! The heffers would be so proud!

Deene said...

Congrats on 27th anniversary!!
LV makes you do silly stuff after running like going out or walking.

Mel-2nd Chances said...

congrats on 27 years, and again on the 1/2! Awesome race report and pics! Sounds like it was a great trip... you deserved it!

Glenn Jones said...

Great wrap of the weekend Irene! Congratulations to you and Michael - it's becoming rarer and rarer to find couple staying married for two decades.

About runnng in the rain - I have the gear, but I kind of draw the line at when my feet start squishing in my shoes. And I'm definitely not into feet squishing for 2 hours.

Here's hoping your leg gets better soon!

Miss Rachel said...

Sounds like a great time in spite of the cankles. I hope your calf is back to normal now.