QUOTE OF THE DAY
"THE PAIN OF FINISHING IS MINIMAL COMPARED TO THE EMPTINESS OF QUITTING"

Well all - here I am back from my first ever marathon in Las Vegas --- all were correct in saying "savour the moment ---there is nothing like your first -- there will be only one first marathon" Thanks Bryan for those words - you were so right ----I cant even put into words the emotion I felt when I crossed the finish line --heck even at the start line I had tears in my eyes thinking of what I was about to embark on and the journey I had taken to get there. Crossing the line I was totally in tears -- and so were those around me who had come to watch --- who knew from whenst I had come -- the hours of training, the kilometers on pavement and the treadmill. When I crossed the line I said I could not believe I had finally done it -- this was one goal I was going to set and reach --- one of those bridges to our dreams.
Ouitting was never an option -- come Hell or High water I was going to finish -- but here we are at the start line -- over 16,000 people in 3c temperature in horrific winds -- at that time, I was asking waht I had got myself into. It took 27minutes to get from our corral to the start line as we went from a 4 lanes on Las Vegas Blvd funneling across the start line.
It was a well organized race, the expo was phenomenal, the goodie bags were the best I have ever seen ---one complaint --- they had led us to believe there was a "racewalking" categorie but we found out at the expo that had been cancelled due to lack of marshalls to monitor running walkers --- oh well, the almost 1600 walkers gave it all we had anyway and proved what we were made of. That 1600 is a guesstimate based on info from one of the organizers I had a chat with at the reception after the race which was another nice touch--- and well done as well.
A very picturesque course with lots things to watch. People were great - lots of water stations - every mile or 1.6kms----and entertainment from start to finish - Elvises, bands, cheerleaders etc etc etc. A great time - I would recommend this race to anyone.
At the 33km mark after fighting the wind for 14km from the 12km mark to about the 22-23km mark I was seriously considering my options. As I said I had planned this race on this date as it would have been my father's birthday had he still been alive. At this point in the race, I was seriously hurting - and in tears, I looked to the sky for direction from my dad and asked him for a sign --- true story ---at that exact time I passed a competitor who had on the back of his race shirt in magic marker the quote at the start of this blog--"the pain of finishing is minimal to the emptiness of quitting'------THAT was my sign -- Thanks dad I needed that and off I went.
Any way --enough for one night - I must sign off and I will attach pictures tomorrow
BY THE WAY-----HERE ARE MY RESULTS

GARMIN TIME-- 5:11:21 + POTTIE TIME = OFFICIAL CHIP TIME 5:17:12