Here are the highlights and of our Vegas adventure.
* The race itself was defintley a highlight. What an amazing event- very well organized, lots of good schwag and a true Vegas style experience with fireworks, showgirls and a live band at the start. There were also bands playing throughout the race course which created some insane energy out there. I almost wished I was racing, it was hard to hold back!
* Being a part of each of the girls' race experience was amazing. Being an athlete in an individual sport can be a bit of a lonely existence. Your highs, lows, successes and failures are pretty much only your own. It is all to easy to get caught up in the times, splits, and results and lose sight of the core of what got you there in the first place. Having this experience allowed me to share in each of the successes of my girls. I felt 10X the joy of crossing the finish line. They had 3 months of anticipation, fear, doubt, hope and excitement wrapped up in that day and I got to be a part of it. It was amazing and it reconnected me with something I have lost sight of recently- the reason I started running in the first place. The feeling I had when I first broke through what I thought were impossible limitations. The anticipation, fear, doubt, hope and excitement that comes with doing something for the first time. Something that at some point seemed impossible. I have been missing that perspective for a while and I needed the reminder.
* Seeing D race to his potential was amazing. I am continually inspired by him, and not just the results he produces, but his attitude about it all. We hardly had an ideal pre race situation. 12hrs of flying, bad food, not enough water, tons of walking, no luggage for 24hrs, etc... All I could think was thank god I'm not racing! But D took it all in stride. He was never upset, anxious, complaining or whining. He just goes with the flow and takes it all in stride. We had fajitas and beer the night before the race. And not just one beer. He is a better person than I am :) He even shopped with me after the race. For jeans. I had to go to every store before I found some that fit right and he never complained. He hates shopping on a good day but he never rushed me or complained. Yup...
*Our trip out to Red Rock Canyon was fantastic. First, it was great to just get off the strip and see another side of Vegas. Second, we had the whole day to hang out with our friend Alan. We climbed on rocks, took pictures of snow in the desert and found a Whole Foods to have dinner at. I was dying for some vegetables :)
* I got inked! I have wanted this tattoo for a long time and Vegas just seemed to be a good place to get it. It is the Chinese version of Woman of Strength and I had my Chinese consultant Alan along to make sure they didn't put it in backwards :) Prior to this we walked about 5miles in the pouring rain looking for the tattoo place I wanted to go to. Which turned out to be closed. It would be impossible to describe just how hard it was raining and how miserable it was to walk in it. Yet Alan and D walked along with me and never complained. Seriously, the only one complaining was me and I had an umbrella and hadn't run a marathon the day before!
* The rest of our Vegas adventure was fun, the sights, the sounds the smells...not all my thing but it was cool to see and experience for a couple of days.
So with that adventure over, we are looking ahead to what is next. Nothing has been decided for sure yet but we have penciled in a few events for 2010. Stay tuned...
