March Race #4- Laughlin Half Marathon

March 30th, 2013- Laughlin Half Marathon

My last race for the month of March.  I was glad to have a week off between races because my ankle was still tender from the Hoover Dam half.  I kept it wrapped and it seemed to be back to normal by the time this race was to begin so I wasn't worried.  My husband and I had planned to drive down to Laughlin and spend the weekend there, but alas, his work always gets in the way.  Instead, I made the 2 hour drive by myself.  It was quite lonely.  So lonely that I was "forced" to sing songs from "The Little Mermaid" when my radio stopped working  :)  Once I arrived, I was delighted to see that it was slightly overcast.  I had been worried since the forecast called for temps in the low 90s. 

Colorado River

I went into this race knowing it was a trail run.  I was hoping that it wouldn't be a disaster like my last trail run.  Before the start of the race, I checked out the trail and was happy to see that it was packed dirt rather than loose gravel like in the Hoover Dam race.  My other concern for this race was nutrition.  Being a nurse, I don't always have time to each lunch while at work.  I had hardly eaten anything at all in the days leading up the race and the night before the race, I was too nervous to eat much of anything.  I forced myself to eat an egg and some string cheese, but I knew that wouldn't sustain me for long.   Luckily when I picked up my race bag, there were some awesome Clif Bars and treats!  I scarfed those down quickly.  Since this was such a small race, nearly everyone commented on my purple Team Sparkle skirt.  I really stood out in the crowd which wasn't my intention, but I love dressing up for races!  The race itself was pretty uneventful.  We ran a little over 6 miles then turned around and came back.  About 75% of the race was along the river which was pretty neat in my opinion.  The entire course was completely flat with no hills at all.  There were water stations every few miles stocked with plenty of water and lemon-lime Gatorade.  I always appreciate lemon-lime Gatorade because it's my favorite.  My ankle started throbbing around mile 6 and by mile 8 I was completely out of energy.  I ate 2 granola bars during the course of the race, but they weren't enough to get me through to the end.  I had an incredible runner's high from mile 1-8, but then I hit the dreaded wall and I had to walk a couple of times.  I know this was because I hadn't gotten the proper nutrition before the race.  By the end of the race, I was literally hobbling because my ankle hurt so much.  You can see it in the race pictures- I have a pained look in all my race pics towards the end.  Nonetheless, I finished the race!  The sun was really hot by the end and I wished I had been able to find my sunglasses before I left.  At the end of the race they had plenty of water, fruit, bagels, and cream cheese left for everyone.  Also, they gave each runner a little card at the end that had your stats.  It's the first time I had ever seen something like that and it was really cool to get the results so quickly!

Half #7 Done!

Overall verdict: I would probably do this one again because I liked running along the river and it was a really small race.  No crowds and no running into people!  I had plenty of room.  Also, I appreciated getting the results so quickly.