Six Tunnels to Hoover St. Patrick's Day Half Marathon - What happensinVegas...

There is a saying that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!!!


A Myth if I ever heard one.  To be a city that has the surname of "Sin-City" it is definitely kid friendly.  Well maybe not exactly kid friendly but it isn't the "Sin-City" that it is known for. 


Sure there are things you can get into.  And sure you can gamble in Vegas.  Sure there is overpriced food and parties that go deep into the night and end in the wee hours of the morning.  Do they end?  I'm not sure.  I left waaaaaaay before Whiz hit the stage because in my adult beverage influenced haze, I knew I had to get up and run a half marathon that I signed up for in four hours!

So off to bed we go.  I'm a runner.  A runner that is also on a mission to #run365 in 2016.  A runner that is also trying to toughen the mental for a 100K later in the year.  A runner who has found freedom through pain.  A...  you get the point. 


In short, no Whiz Khalifa for me (according to broken accounts of the night from roommates who arrived minutes before I departed for my run say Whiz took the stage at Tao, 20-30 minutes after I called it a night at 1:35am.  Yeah, I'm a runner.  4 hours sleep > No Sleep!

06:00 A.M.  arrived quickly.  No thought.  Just change clothes, no shower (I know, but we're going to sweat anyway), and head out to Boulder City to run 13.1 miles!  Yay?!?!

Quick packet pick up in parking lot.  Smaller crowd.  Cool morning.  Need more water!  Long walk to start.  Sun Rising.  Instagram Pics.  Let's rock!  Go!

To say that this was a bad idea after three nights of only 3-4 hours of sleep, plenty of non-H20 consumption, and throwing anything related to a diet fit for a runner out the door is stating the obvious and does not give credence of how hard I am on myself.  A logical person would have dropped down to one of the shorter distances.  But not egsleeve!


The first mile is always a lie.  Lying as first mile.  Who da fvck would think that a mile would be so evil!?!?  Especially the first one!?!  WTF!?!?


What did the mile say?  "This is going to hurt you more than it will hurt me.  Plus I have 12 friends and a cousin to beat your azz every step of the way!"


I found myself having to zone out quickly.  Enjoying the scenery on this beautiful freshly paved path on our first out and back of the 1st six miles. 

The first three miles was a climb out the valley and I knew I could turn up the pace on the way back, which I did.  Mile six is where things get interesting real fast.

The paved path gave way to the Historic Railroad Trail with some awe inspiring views of Lake Meade and the back canyon pass to the Hoover Dam! 

This is why I love trail running.  The access.  The views.  The places that I'm taken that I would never discover on my own!   ...but I'm in running shoes.  New Balance Zante V2s to be specific that ARE NOT designed for the trails. 

This is going to be fun...

The route through the tunnels that provided insight to the challenges of building this world wonder also provided shelter and much needed coolness from the increasingly hot sun as the day continued. 


What this Vegas inspired runner did not account for is the drastic elevation drop and climbs to and from the Hoover Dam itself, which included a steep access ramp!!!!!  Got to see the Dam though up and close on my feet!


1,765 feet of elevation gain.  1,789 feet of elevation loss.  Best Pace 7:40/Mile.  Average Pace 10:00/Mile.  Total Run time 02:11:06.  Finished 70th of 169 starters.  Adult beverages consumed during run 0.00!  Number 18 in the books!  Not bad.  Crashed after I got back to the hotel. 


Beautiful trail that I would recommend to anyone that has an opportunity to be in the area.  Skip parking at the dam.  Park about 3 miles away and take your Hoover Dam tour via the Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail.  You won't forget it.  But be prepared to climb!


Check the video below.