Predicament

I’m in Las Vegas, NV for one of my best bud’s bachelor party(Louie Northern). It falls right in line with a 20-mile training run, the longest run yet. I decide to take it easy the night before and go for it.

Friday, September 14th, 10:00am. The sun was screaming through a sliver in the hotel room curtain. Groggy I slip on my running shoes and go through my routine making sure I don’t forget anything. I check the outside temperature on my phone. It currently reads 95 with a high of 101. Having not run in this kind of heat before I don’t know what to expect so I make sure I have some cash, ID, debit card, powergels, sunglasses, and lather on plenty of sunscreen. I strap on a Garmin GPS watch and head out. Slipping past the slots, craps tables and dodging some early morning partiers I slip out the front door into the desert.

Trying to make a 20-mile on the Las Vegas strip was challenging but entertaining to say the least. First I headed south towards the airport. Within the first 2 miles I feel my mouth start to dry out from the intense dry heat. I quickly pull into a convenience store and grab a bottle of water to carry with me. I head on. I pass the Luxor, MGM grand, The Bellagio, all the wonders of the Vegas strip! Then the airport. “Only 4 miles!!” I keep going the sidewalk disappears and I’m now running on crushed rock and sand. I start to wonder what it’s like in Kenya for the Maasai to train in their “Michelin Thousand Milers” and the intense heat they run in.

I run five miles out and really start to notice the heat beating down on my head. I come across a commercial area with some stores and jog through the parking lot hopeing to find a hat. After some searching I came across a perfect white Nike running hat. With the sun off my face I already notice a difference and think about Dean Karnazes (http://www.ultramarathonman.com/flash/) and his ultra marathons through Death Valley in his all white running suit.

I make my way back through the strip to old Vegas followed by a loop back to the hotel. 3 ½ hours, five bottles of water, 3 Gatorades and 3 powergels later. The odometer on the Garmin hits 20.01 mi. I’ve done it. This was the most difficult run I have ever done and quite possibly harder than the marathon will be. Now it is time to let loose and celebrate the bachelor.