It was absolutely great--in hindsight that is.  Really, thanks to Lisa for all the feet-care tips, to Jenny for all her encouragement and advice on hills, and most importantly to Mitch for the "long sleeve shirt" tip--I really did enjoy all but about 5 minutes of it.

The winds were horrible.  The "Las Vegas Sun" reported winds up to 45 mph.  I knew the first part of the run would be slow because of the uphill, and even slower because of the wind, but I figured I could make up a little time on the 8-mile downhill portion.  I kept waiting and waiting and WAITING for that downhill portion.  Finally, it hit me about mile 15 that I was running the "downhill" portion, but because of the winds, I couldn't even tell.  But following Mitch’s advice, I had my sweatshirt on, and although the wind was a challenge, I wasn't cold.  Also, I'm glad I had my MP3 player with me because there were absolutely no distractions and no scenery (although I read there were streakers on the course).

About mile 22, I started to get kind of tired of the wind and the debris (the 5 minutes that I didn't enjoy), but I soon realized that I couldn't do anything about it.  Also, a tiny little woman was running near me; if she could handle it and not be blown of the course, I knew I could.

In the last 3 miles or so of the run, the winds were at our backs, and that was relief.  When I neared the finish line, about 1/2 mile, I took off like a race car--well actually, it was more like an 11-minute pace--but I felt like a race car, and I'm telling all my non-running friends the first version.  It was great crossing the finish line.  All I could think about was that I had officially completed a marathon, my first marathon--with high winds.  Not once did I think I wouldn't do this again.  Instead I thought about how I will train for the next one.  My "chip" time (I like saying that) was 5:21:48, and my name is on the Las Vegas Marathon web page.  I'm going to Disney Land!  Sorry, wrong sport, but that's how I feel.
 

Rick and Barb Miller, Sig Nakashima, Andrew Mitchell, Viki Prusia, and I attended the recent Southern California version of the Coyote Four Play (C4P), hosted by Chris Scott and the JABOYS (Just a Bunch of Yahoos), in the Ventura County area.  There was running (7 miles) the first day in Pt. Mugu State Park and pasta dinner (and beer) at a local brewery in Oxnard.  There was running (50 miles or combinations of shorter miles) the second day in the Ojai Mountains, food (and beer) at the start-finish line, and a Mexican dinner (and beer) and talent night in Oxnard.  There was running (40 miles or combinations of shorter miles) the third day in Pt. Mugu State Park, Bill’s burritos (and beer) at the finish, then bowling—yes, bowling—pizza (and beer) at Wagon Wheel Junction.  There was running the fourth day (30 miles or combinations of shorter miles) in Pt. Mugu State Park and Bar-B-Q (and beer) at the finish at the Ray Miller Trailhead.  Every evening, awards of all sorts (traveling the longest, drawing blood, being the stud, etc.) were given out.  Awards included toasters, Patagonia garments, loaves of bread, hats with propellers for coming in first or last, and more.  All this, and you got to run with Scott Jureck, Akabil, Brandon Sybrowsky, "The Robstir," Rob McNair, and other big dogs.  Runners came from as far away as Canada, Washington, D. C., Seattle, and beyond.

Well, this much fun cannot come to an end.  I would like to see a desert version of the C4P here in Ridgecrest, hosted by the Ridgecrest Rowdies; a Northern California version, hosted by our friends Lee and Wini; a High Sierra version, hosted by Marie and Andy Boyd; and back to the Southern California version, hosted by Chris Scott and the JABOYS.
Much more fun was had these last four days, and I hope other participants will post their thoughts about the last C4P.  Many thanks to Chris Scott and the JABOYS.