Training/Fundraising Update - Finale

Well, I did it...we all did it. We finished the race and it was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. As hard as the fund raising was and getting up 4 days a week at 5:00 to go to the gym/practice it was SO worth it! Thanks to my coaches, mentors, teammates, supporters and Michael for all your help and encouragement. Here's how the weekend went...

We got into Vegas around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, the day before the race. We checked in and then headed to the Expo. The Expo had some great vendors, Team Challenge, CytoMax, Cascade Farms, Nurti Life, Kinesio, and so many more. We had a great time collecting our gear and freebies and afterwards headed back to the hotel to chill. My great friend Nathan stopped by to visit. He had come in town from Vegas to cheer on me and a few other friends! Nathan, if your reading this, you are an awesome friend!! Thanks for being there!

Saturday night was the CCFA Pasta Party. There were over 900 participants from CCFA at the party. It was cool seeing all the Team Challenge shirts at the party and at the MGM where we were all staying. We ate a delicious dinner and listened to our guest speakers while we froze our butts off in the conference center. Little did we know that the party was just a warm up or should I say cool down for what was coming the next morning. The best part of the dinner was hearing that nationwide Team Challenge had raised $3.5 million for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. What a win and we hadn't even started the race yet!

Sunday morning came early. We were due to meet our team in the lobby at 5:00 a.m. As we rounded the corner to the lobby all you could see was a sea of orange singlets. Nine hundred Team Challenge participants gathered in the lobby waiting to head out to the starting line and their assigned corrals. The temperature outside was a smokin' 34 degrees. We were in for a chilly start. We layered on as many dri-fit shirts, jackets, and beanies as we had and headed to the starting line.

By the time we reached the start we had probably walked 5 miles over the last 24 hours. If only we could deduct that from the 13.1 we were about to tackle. The walk to the gear check was another mile and the way back was a traffic jam of spectators and other participants trying to get to their corrals. I had to cut through the closer corrals to get to mine or else I would miss my group. Another mile down! Unbelievably, I was able to find my teammates in the sea of participants. Almost forgot to tell you that there were 17,000 participants for the 1/2 marathon and another 11,000 for the full. Not even a boat-load, but rather an ark-load of people!

So my TC friends and I joked, danced, and goofed around until we reached the starting line. It was seriously colder than a polar bears ass and goofing around was the only thing keeping us warm. What was I thinking leaving my gloves at the gear check??!! The start came and went and we were on the road. It was a long 13.1 miles peppered by running Elvis, bands, brides and grooms to be, and a whole lot of Team Challenge supporters cheering us on. We even had the pleasure of watching a drunk guy wander out on the race course only to end up being put in handcuffs and escorted to a police car.

About mile 7 my teammate and favorite party girl Amanda started having some knee problem. Call me selfish, but there was no way I was going to let her quit. We stretched out and kept moving. By mile 9 there was no turning back. We'd stop to stretch and then back on the course. I figured why stop now! Four more miles to go. Piece of cake. The supporters cheering us on totally helped push us along. At mile 13 we ran into our coach Meegan. What a site for sore eyes, quads, hamstrings, you name it!

At the turn into Mandalay Bay we had about 2 tenths of a mile left. It was not long after that I saw Nate waiting near the finish line. My final boost of encouragement! Then we saw it - the finish!! We had done it. We had just completed a 13.1 mile race. What an amazing acheivement!

I headed to the gear check, picked up my gear and met up with Amanda and Nate. We walked over to the Team Challenge team tent for some food and drink from P.F. Changs. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel to rest. We had a big night ahead of us.

Our night out consisted of dinner at Sushi Samba and partying at Lavo in the Venetian. I can always count on Nate to show me a good time! Lavo was a blast. The marathoner's from San Diego met us out and we partied and danced 'til late. About $1,000 later (thank God for the comps Nate's friend hooked us up with) we decided we had better head back to the hotel for some shut eye.

Why is check out at 11:00 a.m.? In Vegas no less? Seriously, why?!! I dragged my ass out of bed, threw my stuff in my suitcase and headed for the lobby. After meeting up with some of our teammates, Amanda and I decided to do the CSI Experience. It was cheesy, but kind of cool. After CSI we stopped for a bite to eat and then off to the airport.

That was it. The weekend that I thought would never come had come and went. It was bitter sweet. Happy that I completed the race and had such an awesome weekend. Sad that I wouldn't see my teammates at practice each Saturday morning. I know that we'll keep in touch, but I'll definitely miss the comradarie that we had going out each Saturday morning at sunrise.

Thanks to my readers for keeping up with my adventures. I hope you've enjoyed my updates and pictures. I'd like to keep up the blog with my excercise and weight loss challenges. I'm trying not to think of it as an Biggest Loser type adventure, but more like the Biggest Winner opportunity. Feel free to keep up with my new posts. Hopefully, I can be an inspiration.

Thanks again for all your support. May all of you have a blessed Christmas and an amazing New Year!