As mentioned in my Weekly Run Down post, I wanted to share a separate recap of my most recent race, the Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas. It was the first official race I participated in since the start of the pandemic and it felt so good to get to the starting line again.
I signed up for this race because someone in my Streakers365 group suggested we run this race together and so almost 50 friends signed up. How could I say no? I had wanted to put another half marathon on my race calendar for a while and this was the perfect opportunity to not only race but also meet a bunch of lovely people that I’ve been (virtually) working out with for 2 years.
If that’s no motivation, I don’t know what is.
When I joined the Streakers365 (former Peloton Streakers) Facebook Group in January 2021, I had been looking for an accountability group for my self-imposed 365 workout streak goal. I had no idea that I had stumbled into a group that would turn out to be the most supportive and encouraging group of friends that I hadn’t met.
We spent countless hours together on the bike that goes nowhere, holding each other accountable with group rides and high fives and we have an amazing group of admins who continue to find new ways to build friendship and camaraderie. Organizing this in-person meet-up for the race in Las Vegas has been the absolute highlight so far. I am so thankful that I could meet so many of my Peloton friends in real life.
The best part was that Tanja was able to fly in from Germany and join us! (She had been planning to come to California for a visit anyway and was able to arrange it to meet me and the Streakers365 in Vegas before we headed to SoCal together for another few days of girl time). Tanja didn’t run the race but was there to support me and the other runners. It was so special to have her there.
My first objective for this race was to have fun and enjoy the special atmosphere of running the Las Vegas Strip (which was closed down completely for traffic for this event) at night. I am usually a solo runner through and through, I like to find my own pace and stick to it, but for an inexplicable reason, I ended up running the race with another Streaker. We ended up running alongside each other and found our cadence to be so much in sync (see photo below) that running together felt completely natural.
We ended up stopping at a couple of the numerous photo ops and just tried to take it all in while casually chatting a bit every now and then. When we crossed the finish line and I glanced at my Garmin watch, I couldn’t believe we had just passed the 2-hour mark. I hadn’t paid attention to pace/time and really thought we were slower.
If I am honest, I was a bit bummed for a split second because realizing that we were so close to getting a sub-2 finish time, it would have been great to get an official PR. While I have run the half marathon distance in sub-2, I haven’t done so at an official race. But this race was about having fun and our finish made me feel very confident that I can get that PR sometime soon at another race. I felt strong until the end and didn’t collapse in the last few miles, which has definitely happened in previous races. All these training miles are finally paying off.
It got pretty chilly after the sun had gone down (it was definitely much cooler in Vegas than usual around this time of year) and I was thankful that Tanja was waiting for me at the finish line with my backpack and my jacket.
Las Vegas is usually not my favorite city, but running the Strip at night was pretty cool, I will admit, and doing it with a bunch of fellow Peloton friends was a real treat!
P.S. If you are wondering about the shirt that I am wearing – it was a custom-made iron-on decal for our group and a wordplay on our Streakers365 group name and Sin City. (No, we did not streak on the strip, haha.)
Kim
April 6, 2023 at 7:16 amI love love love everything about this! Your group is amazing and it brings me a lot of joy to see you all got to meet up and that Tanja came! What a wonderful group of friends.
No wonder you ran so well! You will def get that official sub 2 next time!
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
April 6, 2023 at 7:41 amDon’t worry, as long as you’re with runners it will automatically be assumed that “streak” does not mean taking off your clothes.
This was such fun to read!!! Congrats on running a great race and having fun along the way. I’m sure that the PR will come soon enough.
Ally Bean
April 6, 2023 at 8:37 amCongrats on doing this. It looks like so much fun and the location is something else, says everyone who’s ever been there. I’m glad you had your own pep squad in the form of a friend.
Elisabeth
April 6, 2023 at 8:50 amSo fun! What a great event and especially wonderful since dear friends could join. What a cool venue, too. I’ve never been to Las Vegas, but running the iconic strip at night sounds like an incredible adventure!!
Gold star for all the hard training and gold star for all the effort it takes to work out logistics on something like this (flights, transport, etc). You’ve made a memory to last a lifetime <3
NGS
April 6, 2023 at 9:54 amWow! What a great experience. I’m so glad you had such a supportive group around you. I can’t even imagine what Las Vegas would look like with The Strip closed to traffic. Crazy!
Kristen | kristenwoolsey.com
April 6, 2023 at 12:54 pmCongratulations!! What a fun race, and it sounds like it was even better because of friends! Las Vegas isn’t my favorite place either – but I think it would be really cool to do a race there! So much to look at to keep you distracted.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
April 6, 2023 at 10:55 pmOh what a wonderful experience doing it with fiends you got to know so well. Meeting them in real life cherry on top. Congrats on such a great run.
I. don’t have the best of feelings for Vegas myself but maybe I will end up there again to re-evaluate.
Tanja
April 11, 2023 at 4:07 amThis was such a fun way to start my little trip. However, I got some FOMO and might have to work on this for the next Streakers365 runners meet up.
You did A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. and I’m still so bummed my exessive picture taking and therefore all of the sudden nonexistent phone storrage ruined the videotapping of you crossing the finish line……
Rachel
April 12, 2023 at 7:42 amCongratulations! looks amazing! I had RnR Vegas as a Someday goal – running in vegas at night sounds amazing. You look so full of energy too and how fun to run with friends from afar. :-)
Jenny
April 12, 2023 at 8:05 amWow, this sounds amazing in so many ways. You had a friend come all the way from Germany to cheer you on, you got to meet up with your virtual Streakers group, and you got to run on the Vegas strip! It definitely sounds like a race to fun for fun and not a time goal- the fact that you ran so close to 2 hours without really trying shows you’re ready for that sub-2. Next time!
Anne
April 16, 2023 at 9:08 amOnline (or bike) friends are REAL friends, for sure. Love this so much. Love the extra Tanja time, in particular!
And go you – almost hitting that PR! What an accomplishment. :) This makes me wish I could still run. Sigh. I miss that feeling of just putting on my shoes and…going. Enjoy it for me, okay? <3