Sonny, Arlynn, Arther and i flew in bright and early on saturday morning. my parents, who decided to take a little vacation of their own and watch the marathon, booked their flight just a couple of days before and ended up on the same flight. when we arrived my parents went thier separate ways and we ventured over to eggs and i for breakfast. hahaha! i'm sure arther will not forget that place. then we were off to the expo. wowwww! i think that might have to be the biggest event expo that i've been to. it was hugeeee! the rest of the day/night we spent admiring our room at the encore and winding down and getting ready for our big day. (the encore had my FAVORITE print houndstooth all over and epi like louis vuitton pattern on some of the accessories. ahhhh, if i had a place of my own, i would be in heaven to live in a place designed like that. ok enough digression!)
our medal up close my parents with me after the race. my dad wanted to pretend he ran too watch me finish, my bib #23578:
sunday, we woke up super early, as the first race wave was to begin at 615am. we took the shuttle out to mandalay bay where the race began and ended. arlynn and i were not feeling too hot, we both fell asleep on the way to the start, me standing up. lol the weather in the morning was REALLY brisk. felt like we were in tahoe, and the wind was excrutiating. note to self: wear a garbage bag for temporary insulation. we stood there anxiously awaiting for the race to begin. i wasn't feeling too confident about the race. i KNOW i could've trained more, i blame it on daylight savings, it gets dark wayyyy to early for me to run safely. the nerves that a was feeling were slowly starting to take me over. before i knew it, the pyrotechnics started and so did my excitement. the pros were off and the big electric screen that usually advertises for mandalay bay, now displayed the channel 8 morning news that was, of course, covering the marathon. the intensity was stimulating. Arther then pointed out that it was on channel 8, 8 MY number, earlier he pointed out the beautiful painting in our room that i was already admiring resembled the number 8. i said aloud, it's an omen. 8 i am going to do well.
we made our way to the front as wave after wave crossed the starting line. it was our turn and we were off. the course was fairly easy, all flat! =) we ran along the strip and back down again. i was feeling really good. i ran all the way through. i didn't slow until after mile 8 when i had to replenish my liquids (which btw was disgusting, the water came from a hose. but, what can you do when that's all that's provided). i picked up again and decided to take a walk at about 8.5 thinking that i would pick up again at mile 9. not even 3 mins into my walk i feel a push and a yell "GO - GO - GO, COME ON!" it was Arlynn! so, i picked up again and ran all the way through to the end. i even came to a fast sprint at the last half mile. i felt good about the race overall. my official time: 2.44.14 ANOTHER PERSONAL BEST! 
Arther: 2.16.52
Melanie: 2.44.14
Arlynn: 2.47.05
the rest of the weekend was filled with laughter that i definitely enjoyed. "It's PATRON time!" "Badda Bing" Sonny thank you for being our number one supporter. Arlynn thank you for the invite and being my second wind, i wouldn't have done as well as i did without you. Arther, CONGRATULATIONS! welcome to your new hobby. this high is like no other and i'm glad i was there to help, Mr Solanpas. lol
