Running the Vegas Strip

Although this is my 4th trip to Vegas for work, this is the first time I had the opportunity to get out for an early-morning jog. As my last “long” run before the marathon, I needed to clock around 6 miles on Friday morning, so I set out to run from one end of the Vegas Strip to the end and back around 6:15 AM. Leaving the Palazzo, Treasure Island and Gilley’s greeted us across the street & reminded me of Urban Cowboy.

I’ve stayed at the Ventian before & it was beautiful. I love the feeling of being back in Venice, although it can’t even begin to compare to the real thing. The attention to detail & the romantic feel of the exterior just invited dreams of a romantic evening in Italy.

Next stop was the Mirage, which I got nada info for ya!

On my last trip to Vegas, we stayed at the MGM & was very impressed. If you like movies and memorabilia, then it’s a great place to stay. I was very impressed with the MGM in Detroit & will hopefully be back there next April.

Ah- New York, New York! Gotta love the original architecture and the fun whimsy of coming to Vegas to feel like you are in the Big Apple.

I’m just amazed by the diversity of choices in Vegas- you have every themed hotel imaginable. From pirates to mid-evil at the Excalibur.

I ran as far as the sleek black pyramid known as the Luxor, another one of the older hotels on the trip.

If I had my choice of places to check out, Mandalay Bay would be on the top of the list as well as The Wynn. Getting my last photo as the sun was rising & I greeted numerous partiers returning to their hotels after a night out partying.

Um, yea- I had no clue there was an entire Planet Hollywood hotel. I’m really not to into their restaurant hype…

I ran my this mega-plex area of ultra-modern hotels & luxury condos that reminded me to the sleek clean design of Dubai.

I don’t think this was actually part of the Monte Carlo, but a gorgeous fountain in front of the Bellagio

I wished we’d have arrived early enough to see the famous fountains at the Bellagio but no such luck. I do think some people at Cesars get lucky with a great view of the neighborhood fountains.

Such a gorgeous hotel, especially in the early morning sunlight with the reflections in the pond.

But this beautiful tree covered walkway, the only sight of real trees in Vegas, was probably my favorite part of the run & much more my speed. Also, the sidewalks on many streets and area of the strip require an elevated cross-walk. Although they all had elevators, I still ended up running up and down about 15 flights of stairs on my run!

The excessive neon in this area reminded me of the glow and glitz of Times Square. I enjoyed running the Vegas Strip- tons of things to see and people to watch. I am officially signed up for the Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll in December, but I’m having serious doubts that I’ll actually make it. I don’t know that I want to train for a 4:30 time limit for the full, race at night, taken another running trip this year. Maybe if our schedule clears out in December (highly unlikely!) and if we can line up tickets to the Garth Brooks concert, it might be worth it to run Vegas again.

**Who all is going to San Antonio in November??  Anybody interested in a girls weekend or sharing rooms??**

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Local inspection, happy hour with a friend & then a post-race massage!