I recently told you about how I rocked the San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in a tutu.
And then in my last post (almost 3 weeks ago--bah!), I mentioned that I was about to run the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon and that I'd tell you more about my running Elvi thing.
Well...I guess I've kept you in suspense long enough.
Here I am in the hotel room prior to the expo.
You must be wondering what that whole Elvis thing was about. The RnR group (organizers of the event) was trying to get the most number of running Elvi at their event. So they were kind enough to organize several activities for those people who wanted to participate. And all you had to do was tell them you'd be dressing up in costume! Weeks before the Vegas RnR event, they contacted me (and other people too) to let us know the Elvi agenda for the weekend. What they had planned was:
I showed up to the photo op on time. But I was pretty much the only one there, so I raced around the expo (wasting precious energy that I needed for the race the next day!) for a bit trying to find other Elvi, or the RnR coordinator, or anyone who knew where I should be waiting.
In all my racing around, I stumbled upon 1 of the RnR organizers who (mistakenly) thought I was not in my Elvis costume and suggested maybe I needed to change(?) to which I told him that I was "jailhouse rock Elvis"! (A little bit later, this same person told me I looked more like a bumblebee than Elvis....hm.)
I eventually stumbled upon an Elvi couple from Canada. And then the 3 of us...waited. Cause no other Elvi had shown up on time or at the expo -- at all. Finally after 15 minutes, a gal from the RnR group told us we could disperse if we would meet up later at the expo stage (which was great because both me and my Canadian pals really wanted to check out the expo vendors, and we hadn't really had a chance to do that yet).
A little bit later the RnR gal did pull me aside near the Competitor murals and told me I could jump in anyone's photos (who wanted a photo with Elvis), but after the whole "bumblebee" comment, I was feeling...inadequate, so I took a pass and went back to shopping at the expo.
The expo photo op event was ok. They asked each of the Elvis impersonators (including me) a couple of questions (where are you from? who are you running/travelling with?) and then they brought a few of the couples up on stage who were going to be married in the run-thru wedding during the event. One couple had even won a deluxe wedding package from the RnR organizers -- deluxe (upgraded suite), gift certificate to use at Tiffany's (yes, the Tiffany's), and a couple of other perks.
I went to the other Elvi meetup events, and they were ok. (I appreciated being in the same corral as others...especially since that corral was 8 corrals ahead of the corral where I was originally assigned.) But to be honest, I mostly participated in all the Elvis events because I was there by myself, and I wasn't really sure what else to do to occupy my time over the weekend. If I'd had a travel (or race) companion, I might not have been so eager to jump into all these extracurricular events. But it's ok...I still had a good time.
Oh, and for those wondering about my "costume," it is:
And then in my last post (almost 3 weeks ago--bah!), I mentioned that I was about to run the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon and that I'd tell you more about my running Elvi thing.
Well...I guess I've kept you in suspense long enough.
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| My "Jailhouse rock" Elvis costume |
You must be wondering what that whole Elvis thing was about. The RnR group (organizers of the event) was trying to get the most number of running Elvi at their event. So they were kind enough to organize several activities for those people who wanted to participate. And all you had to do was tell them you'd be dressing up in costume! Weeks before the Vegas RnR event, they contacted me (and other people too) to let us know the Elvi agenda for the weekend. What they had planned was:
- a photo op at the expo on Saturday
- another photo op pre-race on Sunday
and then - grouping the Elvi runners together in a special corral so we could all gather at the run-thru wedding location
As I previously mentioned, I really wanted to dress up in Elvis' "blue owl" look. I really thought that light blue tutu was gonna work. I contacted countless Etsy sellers about bellbottoms and capes and about so many Elvis ideas that were swirling around in my head. But alas, my "blue owl" look was just not meant to be. (A few days ago -- weeks after I had already successfully completed the Vegas RnR half -- I discovered this business: Elvis Run. SIGH. Where were they when I needed them??)
But anyway. It all worked out for the best because I'm not sure I could really run comfortably in that full-on Elvis get up. As it was, I ended up getting super hot even just running with that non-wicking striped tank top on top of my other tank (not to mention that 1 of the 2 tanks started chafing under my armpit). About halfway through the race, I ended up stripping the striped tank off and tucking it in my waistband. (I'm not sure that's what the RnR race people meant by their #stripatnight hashtag.)
Anyway....back to the Elvi-themed events.
I got to Vegas late Friday night and didn't do much except take the shuttle from the airport to the hotel and check in all by my lonesome. But the next morning I was up bright and early so I could get over to the expo and pick up my race goodies before the first Elvi photo op.
But anyway. It all worked out for the best because I'm not sure I could really run comfortably in that full-on Elvis get up. As it was, I ended up getting super hot even just running with that non-wicking striped tank top on top of my other tank (not to mention that 1 of the 2 tanks started chafing under my armpit). About halfway through the race, I ended up stripping the striped tank off and tucking it in my waistband. (I'm not sure that's what the RnR race people meant by their #stripatnight hashtag.)
Anyway....back to the Elvi-themed events.
I got to Vegas late Friday night and didn't do much except take the shuttle from the airport to the hotel and check in all by my lonesome. But the next morning I was up bright and early so I could get over to the expo and pick up my race goodies before the first Elvi photo op.
In all my racing around, I stumbled upon 1 of the RnR organizers who (mistakenly) thought I was not in my Elvis costume and suggested maybe I needed to change(?) to which I told him that I was "jailhouse rock Elvis"! (A little bit later, this same person told me I looked more like a bumblebee than Elvis....hm.)
I eventually stumbled upon an Elvi couple from Canada. And then the 3 of us...waited. Cause no other Elvi had shown up on time or at the expo -- at all. Finally after 15 minutes, a gal from the RnR group told us we could disperse if we would meet up later at the expo stage (which was great because both me and my Canadian pals really wanted to check out the expo vendors, and we hadn't really had a chance to do that yet).
A little bit later the RnR gal did pull me aside near the Competitor murals and told me I could jump in anyone's photos (who wanted a photo with Elvis), but after the whole "bumblebee" comment, I was feeling...inadequate, so I took a pass and went back to shopping at the expo.
The expo photo op event was ok. They asked each of the Elvis impersonators (including me) a couple of questions (where are you from? who are you running/travelling with?) and then they brought a few of the couples up on stage who were going to be married in the run-thru wedding during the event. One couple had even won a deluxe wedding package from the RnR organizers -- deluxe (upgraded suite), gift certificate to use at Tiffany's (yes, the Tiffany's), and a couple of other perks.
I went to the other Elvi meetup events, and they were ok. (I appreciated being in the same corral as others...especially since that corral was 8 corrals ahead of the corral where I was originally assigned.) But to be honest, I mostly participated in all the Elvis events because I was there by myself, and I wasn't really sure what else to do to occupy my time over the weekend. If I'd had a travel (or race) companion, I might not have been so eager to jump into all these extracurricular events. But it's ok...I still had a good time.
Oh, and for those wondering about my "costume," it is:
- Lululemon crop pants
- a striped Nike tank top (it's actually navy blue and white, not black and white...but the color was close enough that you couldn't tell the difference)
- an Athleta tank top (under the striped top, you can't see it)
- a Lululemon long sleeve pullover with thumb holes
- black & white socks from sockdreams.com
Very cute and sounds like alot of fun! I get that same chaffing under my arm anytime i try to wear a running top longer than a couple of hours!
ReplyDeleteThanks -- it was fun!
DeleteHave you tried Lululemon tanks? Those are my favorite! Kind of pricey but well worth the money!
This time I was trying out Athleta because I got a discount through a friend. The Athleta tank had a TON of pockets to stash GU and other goodies, but sadly, it didn't work out. Athleta has a great return policy though -- 1 bought 2, and they took both back (the one I'd already worn and the other one I hadn't worn yet), no questions asked!