That really sucks ass. There was one time when I almost beat all three endurance levels and therefore get to fight Goro (something I've never done before in my life). By the time I got up to that level, it was 1 in the morning and my my thumbs were swollen from playing for so long. Needless to say, I was completely exhausted. But unfortunately, for some godforesaken reason, you can't pause the game. So I had to do the unthinkable and turn it off; terminating my chances of fighting Goro and now I have to try all over again.
Luckely in MK2, it's pretty much the same as the original except (you guessed it) you can finally pause the game and relax.