Viva Vegas

I really don't like Las Vegas. Is that OK to admit?  It's everything I'm not, or at least don't think I am.  Flashy. Over the top.  Glitzy.  Glamorous.

Vegas stays up all night.  I go to bed by 11.  Vegas bets the house.  I take calculated risks.  Vegas is all style.  I try to be all substance. (OK, maybe there's a little flash involved, too, if I'm being totally honest here!).

But one thing we can see eye to eye on...food.  There's a lot of it here.  And that's good, because I'm frickin' hungry.

Especially today. Find me a buffet!  I caught the 7:20 a.m. flight from Burbank to Sin City.  Up at 5:30 a.m., along with my lovely neighbor Trudy.  Just in case my alarm wasn't loud enough, she had me covered with her usual circus act of stomping and drawer slamming.

I know some children read this blog now, so I'll refrain from writing what I'm thinking.

I'm honestly not sure which I can't stand more...Vegas, or Trudy.  It's close.

Once I checked in at the Red Rocks Casino (room pictured above) and caught up on emails and text messages, I decided 9:30 a.m. would be the perfect time to fit my running time-trial in.  The nice concierge pointed me to a windy, concrete path in a wash basin just a few miles from the resort.  It did the trick.

At first, I felt quite sluggish.  I couldn't tell if it was the air travel, the early wake-up, dehydration, lack of nutrition or general fatigue.  But it definitely took me the full 20 minutes to warm-up before I began the TT portion.  My right calf was stiff and it affected my stride.

Fortunately, the actual TT went much better -- even if I labored through it a bit more than usual.  My 20-minute average heart-rate bpm remained the same from four weeks ago, 168.  However, if I calculated correctly using MapMyRun.com, then my pace improved by nearly a full minute.  Four weeks ago, I ran an 8:44 mile.  Today, my pace was 7:21!

I may have to visit Vegas more often.

Following the run, I crammed in a shortened strength training session.  The 45-minute workout felt like an hour-and-a-half, with the following usual suspects involved (2 sets, 15 reps unless noted):

-- Lat pulldowns, squats

-- Flys, lunges

-- Rows, leg extensions

-- Shoulder press, leg curls

-- Push-ups, calf raisers

-- Tricep extensions (1 set)

-- Arm curls (1 set)

-- Plank

As Brady Quinn said in the cheesy EAS TV spots, "Now I'm done."  Lots of pasta, with grilled chicken, followed by a Muscle Milk.  Sorry, EAS.

The rest of the day and evening has been and will continue to be work-focused.  But that will be easy considering I'm at a conference. Conference calls and schmoozing with colleagues are the order of the day.

I will rest easy knowing I found the discipline to train hard in a town like this.

Ironman. An exercise in willpower.

279 days and counting.

Recovery Day

Perhaps this is an addendum to yesterday's blog, but today I can't help but think about my ability to recover from this weekend's training sessions.

Just a few months ago, the notion of running 15 miles one day, cycling 50 the next and then "recovering" with a five-mile run and one hour of weights training the day after that would make me crawl into a fetal position.

Today, I rather enjoyed it!

What the hell is wrong with me?

The run portion of the workout, which I completed on the treadmill, was pretty tough at first. In fact, it took me about 30 minutes to loosen my legs before I began my 20 minutes of tempo running. Somewhat surprisingly though, I didn't feel the effects from this weekend's training as much during the weightlifting. Certain leg exercises were more difficult than others, but overall, I wasn't overly sore. It may have helped that I lifted immediately after the run, since this afternoon and evening have been filled with meetings, a dentist appointment (filling, ugh!) and a dinner that I'll be en route to shortly.

I'm already looking forward to tomorrow's workouts. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm excited to get back in the pool. It's been four days since I swam, but it feels like longer. I used to hate swimming... now I look forward to it. Weird!

It just goes to show that with enough practice and repetition, your mind and mindset can adapt. Routine, as dull as it may sound, can become sublime. Even invigorating.

Therapeutic? Perhaps.

When I set after my quest for Ironman, I thought triathlon would dramatically expand my physical capabilities. I never expected that the sport would take my psyche along for the ride and give it a tune-up along the way.

295 days and counting.

The Joy of Blogging

Nothing really happened of note today.

And that is the joy of blogging. I am forced to stop and think about what actually did happen, even if it seems inconsequential. Blogging slows time down at that late hour where an old day ends and a new one begins. It offers an opportunity for reflection where none would otherwise occur -- when the joyful feeling of crawling into bed with cold sheets, warm sweats, and a heavy head is savored just a bit longer thanks to a room illuminated by a solitary laptop.

Since today was an off-day from training, I was able to focus solely on work and non-Ironman pursuits. And I still found time for burgers and beer at the Blue Dog tonight. The highlight of my day was, without doubt, seeing the in-progress version of my pending IronMadMan website. It still has a ways to go, but Ward is doing a fantastic job of bringing my vision to life. I can't wait until I switch over to the new site and we can open up the community further without having to worry about sign-in info. The goal for the re-launch is next week.

I need to power down and call it a night. I have to get up in 6.5 hours for a 2.5 hour run before the beginning of my parents' 40th anniversary party in Westlake.

More to report then.

Wow, i just realized that in another moment, we'll already be out of the 300s on the countdown! I'm kind of sad, actually. Which is completely unexpected. See, I'll never be able to recapture the feeling of being a first-time Ironman-in-training in my first two months of training. I now know what to expect going forward. Yet, the joy of blogging has enabled me to appreciate those two months more deeply. To understand my life a little better and the moments that help define it.

Thank you for sharing it with me.

... 299 days and counting.

Trudy Wins

Can you hear that knocking?

That constant banging noise... you can't hear it?

If you can, that's the sound of my head banging against the desk in my office at home. Because I just lost my housing association appeal against Trudy and Bam-Bam's successful brand of noise-driven psychological warfare.

And General Noriega thought he had it bad.

So it turns out there's this thing called the Fair Housing Act that covers "discrimination" against parents of children in condominiums such as mine, for noise-related cases such as this.

Considering Trudy can make a plausible case that she's not playing loud music, breaking association rules about doing laundry too late or early, or having wild parties into the night, I've got no real recourse. In other words, I'm in an unfortunate, yet unwinnable situation.

I suppose in some twisted way I'm grateful for Trudy. Without this noise issue starting at 5:30 a.m. most days, I'd have less motivation to train. But, since I'm up, why not?

If that's not learning how to see the fucking sunny side of life, I don't know what is.

Speaking of training, I had a solid day. My Monday Malaise was long gone, replaced with a Tenacious Tuesday. I enjoyed an interval "cruise speed" run at Balboa Park for more than an hour early this morning. Of all the times to have a camera with me the past two months, this would have been it. The fog from the man-made lakes and creek beds in the nature preserve contributed to a menacing mist that might have given Stephen King chills. I was literally running through clouds of fog, just waiting for Freddy, Jason or Michael to pounce from the brush.

My workout continued at lunch with an incredible strength session at my work gym. I highly recommend this 45-minute program for anyone trying to get an intense full body workout.

2 sets, 15 reps, all done as supersets:

-- 10 minute warmup w/ treadmill or stationary bike

-- Lat pulldowns, dumbell lunges

-- Pushups, step-ups w/ dumbells

-- Close-grip pull-ups, squats

-- Alternating cable bicep curls, cable rope overhead extensions

-- Dumbell kickbacks, calf raises

-- 4x45 second planks

-- 3x20 medicine ball leg raises

-- 5 minutes of abs work

I lumped the planks and abs work together as another superset due to time issues (gotta do some work at the office, right?). This was by far one of the best workouts I've had in a gym since training with the Shan Clan.

Tomorrow, I've got a rare early morning yoga class and an optional bike spin in the evening. Since I missed a workout on Monday, I'll likely do both.

I'm already excited for the day to begin. What a difference a day makes.

Even if that day starts at 5:30 in the morning thanks to a noisy neighbor.

302 days and counting.