Vegas

Last week, Brenda and I went to Las Vegas. The primary purpose was for me to race in Rage in the Sage with other Practical Coaching teammates. However, since we were in Las Vegas, it was also a short vacation.

On Thursday morning, we flew into Las Vegas. It was surprisingly cloudy and a bit chilly as the storm that was about to hit Colorado was leaving the Vegas area. Not to worry, though, as the weather would soon change to sunny and hot for the rest of our time in Vegas.

We took a taxi to the Venetian and checked in. Since our room was not ready, we checked out the hotel and ate at one of the restaurants. Being huge gamblers (not), we then picked up our $25 slot credit and proceeded to lose it over an hour of playing video blackjack and video poker on the $0.25 machines.

After blowing through our slot credit, our room was finally ready. The room was almost as large as Brenda's house - just kidding. It was nice though with a remote control window blind that it took us what seemed like ten minutes to figure out and three TVs: one in the living room area, one in the bedroom area, and one in the bathroom. We had a very nice view of the Venetian pools and Treasure Island. I changed into running clothes and went jogging for 45 minutes on a treadmill in the fitness room (thanks Steve) while Brenda went to the hot tub.

After the jog, Brenda and I dined at an Italian restaurant in the Venetian. We then got some gelato at the gelato stand in the fake St. Mark's Square and took a ride on the indoor gondola. After the gondola ride, we headed out to check out other attractions as hotels on the Strip. Our first stop was the pirate show in front of Treasure Island - what a waste of time. The show was super cheesy with the directing you to go into the casino to "get the treasure" at the end of the show making it not only cheesy but also tacky.

We next headed to the Mirage to check out the volcanoes. However, the volacano show was still a half-hour from starting so we continued down the Strip until we reached the Bellagio. At the Bellagio, we watched the fountain show, which was awesome. By the time the show was over, however, it was too late to catch the volcano show at the Mirage. So, we headed back up the other side of the Strip towards the Venetian. As we walked past the Flamingo, I found it hilarous that the hotel that advertised Donny & Marie as its headline show also had pole dancers above its slots. After walking for what seemed like forever, we arrived back at the Venetian and went to bed.

Friday started early as I needed to drive to Hoover Dam to meet Gary, Laura, Steve and Andrea for a 9:00 am tour of the dam. Meanwhile, Brenda stayed at the Venetian to get a massage. After some confusion, Gary found a work colleague, who gave us a private tour of the dam. I wish that I had taken a camera to take pictures of some of the places that we visited, such as walking down a ventilation tunnel to the face of the dam and looking up at the dam from river level. After the dam tour, I headed over to Lake Mead national park to drive the bike course. Then back to Vegas to pick up Brenda, over to Henderson to pick up my race packet, and finally to Boulder City to check into the Boulder Dam Hotel.

The Boulder Dam Hotel was a nice surprise. To get into our room, we had a real key rather than one of those magnetic cards. The room itself had hardwood floors and was done in an art deco style. Even better, there were multiple restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. If I ever do this race again, I would stay there again. After grabbing a quick bite at one of the local restaurants, I got my gear ready for the race and we headed to bed.

4:00 a.m. came way to early. After a quick breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed over to Lake Mead for the race. While I raced, Brenda took pictures. This was Brenda's first triathlon. She was a real trooper waiting in the heat for me to finish. I was super happy to see her at the finish line. She was also very funny. She told me that the guy who won the Olypmic distance finished before I got off the bike. Like that was information that I needed!!! We stayed around and watched other Practical Coaching teammates finish the half-Ironman distance and then headed back to Vegas to return our rental car and check into Mandalay Bay.

At Mandalay Bay, we were informed that we had been upgraded to the Four Seasons. I asked Brenda if that was good, and she said "uh yes." We had to go check in at the Four Seasons registration desk. We must have been some sight. Both of us were sweaty and dirty, and I was carrying a trash bag filled with dirty clothes. I'm surprised that they let us check in. We immediately went to the room. While the room didn't look like much (especially compared to the Venetian), the bed was soooo comfortable. It was very difficult to get off it to get ready for a night on the town with other Practical Coaching teammates.

Despite the temptation of just going to bed, we headed out to New York-New York to meet the Practical Coaching gang for a Cirque du Soleil show, Zumanity. Zumanity is described as "a seductive twist on reality, making the provocative playful and the forbidden electrifying! Leave all inhibitions at the door and let loose as this adult-themed production takes you on a sexy thrill ride full of sensational acrobatics and naughty fun." It was definitely not for the under 18 crowd. The acrobatics were amazing, and the show was very entertaining.

After the show, we wandered up to Bellagio to watch the fountains. Interestingly, the music that accompanied the fountain show was the same music for the fountain show that we saw on Thursday. We then headed into the Bellagio to get something to eat. After missing getting into the buffet restaurant by about ten minutes, we headed over to Noodles where there was a long line to get into the restaurant. After waiting for a table for well over twenty minutes, the rest of the group decided to leave and go find ice cream, leaving only Brenda and me to get dinner at the overpriced Noodles.

When I told the hostess that our group was down to two, she told me that was a problem because while the table for ten was ready, we would have to wait at least another 5 minutes to be seated for two. We almost left at that news but Brenda was too hungry to try to find another restaurant. We finally got seated and had a very so-so meal. It would have been okay if it was not so expensive. After dinner, we headed back to New York-New York to get some ice cream. Unfortunately, Ben & Jerry's was closed so we took it as a sign to give up on trying to find ice cream and instead headed back the Four Seasons. At the Four Seasons, we both crashed on the comfortable bed.

The next morning, I headed to the Four Seasons' fitness room to spin on an exericse bike for 1 hour. While spinning, a Four Seasons' staff member constantly came over to bring me water. It was the first time that I have ever had water brought to me while working out. It was nice. Brenda and I then went to brunch at Verandah restaurant in the Four Seasons. We did the buffet breakfast. The food at the buffet was wonderful, maybe the best that I have ever had at a buffet. The fruit was so fresh, the pancakes were fluffly, the potatoes were delicously seasoned, and the dougnuts were freshly made at the doughnut station. Although expensive for breakfast, it was well worth the cost.

After breakfast, we sadly checked out of the Four Seasons, got a locker in the Four Seasons spa to store the clothes that we would change into for out flight home later in the day, and spent the afternoon at the pools in Mandalay Bay. The locker at the Four Seasons included a robe and sandals, again a nice touch. We mostly just hung out on lounge chairs by one of the pools and read the New York Times, which had been left outside our room in the Four Seasons. We also floated in the lazy river. The lazy river went under a couple of waterfalls. Each time we went past the waterfalls, Brenda and I tried to push each other under them. Neither of us succeeded, but we both had fun trying to get the other soaked.

Sadly, the evening came too quickly. We ate dinner at an expensive Mexican restaurant in Mandalay Bay. We spend well over a $100 for two, which was kind of shocking considering that we often eat out at Mexican restaurants in Denver for well under $30. Who knew you could spend that much money in a Mexican restaurant? We then headed to the airport and flew back to Denver, ending our short but fun Vegas vacation.

Rain, Rain Go Away (and Take the Wind with You)

What happened to Spring? Okay, Spring is the time for rain. But why on the weekend, especially when a two hour bike ride followed by a 30 minute run is on the training schedule? Yes, today's workout involved riding and running in the rain. Even better, it was also windy with the temperature in the low 40s. Despite the less than ideal conditions, the workout was kind of fun. However, if given a choice, I would prefer working out in the sunny sixty degree weather predicted for tomorrow.

The fun part of the workout was testing out the new aero bars. This was the first time I have used aero bars when riding. Initially, I was a little shaky but became more comfortable as I rode longer. I wish that I had them installed earlier so that I could have practiced more with them before the race this Saturday. However, I will have another chance to try them out on Wednesday.

As for the race, hopefully the weather will be better in Vegas. If not, then at least today was good practice for dealing with poor weather conditions.

New Blog Feature

Since I've finally have started to sign up for races and events this year, I decided to add a new feature to the blog: races and events that I am doing in 2009. So far, there are three: Rage in the Sage, Loveland Lake to Lake, and the Courage Classic.

At Rage in the Sage, I'm doing the Olympic distance, which will be a first for me. It will also be the first time that I have done 10K run race. Not sure it is entirely smart to do a step up in run race distance by first swimming and biking. Regardless, I am both excited and nervous about this race, which is just a little over a week away.

I've done Loveland before but only as the bike leg of a relay team. This time, it will be an individual effort. I'm interested in how the bike compares from last year now that I also must swim first and run afterwards.

The Courage Classic is a bike event rather than a race. It involves riding for three days in the Copper Mtn/Vail area. I thought about doing it last year but wasn't sure whether I would be able to handle riding three days in the mountains. This year, I'm more confident that I can do it. I'm also doing it because it raises money for Children's Hospital, which means that I need to raise at least $300. The link for the Courage Classic takes you to my rider page where you can make a donation. Any donations, no matter how much, would be much appreciated.

I am still looking for an early July and an August or September triathlon. I know Steve would like me to do Lifetime Fitness in Minneapolis (early July) but I not sure that I want spend money to travel to Minneapolis to do a race. I not a big fan of Minneapolis, and I already must travel there too often (about once every two years) for work. Yes, once every two years is too much for me. If you have any suggestions for races in July, August or September, let me know.

Lots of Running

It seems like there has been quite a bit of running on my schedule recently. It started last Saturday with a 12+ mile run up Deer Creek Canyon. This was not the original plan. The Saturday workout should have been a bike City View/run 8 mile brick. However, a blizzard on Thursday resulted in a last minute change of plans.

Because of the last minute nature of the workout, I didn't have time to think too much about what I had agreed to do. It turned out to be a great run. Steve paired me with Sarah and started us up the canyon ahead of the rest of the group. We ran at a constant pace up High Grade towards the school. I kept expecting to see Troy, Sonja's awesome husband who provided support for our run, pass us in the truck, which would indicate that Steve's group was not too far behind us. It didn't happen. We actually had to wait for Troy for about 5 or so minutes at the school to replenish our water.

After getting more water from Troy, we then continued on from the school toward City View. Again, I was expecting Troy to pass us before we reached City View but it didn't happen. It turns out that Steve had given us too much of a head start. Since Troy was not there, Sarah and I decided to keep on running. We continued running along the road until we could see Denver from City View. We then turned around and headed back to the meeting point to see if Troy was there. He still wasn't there, so for some unexplained reason we decided to run back from where we had just come to see Denver again.

After seeing Denver again, we again headed back to the meeting point. Just as we started back, we saw Troy driving towards us. We gladly accepted a ride from Troy back to the meeting point, where we waited for Steve and the others to arrive. We ended up running 12.75 miles. When I realized that we were just short of 13.1 miles, I was kind of disappointed since it would have been cool to have run a half-marathon uphill. However, I was happy about the run because I felt that I could have gone farther. Plus, it was the second farthest distance that I have ever run with most of the run being uphill.

On Tuesday, I had an 8 mile, no speed run on the schedule. After the long run on Saturday, it actually seemed easy. I felt especially strong the last 5 miles.

Today was a 10+ mile run around Chatfield. This was the same run that I had done earlier in March. The run seemed much easier today. In early March, I was barely hanging on for the last two miles. Today, I could have kept on going at the end of the run even though the time it took me to do the run was almost 14 minutes faster than the same run in March.

What surprises me is how good the last three runs have felt even though this is by far the most running that I have ever done in one week. I am kind of interested in how my body will respond to the scheduled 12 mile, no speed run scheduled for this Saturday.

Zero Training

Yes, I'm trying a new approach to triathlon training: zero training. Since the 5K swim on Sunday, I've done absolutely zero workouts. Yes, you read correctly, no workouts. This plan should make for a splendid race in April.

This is not entirely voluntary. Since Sunday night, I've been suffering from the cold, flu, or something else. I think it started Saturday night. I was starting not to feel good Saturday night but felt good enough to do the early morning Sunday swim. After the swim, I felt okay but later in the day I started to feel rundown.

Monday came with a runny nose. That was okay since it was a scheduled rest day. Then Tuesday morning hit with a cough to join the runny nose. I decided to skip the scheduled swim workout. Good decision, because by Tuesday evening I had a fever and chills to go with the runny nose and coughing. I felt slightly better Wednesday morning and hoped the worst had passed. Not quite, by the end of the day I was feeling achy in my back and legs.

Thursday morning, once again I had renewed hope since I was feeling better. It was a mirage. I came home from work feeling the worse than I had all week. Not only did I have the chills back, but now I was feeling nauseous and had a headache. Even worse, I had a terrible night of sleep, which included being up from three to five in the morning because I felt better surfing the Internet than trying to sleep.

Today, every time that I thought about food I just felt sick to the stomach. On the plus side, the nose has stopped running and there are no chills yet tonight. On the negative side, I've cancelled my planned ski day tomorrow and definitely will not be snowshoe racing on Sunday.

For some reason, something always seems to happen that prevents me from snowshoe racing. For the January race, it was getting back late the night before from Mexico. For the February race, it was a leg injury. Now, it is being too sick for it to be a good idea to do the race. This must be a sign that I am not meant to snowshoe race this year.

Despite being frustrated by being unable to train, at least my leg is getting some additional rest. Hopefully by the time that I am healthy enough to resume training, it will be fully healed.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow when I can just rest. Yes, despite being sick, I was compelled to go to work everyday this week. Perhaps I'll elaborate on that situation when I'm in a better frame of mind. Otherwise, I might write something unwise. Besides, the Jazz-Nuggets is starting. Go Jazz!!!

Glenwood Springs

Once again, Brenda and I are testing our relationship with a trip, a working vacation to Glenwood Springs and Silverthorne. Well, in theory, it is a working vacation. Brenda worked today, I didn't. I tried but the password given to me for the laptop computer was wrong. I finally received the right password at 5:00 p.m. today. Hopefully, I will get some work done tomorrow.

On the plus side, I did get in some good workouts today. I did 50 good minutes on the elliptical. I also did weights for a little over an hour. Additionally, I played Brenda's Wii Fit for over three hours while waiting to receive the correct password. Maybe not a workout, but a lot of fun. I also found out that you stop getting workout credits on Wii Fit after three hours. Finally, I spent almost an hour in the Glenwood Springs Hot Springs pool and not one minute of the time involved swimming laps!!!!

Why Tri?

At some point, someone asks the question: why do you do triathlons (or how did you get started doing triathlons)? The short answer: I started doing them because I wanted to see if I could do one, and I keep doing them because I enjoy doing them (although during the run I sometimes wonder). The long answer is a bit more complicated.

The long answer begins in June 2006. At this time, I was overweight and unhappily married. How overweight? I weighed between 215 and 220 pounds and it was not muscle. How unhappily married? I filed for divorce at the end of June.

Beginning the divorce process was the turning point for me. To deal with the stress, I began walking my dog. I also was not eating as much. As I started walking and not eating as much, I began losing weight. By December 2006, I was just under 200 pounds.

Between December and March 2007, my weight loss had leveled off. I wanted to lose more weight and recognized that I needed to do something different. I decided to start weight training. Because I had never weight trained, I hired a trainer. I first met with the trainer in April 2007.

Before the training began, the trainer made me do a fitness test, which involved running a mile, push ups, sit ups, and a flexibility test. My results were pathetic. I still remember the mile run. It took me about 12 minutes to run the mile, and I was exhausted at the end. I can even remember my heart rate at the end of the run: 199. The other tests were not much better.

When I hired the trainer, I did not realize there would be a cardiovascular component. After the fitness test, the trainer wanted me to walk briskly at least every other day. By briskly, she meant keep my heart rate above a certain number. At first, I was so out of shape that it was easy. After a month or so, it became harder to reach the number from just walking. Thus, I started to run a portion of the walk. Gradually, the walks became more running and less walking.

By June 2007, I wanted to have a running goal. For the goal, I decided to do something that I had never done before, a 5K run. Having decided to do a 5K run, I needed to find a run. I knew Highlands Ranch offered 5K races so I went to the HRCA website to see if there were any upcoming races. I found one. I also saw that HRCA offered triathlon races.

When I looked at the distances for the swim, bike and run, they seemed doable: 500 yd swim, 12 mile bike, and 5K run. Until then, I had not known there were different distances for triathlons; I only knew about the Ironman distance, which just seemed crazy to me. Thus, I had never thought about doing a triathlon. When I learned there were much shorter distances for triathlons, completing a triathlon seemed like a goal that was possible to accomplish.

I would have signed up to do a triathlon that year except there was one problem: I didn't know how to swim. Although 500 yards didn't seem very far (ha, ha, ha ... little did I know), I was fairly sure that I needed to learn at least the basics of swimming before trying to do a triathlon. So I decided that I would set a goal of doing the HRCA Tune Up Triathlon in June 2008.

My first swim lesson was towards the end of September 2007. It was awful. When I signed up for swim lessons, I thought a half-hour wasn't a very long lesson. After the the first lesson, it was about 25 minutes too long. Swimming was so hard for me that I would have given it up after the first lesson if not for the fact that I needed to be able to swim (or at least be able to have some forward motion in the water) to accomplish my goal of completing the Tune Up Triathlon.

Until May 2008, I was still unsure about whether I would be able to do the swim. It was only a couple of weeks before the Tune Up Triathlon that I finally believed that I would complete the swim.

June finally came, and I raced in my triathlon. When I finished, I had completed something that I had set out to do almost a year earlier. It felt great. At that point, I guess I was hooked.

Since then, I have done things that I never would have contemplated a year ago. For example, I had planned to only do triathlons with pool swims in 2008. Somehow, I got talked into doing an open water swim triathlon in 2008 and found that I enjoyed swimming in open water. I liked it so much that I did a second open water swim triathlon in 2008.

This year, I'm looking forward to stepping up in distance. I'm a little nervous about the longer distances but I'm sure it will be fine. And when the race is over, I know that I will have a smile on my face.