Driven To Distraction

This week I had to go out to Las Vegas for some corporate training.  Now most people would probably scream "Vegas Baby" when offered the chance to get a company paid trip to Las Vegas, but at this point in my life, I am not most people.  Being an "Ironman in Training," I immediately became afraid that this week away from home would affect the weekly training schedule that I am doing.  I tried several way to counteract the instinct to be distracted from what Vegas had to offer.

The first thing that I did was send a message out to some of my local friends who are also training for the Ironman.  I asked if they had any recommendations on where to stay while I was in Vegas.  I did get some great tips, but most of them all had to do with not staying on the famous Las Vegas Strip.  Unfortunately, the training center was very close to the strip, and I did not want to drive from Henderson (Home of the 2011 Ironman 70.3 Championship) every day. 

Plan B was to contact some of the public relations departments of the hotel/casinos to get their opinions.  I was not looking for anything complimentary.  I was just looking for information about the hotels amenities that I could use for my swim, bike, and running exercises.  Plan B ended up not working out either because none of them showed any interest in sharing any information with me about their amenities.  In reality, I assumed they did not want to share this information because they knew the workout facilities would distract me from spending my money on the casino floor. 

Las Vegas is completely based on distraction.  If you have been into a casino, you may notice there no clocks, no windows, there a plenty of flashing lights, constant bells and sounds, and cocktail waitresses wearing skimpy outfits and serving you free drinks.  The one thing that I also noticed is that the hotel registration is on the opposite side of the hotel elevators which forces you to walk through the casino floor to get to your room. 

I knew some of this already, but being that I have only been to Vegas one other time 10 years ago, I still felt like I was a Vegas rookie. I once stayed at Bally's for only a few hours to get some sleep so I could finish my travel across the country.  I took that experience to help with Plan C that Rachel.  I felt with what we came up with was flawless and I would take advantage of the new scenary.  I decided not to bring my bike to Vegas, so I knew I would have to seek out places where I could find spin cycles, decent pools to do laps, and I would run the strip in the mornings when it was less crowded.  So how did my plan work out?  FAIL!

What I did not consider was the climate change compared to Houston.  I ended up fighting off sinus infection and dehydration the whole time because of the dry air and dust storms.  I could not drink enough water to stay hydrated.  Of course the very few alcoholic beverages that I did drink was not helping the issue as well.  I finally gave up on my training for the week.  I ended up stay up later than normal, going to dinners, going to shows (Cirque du Soleil), catching some live band performances, and only actually doing one run the whole week down the strip.  I also spend most of the time fighting off the urge to smoke considering that every hotel I stayed in (including the non-smoking rooms) smelled like an ashtray.

If you are forced to go (like I was) just accept the fact that you are not going to get your training in the way that you thought you were. There are just not enough hours in the day to see everything Vegas has to offer and train. With that all being said, I had a great time in enjoying what "The Strip" had to offer, and I can't wait to go back and enjoy it with Rachel sometime after the Ironman is over. There are a lot of sinless and romantic things that you can do in what they call "Sin City".

Taking breaks away from training is not a bad idea in theory, but we will just have to see how much this sets me back for my Ironman quest.  So if you are looking for a great place to get away where you can continue your training without being distracted, I highly recommend that you never go to Vegas.  As I was drove my rental car past the Famous "Welcome To Las Vegas" sign, I was reminded by the the lyrics sung by Sheryl Crow:

I'm standing in the middle of the desert

Waiting for my ship to come in

But now no joker, no jack, no king

Can take this loser hand

And make it win

I'm leaving Las Vegas

Leaving for good...

I passed the Vegas sign knowing that I would never come back.  Well, at least until the Ironman is over. 

VIVA HOME FOR CONSISTENT IRONMAN TRAINING!