What ever it takes!

Flew to Vegas this morning and everything went eerily well, all of our DS3's came online, all of our equipment just worked.  It's almost like we know what we're doing.

Anyway, we got done working nice and early so after dinner I decided to go down to the hotel gym.  Ran an easy 4 in 33 minutes followed by some weights and stretching.  Good news, I found out the gym now opens at 5:00am.  I'm still going to try and get outside for some running but will probably do my main workouts on the treadmill for the next 2 weeks.

Guess what I did today?  I ran outside, I know pretty unbelievable.  My plan was to go run 2 Wynn Golf course loops 1 loop = exactly 2.5 miles and then go run a 5 mile LT tempo run on the hotel treadmill but once I got outside into almost perfect (47 degrees) running weather I couldn't really see myself going back to the treadmill.  Ran the first 2 laps pretty easy, I actually enjoy my little loop, there is just one awful stretch that is always windy, uphill, and all the homeless people sleep along the sidewalk there, other than than the loop is really nice.  After my second loop I stopped to stretch and decided to attempt my tempo run.  Should have stuck to the treadmill plan for 2 reasons, 1 my first 2 loops were nice, no cars and I hit every light green but by the time my 3rd lap came it was later and lots more cars, and I seemed to hit every intersection red, not good for a tempo.  2nd reason, I went out to fast, pulled my left glute again and had a shooting pain go all up my left leg.  So I scratched the LT pace idea and just tried to maintain a slightly 'uncomfortable' pace for 2 laps. 

Came back to the hotel, filled up the tub with cold water and a pillowcase full of ice and sat in it for about 15 minutes.  I haven't done that in a while either.  The Palazzo has some really great rooms.  Nice big tub, seperate shower, and a TV in the bathroom to watch while in the tub.

PM, 5 miles on the hotel treadmill in 37:30.  Ran next to my friend Jeff.  I need to get him running again.  He claims running hurts his knees.  I tell him running hurts my everything, that probably doesnt help my cause. 

Pretty rough run today, I think my treadmill legs just aren't used to running that far on pavement. 6 Golf Course loops today, any more than 4 gets tough.  After my first loop today I had the brainiac idea to start running the opposite direction around my loop.  That way I replace the aweful uphill, into the wind, in the ghetto with the nice side entrance to the Encore hotel.  Now I could run fast through all the broken beer bottles and homeless people, and my slow section was more enjoyable. This turned out to be a great idea, there were quite a few shady people out this morning,  I passed a guy twice that was just casually walking down the sidewalk at 5:00am with a big TV in his arms.  He must have been looking for an outlet to plug it in.

Distance	Time	Split Time	Avg HR
1	7:46	7:46	145
2	15:38	7:52	143
3	23:18	7:40	146
4	30:48	7:30	149
5	38:33	7:45	153
6	45:52	7:19	151
7	53:14	7:21	157
8	1:00:56	7:42	154
9	1:08:19	7:23	155
10	1:15:51	7:32	158
11	1:23:17	7:25	152
12	1:30:53	7:36	155
13	1:38:40	7:46	154
14	1:46:17	7:38	152
15	1:54:07	7:50	155
Total	1:54:07	7:37 avg pace	151

 This run definitely should have been run at a faster pace but I just didn't have it in me today.

My wife and I have always been very self sufficient and just try to do everything on our own, but yesterday we finally broke down and hired a Nanny to help my wife out.  We have been looking for a while but just couldn't find anyone we trusted, but finally we found one that seems very good and reliable.  I'm going to feel much better now while I'm traveling that there is someone helping out with the kids while my wife is working.  The master plan wasn't for her to start working full time so soon but I guess if the opportunity is there you take it.

Very nice run this morning, 48 degrees, clear sky, no wind. Took it really easy, I think it's going to go a long way to making my legs feel better.  3 loops plus a little out and back along the strip to get an even 8 in 1:07:35.  8:27 avg pace.

P.M. 

4 miles in 33:33.  These after work runs are really hard, the motivation to want to go just isn't there at all, and then my stomach is completely jacked up from eating conference food all day.  Just no good. I walked over to the mall to try and find dinner afterwards and my legs are pretty sore,  I thought running slow would help.  I'm fallin' apart!  Hopefully a good night sleep will help.

I'm a bit of a wreck.  I think I'm just not recovering because I'm walking around a big convention center all day instead of sitting in my cubicle writing comments on peoples running blogs.  Today was suppose to be 12 miles, I wanted to try to average 7:00/mile pace but by hips just wouldn't release and I noticed my feet were kind of clompy.  ended up slow and short.

10 miles in 1:22:00

I'm noticed something interesting about people in Las Vegas.  In Utah if you come running up behind someone they usually jump and scream, and sometimes even pull out the pepper spray.  In Las Vegas people don't even react when I run up behind them.  They must be used to being surprised.

I may need to take tomorrow off of running if I'm going to get a quality run in on Saturday.

I had a great night sleep last night and woke up feeling way better, I could have easily ran but I had already told myself to cross train today so I went to the hotel gym for an elliptical workout.  I decided to do it 'Fritz style" and go hard.  I bumped up the resistance and tried to get my HR up, goal at first was mid 150's but by 30 minutes I actually got it up into the 165 - 170 range.  Seriously the hardest elliptical workout I've ever done, I was feeling way sicker at the end than my 8 mile tempo run last week.  I think this was good for at least a 4 mile marathon pace run, or at least a really good uphill run.

I was trying to figure out why my hamstrings were such a mess, I ran 18 miles a day for a week and wasn't even as sore as I have been this week.  I thought my form must be off, I was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong and then I realized I went from treadmill running for the last 2 months to pavement running, so most likely everything changed.  Plan for my long run tomorrow is to split it up, 10 miles outside, and then when the gym opens finish up on the treadmill.  Hopefully that helps, but if my legs feel as much better tomorrow as they do today I should be fine.  I never really felt injured, just very sore.

Really happy about my run today, was planning on 4 loops then going to the treadmill but the weather was so perfect I just couldn't stand the thought of going to the stuffy gym, T-shirt and shorts.  15 miles at just a good pace, then I tried to push the last 3 miles at around 6:30 pace, probably was higher because of uphill but I was very happy I had anything in me to run faster after 15.

7 loops + 1/4 mile out and back on the strip.

18 miles in 2:09:58  7:13 avg pace.