Vegas: Sleep Or Run?

I'm back in NYC after a whirlwind trip to Vegas. Did I love the opportunity? Yes. Do I feel the need to return on vacation? Nope. CES was great, but I found the city itself to be anything but desirable.

The one picture I attempted of 'The Strip'

Everything is BIG, a SPECTACLE, a SHOW. The hotels are designed to keep you underground and gambling/drinking/spending money, and I firmly believe you could easily spend an entire week not seeing the light of day. I found it very disorienting - and coupled with the fact that night clubs and gambling aren't my scene (at all), Vegas just wasn't for me.

I went to dinner at Caesar's Palace, and the place was SO BIG the concierge's directions spilled over two maps . TWO MAPS! ONE HOTEL!

CES, however, was amazing. Seeing the latest ridiculous TVs, gadgets like forks that yell at you when you eat too much, people walking around wearing Google glasses like it ain't no thing, and running into my old coworkers (arguably the highlight, as I had zero clue they'd be there! Ah, the power of social media and hashtags), was such an eye-opening experience.

And oh, there were brain wave reading cat ears.*

Every day was jam packed, and I haven't gotten more than 5 hours of sleep since Monday. But last night when I found myself with about 90 minutes of free time between work and dinner, dead tired, I made the decision to go for a run rather than nap.

It was only 30 minutes. On the treadmill. Without music. (rookie mistake of CES- protect your power cords with your life, preferably wearing/holding them in your hand. You will lose them and then learn how vital they are)

But it was great, and I felt so much better after the 30 minutes. And so much better than had I taken a nap! Before the run, I didn't know if I'd make it through dinner I was so tired. But after the run? I managed to make it out until 11:30 (easy now!) before heading back to my hotel to pack/nap for my pre-5am wake-up call. If I had taken a nap? I either would have woken up groggy and miserable, or wouldn't have waken up until the next morning. A run was definitely the better choice ;)

*I promise I have more thoughts than 'cool!' and am slightly more intelligent than I sound. I'll be posting them on JustAllie in a few days.

On-The-Go

Today's run can be characterized as 'on-the-go.' I was rushed for time (hello Monday morning snooze), my Garmin wouldn't connect for the first mile, and 25 minutes in, I was desperate for any semblance of a restroom. One of those days.

Yeah, I usually stay on the loop... not today.

Thankfully, today's run did not turn into the most embarrassing day of my life. Another 'on-the-go' moment? Registering 8 months in advance for the Hamptons 1/2 Marathon! The race isn't until late September, but I tried to register last year and it was already sold out in June/July. So... yes! to ridiculous planning. And there are multiple advantages to registering early-- lowest cost and time to book accommodations before everyone else jumps on the Hamptons bandwagon!

The rest of the day proved to be just as rushed as my morning... cramming a full day's worth of work into a half day, part of which was spent searching for travel sized Tom's toothpaste. Fun fact- after years of expensive dermatology visits and products, I learned I was allergic to 'normal' toothpaste... which was making me break out. Thankfully, after my 3rd drugstore visit today (thank you Whole Foods!) I found the illusive little toothpaste.

Some people use toothpaste as a cheap acne solution... me, not so much

But the best 'on-the-go' moment of the day? Running between 3 different terminals to find and devour a CHICK-FIL-A Sandwich during my stopover in Atlanta ;)

Heaven.

Embracing My Roots

Friday night, I let my Southern show... cowboy boots and all. A group of friends went to the PBR Bull Riding event at Madison Square Garden, and although I'm not entirely sure how the point system works, it was a blast. Especially entertaining was the lead clown, who I'm sure was a dancer in a previous career because he was breaking it DOWN in between runs.

I don't know if this is something to be proud of or not, but I wore my boots to work and NO.ONE.NOTICED.  Everyone else in our group commented on how many people in their offices noticed their 'cowboy' get ups... which made me wonder, did my office just expect that one day I'd show up showing my Southern pride? Something to ponder. Also, even though I'm from the South I have to admit I felt like a poser- surrounded by guidos trying to say 'y'all' and pretend they were rednecks, I identified more with them than the few true bull riding fans in the arena. Am I slowly turning into a Yankee?

Redneck Zamboni

The rest of the weekend has been low key-- a 10 mile run on Saturday that felt much harder than it should, some Christmas returns, and a Saturday night in watching The Graduate and eating ice cream. Now I'm settled in for a full day's work... I'm headed to CES tomorrow so there is a ton to get done before getting on the plane to Vegas!

Seen while returning a Christmas present at Bloomingdales-- don't you just love this sign? 

Playing dress up sounds way better than going to a  'fitting' room

Run Stat: Saturday, Central Park run, 10 miles at 8:49 average pace
Run total for the week: 25.3!