Viva La Domo!

This past week Domo got to go to Vegas for the first time! Domo loves Monika’s job and how often he gets the chance to travel. Guess where Domo and Monika got to stay in Vegas? At the Bellagio! Another five diamond resort! Cue the music and water show Oceans Eleven style.

Domo was shocked by how inexpensive the rooms were at the Bellagio. He could have sworn that years ago resorts like the Bellagio and the Venetian were close to $500 or $600/night. The regular room rate during this trip was only $209/night, and because Domo was attending a tradeshow in the hotel, the group rate was only $129! Domo could not believe it! If you are looking for a fun place to travel to, come to Vegas!

Bellagio Room w/View of the Rio

 Where's Domo? (In the world's most stocked mini-bar!)

 A String of Trips

Domo and Monika had plans of three trips back to back, and during that time Monika’s friend Diane was kind enough to watch her dogs. We call this “Mika and Kona going to camp”. Domo and Monika drove out to Diane’s house in Phoenix with the dogs and flew out to Vegas the next morning.

California/Mexican Fence - View from the 8 Freeway

Upon arriving in Vegas Domo checked into his room and then called down to see if his tradeshow booth was ready to pick-up yet. Unfortunately even though it had been delivered at 11:30am, the shipments were still being processed and could not be picked up for a couple hours. That’s okay, Domo had lunch with his coworkers and then two of them moved out to the pool to continue their meeting. Don’t think Domo is a slacker! Domo really did get work done out there!

 Bellagio Pool - One of Several

Tradeshow Time

In the middle of enjoying some poolside work, Domo received a call that his booth was ready to be delivered to the tradeshow floor. Of course the call came right as Domo dipped his furry brown self into the cool water of the pool. Darnit. Domo then had to run back across the hotel half wet to go set-up. Domo is very proud to say that he set-up the booth all by himself in about 10 minutes flat. Domo ROCKS. That’s about 5 minutes better than his last attempt in Colorado.

Glass Ceiling Art in the Lobby

Domo only got to hang outside by the water for about an hour or so before it was time to shower and get ready to exhibit during the evening welcome reception. Domo was so excited to see that it would be a wine and cheese reception ... even though Domo hates cheese. Yep, just like Monika.

Bellagio Gardens

That night Domo and his coworkers and some doctors went out to dinner at the Prime steak restaurant in the hotel. Dinner started at 8:30pm and didn’t end until midnight. Midnight!! We were the last table to leave. Wow we must make enthralling conversationalists! Domo usually goes to bed around 10pm and was barely alert by the time the dinner ended. Domo personally did not contribute to the conversation much in the last hour. Too tired.

Seafood Platter

Domo got up early the next morning to go workout at the hotel gym. Domo had to pay $25 to workout! Ridiculous! Domo thought that the gym was really nice, but $25? Highway robbery! This next tradeshow day was a full day, 9am – 6pm. There were several quiet times in the day and during those times Domo was able to get a lot of work done. Domo is so efficient! (Actually Domo is just nervous about wrapping all of his work up before leaving for vacation. You might call Domo a stress case.)

Perks of the Job

One of the great things about going to tradeshows is getting free goodies! I mean – meeting new doctors and talking to them about our product. ;o) When Domo went to dental shows he used to get free toothbrushes, discounted power toothbrushes, and lots of free teeth bleach. As you can see, Domo has a big smile and needs shiny white teeth! In the aesthetics industry, Domo is getting even better free goodies! He got another sample of Replenix retinal face cream from Topix, and also got a free HydraFacial from the booth next door!

 HydraFacial Booth Neighbor

Domo was so excited! His face is smoother and more even brown-toned and furry than ever before! The HydraFacial is a facial machine that exfoliates your skin, hydrates it, and infuses it with various solutions. Treatment costs range from $150-250, and the reps told Domo that in the Bellagio Spa they were doing these facial treatments for $350! Holy batmobile!

Vegas Nightlife

The second night that Domo was in Vegas he ended up back at the Prime restaurant for another dinner with doctors. This time dinner started at 6:30pm … and ended at 11:30pm. Was this restaurant a time warp or something? Sheesh! Domo gets tired!! Domo wanted to go straight to bed again but was talked into hitting the nightclub in the Bellagio called “The Bank”. Domo was out hitting the club! Since Domo is so suave and cool, he ended up getting a table in the club! Oh wait, that wasn’t Domo’s work, that was his coworkers. Whatever. Haha.

 "The Bank" Nightclub at the Bellagio

Domo was pretty tired but tried to be social. He usually likes going out and shaking his furry brown bonbon, but was just too tired. When one of his coworkers wanted to leave about an hour later Domo was so relieved for the opportunity slip out. Whew! Domo was tired.

Leaving Las Vegas

The next two days at the tradeshow were full 9am – 6pm days, but Domo would be missing them because on Friday he had to work from his room to get a report done before flying back to Phoenix, and then on Saturday he would be heading off on his next trip. As Domo checked out of his hotel room he realized that he hadn’t left the hotel in two days since he got there, and aside from his initial pool time, he hadn’t been outside at all! Domo almost fainted when he walked outside for the first time. It was probably 105F. Domo does not like the heat.

 Domo at the Phoenix Airport

When Domo arrived back in Phoenix he went over to his friend Jenna’s new house in Gilbert to see the house and meet her new baby. Guess how hot Domo’s car said it was on his drive over? 114F!! Did Domo accidentally land on the face of the sun?!

 Jenna & Paul

Jenna and her husband Paul were great hosts and cooked a yummy dinner consisting of a raspberry salad, egg rolls, and a California Pizza Kitchen pizza. (Domo peeled the cheese off his pizza of course.) Domo didn’t get a chance to take a picture with baby Conner, so I guess you’ll just have to see one of Monika.

Another Trio of Partial Swedes

Paris Bound

Right now Domo is en route to Paris via Charlotte. The plane he is on is a fancy new Airbus plane with Gogo Inflight Wireless. Cool! Internet on the plane! $12.95 to access the internet? Not cool!

Domo will do without internet and will post his blog once he gets to Paris, even though he feels like the gogo website was talking to him with its “Blog after you board” ad.

Domo is very excited to go to Paris and visit his mom – err Monika’s mom! Domo has never been to Paris before and can’t wait to take pictures all over the city! You know, while the Parisians all give Monika a funny look and mumble “silly American!” under their breath.

Viva La France! 

Stay tuned, next trip report will be about Paris! (To read about last year’s trip, check out the blog “A Week in Paris – Silver flats 7 ways in 7 days”.)

San Diego Fun

This past weekend marks a month long trend of getting out and trying new things which showcase how much fun can be had in San Diego.

Balboa Park

It all started a month ago when my dad came out to visit. We started the weekend off with a late Friday night dinner at my favorite San Diego restaurant Café Sevilla. The next day went to Balboa Park and walked around and visited all of the gift shops. I run through Balboa Park all the time but have never yet been to any of the museums. I still haven’t been to any museums, but I now have been in numerous gift shops!

 

The Old Globe Theater was having an open house the weekend my dad was in town so we went in for a tour of the facility. There were also costumes on display, actors in character, games, and a variety of other fun happenings.

Old Globe Theater - Balboa Park

 Old Globe Theater - Costume Display

 Gardens in Balboa Park

San Diego County Fair

A couple weeks ago I decided that I was finally going to check out the San Diego County Fair. I detailed that adventure in "Food and Fun at the Fair".

 Corn at the Fair

 

Wild Animal Park

The weekend following the San Diego Fair (last weekend), I went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park for the first time! I had been to the actual Zoo before a couple years ago with David, and really wasn’t impressed. I didn’t find the animals all that interesting and the place was really hot, and they had these double decker tour buses carting the LAZY people around, so in between seeing animal exhibits I was inhaling bus fumes. Gross.

I was at the zoo more recently for a company party, but didn’t come early to enjoy the zoo and only showed up at the end for the dinner. Hey, it was the same day as my marathon and I had just run 26.2 miles. The idea of walking around the zoo was completely unappealing.

 Christina & Me on Marathon Eve

Anyways, when I got to the zoo for the party I was also given a free pass to the Wild Animal Park! Score! Fortunately for me and my future park date (and not for Christina my zoo party date), the tickets expired on July 6th. Christina wasn’t going to be back in town by then, so she gave me her ticket too.

Christina Channeling Chrissy Snow - Three's Company

 

So .... last weekend my friend Devika and her adorable little 2 year old son Ben joined me at the Wild Animal Park - resulting in the first visit for all of us! Devika and I decided to get to the park early to avoid the crowds and to ensure that we’d be done before Ben would need a nap. The park opened at 9am and with my lagging in the morning and the drive there from her house, we arrived around 10am. Oops! Sorry! ;o( The park wasn’t crowded and at times it was so NOT-crowded that we weren’t sure which direction to go! We walked all around the park and also went on the Safari Adventure bus ride which got you closer to the animals.

 Two Half Swedes & One Quarter Swede - Which two are surprising? Haha

The Wild Animal Park is WAY better than the Zoo! It is so big and they have soo much land (I think the guide said 70+ acres?) and it was a really fun day.

Broadway Comes to San Diego

David and I have seen one play at the Old Globe Theater here in San Diego, but haven’t yet made it to a Broadway show … until this past weekend! Avenue Q was here in San Diego for 5 days and I quickly got tickets. I was beyond excited to get 2nd row tickets for the Friday show at a fairly resonable price. Score! I bought them only a couple days in advance!

 

 

I had originally heard about Avenue Q from Garley, and had downloaded their intro song which is currently on my running playlist/ This song always makes me laugh when I hear it. Its called “It Sucks to Be Me”. Its really humorous and a bit crass, but funny none the less. The show has puppets as main characters and I was not quite sure how that would be presented. Would you only see the puppets? Would you see the puppets and the puppeteers? It turns out that for the characters who are puppets, you see them and right there with them their ‘master’. The funny thing though was that ae were also characters who are not puppets, and they are worked right into things! All in the same scene and setting!

The show was really, really funny! I was a bit taken back by the language and puppet nudity (who knew this existed??) which provided a lot of shock value for the show, but overall it had a nice story and showcased a variety of characters and relationships. If Avenue Q comes into your town, you should see it!

 

Bowling

As I’d mentioned in my previous blog post “I’m Over the Marathon”, I’m really not an athlete. I mean I’m REALLY not. I’ve never enjoyed team sports because I could never get over the fear of being pushed, shoved, or knocked down to the ground, or the fear of being hit in the face or anywhere else on my body by a ball. Growing up I did ballet, gymnastics, and cheerleading. All soft sports where you were safe and alone! As an adult I love running – another solitary sport!

Anyways, this past weekend David and I met up with Rich and Karen for bowling! While bowling is not a team sport, it is a sport which requires technique and skill. (And apparently the minimum arm strength required to hold and throw a >10lb ball without complaining about the weight. I’m totally guilty about complaining about the weight of the ball. Pathetic! 10lbs! But for me, it was really heavy! I’m kind of sore today!)

 Rich & Karen Bowling

 David & Me Bowling

 

I haven’t been bowling in years, and I’ve never been any good. We all thought it would be fun though and met at a local bowling alley to test out our skills. When we got there around 6:30pm the place was pretty empty. By about 9pm though when we left, the place was packed!

We played four games which ranged from Rich & David doing well and me & Karen trailing behind, to Rick doing great, Karen & me doing okay, and David failing miserably (sorry David!), to Rich doing well, David coming back at the end to win, and Karen & me doing okay.

 David - High Score Champion!

In summary? Rich and David are good, though David wasn’t consistent ... and Karen and I alternate between strikes, gutterballs, and hits in between, making us even out as mediocre players. Bowling was a lot of fun and I think a rematch is on the horizon!

My fun in San Diego will be on hold for a while I (Or Domo?) will be on the road for work and personal trips. Next up? Vegas for work. Right on the heels of that trip is a trip to Paris to visit my mom for fun! And then right after that is a quick trip up to San Francisco to run the San Francisco Half Marathon and to support my friend Christina who will be running the full marathon as her first full marathon! I’m sooo excited for her and proud of her for all of the hard work that she has put into her training. I can’t wait to see her on the course and to be there cheering her on towards the finish line!

Christina – If you are reading this, prepare yourself for a large embarrassing sign. :o) Good luck, and be proud for everything you have done to prepare yourself for that day! You've put in the miles and you deserve to rock it that day!

I’m Over the Marathon

Maybe … I moped over my last marathon performance for weeks. I was really sad and really upset about it. And then – I read this article in Running Times that I felt was talking to my soul! And then – I got really busy with work and life and weeks passed and I didn’t run as much and then you know what? I just didn’t care anymore. I still liked to run and race and challenge myself, but suddenly the next three half marathons I had planned seemed just good enough. Ahh … peace. :o) 

Running Times Article

The article I read in Running Times is called “A Race Too Far”. There were so many lines in this article that struck a chord with me! Some excerpts:

"Is it time to get over the marathon? The marathon is an inspiring challenge that few have accomplished (even now, when thousands do it every year, it’s still a select few), and training to finish it, at whatever pace, is a worthy goal. … Standing on a starting line and not knowing if you can finish this, and then accomplishing it, is an awesome experience. The people I’m talking to here are those like me: serious runners who have completed the distance many times and have no doubt they can complete it again: people whose times have reached a plateau after the initial huge improvement in their second and third marathons, and are unable, for whatever reason, to take their training to the level necessary to make the marathon truly a race rather than a survival test.”

Wow. That’s me.

For me, its life and will that are my enemies. On the life side, I work and travel a lot, and staying on a challenging schedule is hard. On the will side, I’m just tired. I put forth a lot more effort into marathon training than I would to exercise, yet I know it’s not enough, yet I just don’t have the will to give it any more. Defeatist? Who knows.

Why we run

I know why I ran my first marathon. It’s because I ran my first half (which prior was an unimaginable goal, and I still felt good, and thought WOW, I bet I could go farther!). Then I ran my first full, and second, and third, and I have to admit I liked the accolades it drew. After having run a few marathons I felt that it was the product of an equation that wasn’t SO hard to unravel. Set a goal, create a plan, plug away, commit, adjust for setbacks, and BAM! You can do it! In some ways I think a marathon is easy. I believe anyone can run one if they commit the time and effort. The time and effort though seem to be the issue. I’m sure I could run a faster marathon if I gave more time and effort.. Yet I can’t. Or won’t most honestly.

My First Half Marathon

 

I’m not a great athlete, anyone who knows me will agree with that. I’m not known to be sporty, I’m afraid of sports and getting hurt. I’m strong willed but in certain situations give in easily. I’m determined at many times, but totally not at others. For me, sports just aren’t my thing. I enjoyed gymnastics and cheerleading growing up because they were fun. I was flexible and powerful and spirited. Those traits fared well in gymnastics and cheerleading. Peeling the onion back a bit farther though, you’ll notice that both “sports” require short burst of all out energy. That’s me! Here I am! Okay, now I’m tired. :oP Marathon running is the total opposite of what I grew up with. Steady strong effort for a long period of time? Sheesh…

My First Full Marathon

 

It’s interesting though, in the article, the author calls out similar reasons that people are attracted to the marathon.

“As early as grade schools, however, those of us who aren’t quite an athletic but want to be good in sports discover that we can excel by being tenacious. So we go longer and longer at whatever pace we can manger, and earn admiration by our ability to keep going.”

Hmm.. is that me? Wow, I guess it is. The article then makes a point about the admiration of non-runners. They can’t appreciate a 5 minute 5 mile run, but you say you’ve run 10 miles and you get wows. I read this and felt somewhat sheepish. Was that all I cared about? People being amazed by the distance I ran regardless of the pace? Yes, sadly, I do like that. I really do. But is it because I’ve never had any prior athletic accomplishments? Maybe.

The article continues on with making a case for working harder to run faster shorter races, and to give up plodding on in longer races. A month after a poor showing at my twelfth marathon, I think I’m going to take that advice.

Running Faster

Although I’ve done track workouts and hill repeats in the past, part of me hasn’t been as focused on improving my speed as it should be. I realize that if you run faster short distances you’ll probably run faster longer distances, but I’ve been so focused on the distance that I’ve given up the speed.

I’ve seen local 5K’s and 10K’s in my neighborhood in the past few years and have almost scoffed at them. Pay $20 to run 3 miles? PFFT! I run 3 miles everyday! For free! What I was overlooking though was the challenge of the course. I’ll run those 3 miles in a race faster than any 3 miles I’d ever run alone!

With that mentality I ran a non-competitive 3K last month, and did great! I was the first to finish among the females which really made me feel good! Granted there were probably only 10 women even running versus walking, it was still a small achievement.

Improving Over Time

One thing that I like about running is the metrics involved. If you’re timed over a certain distance and course, and run that course multiple times, you can easily track improvements. I’m proud to say that aside from my last marathon, I’ve improved year over year.

Latest example? I ran a 15K this past weekend which I’ve run the past two years since I’ve been in San Diego.

2008: 1:21:41

2009: 1:17:48

2010: 1:16:23

A minute and some change may not seem like a lot over 9+ miles to some of you, but for me, it is! According to my GPS watch I actually ran 9.47 miles versus 9.3, so my pace went from 8:13 to 8:04. For not having trained for speed in a long time, I was happy.

Coronado 15K - 2010

 

Prior to moving to San Diego I had never run a 15K. It’s an odd but nice race. It’s far enough to weed out the casual runners, but short enough that you don’t need serious recovery time afterwards.

After the Race

Due to the fact that I got to the race with only moments to spare, I missed out with meeting up with my fellow Rock Runners before the race, but saw several along the course, and saw them after as well. We waited around to watch the award ceremony since a couple of our runners won places in the 5K race, and then we all headed out to meet for breakfast afterwards.

Rock Runners at the Tractor Room

 

We met at the Tractor Room in Hillcrest (my old neighborhood) with the intentions of chowing down! I have to give the disclaimer that I’m not big on large breakfast meals, and in general I’m turned off by food in mass. OH MY. The servings here were GINORMOUS! I mean, I was hungry and ate a ton, but WOW, I had enough leftovers that I was able to eat those for dinner, and nothing else! Basically all I ate all day was my Tractor Room breakfast!

Me & My Breakfast

 

I ordered the “health scramble” which was egg whites, potatoes, turkey sausage, and cornbread. I don’t have a picture of it, but the cornbread was its own skillet, the size of a salad plate! WOW. The Rock Runner sitting next to me (oh no! can’t remember his name!) ordered the French toast. Umm… each slice was literally over an inch thick. Maybe 1 1/2 “? The plate had three slices of bread which really made up a half loaf of bread. Well .. he finished it! AND the plate of bacon. Wowsers!

The HUGE Health Scramble

Moving ON

I was starting to forget about the marathon last week, and then after this past weekend with my PR at the 15K, I’m officially over it! I’m still bummed at heart that I haven’t broken 4 hours in a marathon (best time 4 hours and … 32 seconds! Argh!!), and even more bummed that I didn’t do that .. AND THEN run a 3:40 marathon which would qualify me for Boston, but hey, maybe that’s not what I’m meant for. I do enjoy the shorter races and see improvements in those times. Maybe I’m meant to focus on shorter races where I just get faster and faster.

For now, training for short races fits better in my life. And the improvements are seen more quickly, and are more noticeable.

SO .. for now? Goodbye full marathon! I’ll see you again someday. For now, I’m going to appreciate running the “short” distances. Next up - San Francisco Half Marathon July 25th!

Keep on running. Its fun.

Food & Fun at the Fair

This past week I went to my very first county fair! A few friends and I ventured over to the San Diego County Fair after work this past Thursday. I was grossly intrigued by the "fair food" I had seen on TV over the years and was especially interested in the chocolate covered bacon. Due to some allergy issues I've been having recently I'm off my pescatarian diet and back to eating meat. Oh bacon, how I've missed you!

Family Ranch Sign at the Fair

My friend Wendy and I met up with Christine and Todd at Todd's office and then carpooled over. I was kind of hungry when we headed towards the fair, and about an HOUR later after we'd waited to enter the parking lot, found parking, waited in line to buy tickets, and then waited in line to enter the fair - I was starving!! But what to eat first?

Todd & Christine Waiting to Enter the Fair

 

Christine and I were the first to take the food plunge and both tried out a fresh grilled ear of corn. Yummy! I love corn! It was a bit awkward to hold the corn and try to butter it with the one pat of butter we received, but we managed.

 CORN!

We walked around and checked out the two main aisles of food vendors and we each decided what we wanted and split up with the plan to meet back with our food. I decided upon the huge turkey drumstick and waited in line for that for a few minutes .. before leaving the line to head over to the terryaki stand. Yep, I went to a fair and I had a chicken terryaki rice bowl. Cop out!  Wendy got a corn dog covered in sweet potato chunks and Christine and Todd got fish and chips.

 Flinstones Sized Meat!

Trying Out Fish & Chips

Sweet Potato Corndog

After eating, we wandered around a bit more and made our way over to the games and rides. I had seen a few people walking by with oversized stuffed bananas that had smiles and big cheeks, and knew I had to have one! We passed one game (water gun aimed at a target to race a toy to the top) where the barker said that if all four of us played, one of us was guaranteed to win. I talked the group into playing and ... I lost. Sniff sniff. Wendy won the banana and they were instantly best friends.

Besties for Life!

I tried my luck at a dart game and won  a small seal/lobster creature. Aka "the slobster". I then played a game of toss the ping pong balls into the floating dishes to try again to win a big banana. A bucket of ping pong balls later and I won a banana! A baby one, not a large smiling one. That's okay, good enough!

Showing Off Our "Catch"

Finally, I Win a Banana!

There were a number of rides at the fair but they all seemed to be the spin around topsy turvy type. We all passed on the rides and made our way back to the food to get the chocolate covered bacon. For some reason I was expecting the bacon to be thick chunks covered in Hershey syrup. As I ordered the chocolate covered bacon the woman reached into a freezer and pulled out a Chinese take-out box. Huh? Oh .. it was frozen? We all tried a piece and while none of us hated it, I don't think any of us were too impressed. What a disappointment! The chocolate was hard (frozen of course) and once you snapped a bite into a piece and chewed it you could taste the bacon inside the chocolate, but it was very underwhelming. Sigh.  

Chocolate Covered Bacon - Meh

The Banana Liked the Bacon

On the way back to the parking lot we made a quick trip into the barn where they had all of the animals. What a sad and weird place that was! The cows were all under signs that said "beef project". Boo, how sad! I like to think that my food comes from the cow and chicken tree, not from a cute little cow standing around at the fair. There were also a lot of sheep in the barn who had recently been sheared and were dressed like drag queens. I thought that their outfits were to keep the sheep warm but apparently it was to keep them clean. I wonder if there was a contest for gaudiest sheep jacket? If so there must have been a tie among many contestants.

"Beef Project" :o(

Sheep in Drag

"Don't look at me ..."

Getting out of the fair was a bit of an ordeal. Exiting the parking lot and getting on the freeway took about 30 minutes. We were all tired and were up past our normal bedtimes, and the time to exit seemed to drag on even longer. Before leaving Wendy graciously gave me her large stuffed banana. Yay! I love him! She has named him Fernando and for the time being he is taking up residence in the backseat of my car. I've had several different people from my running group in my car this weekend and each has given me a funny look when they caught sight of the banana in the backseat. "He's from the fair!" I'd say. "oh ... hm..." they'd usually say in response. :o)

The Butter Sculpture Family 

Fried Butter - EWE!

I'm glad that I had a chance to go to the fair and I'm glad I took a chance and tried out the chocolate covered bacon. I'm not sure that I'd return to the fair again unless someone else asked me to go, but overall it was a fun experience.  And now I have Fernando!

Carpool Mate