Vegas Baby

Last week I went to Vegas for my first tradeshow of the year. I hadn't been to Vegas since June when I went for two tradeshows two weeks apart. (More on my blog Domo Does Vegas x 2.) I love Vegas, but in small doses. Two times in two weeks is too much. I've also noticed that the more I come to Vegas for work versus leisure, the less fun it becomes. Long days, a lot of walking, late dinners ... and then up again to stand all day in heels at 8am! Its exhausting.

Welcome to Las Vegas

View From My Room

I got into Vegas Wednesday evening and went straight to my hotel to check-in (the Cosmopolitan) and drop off my stuff, and then walked over to Caesars where the show would be to set-up the booth. When I walked up to our booth area and the booth canisters and other things I had sent weren't there, I momentarily panicked. Where was my shipment? An hour later (and no thanks to the show manager) I found out that the items were at the business center .. which was now closed. GREAT. That meant I had to set-up the next morning. Sigh.

Passed the Bellagio Between the Cosmo and Caesars

Tragically Sad Vegas Dinner

I headed back to my hotel and picked up Panda Express on the way home. Gross. I don't think I've had Panda in years! I didn't really have many other choices. Vegas is a strange place to be alone. I eat by myself all the time when I travel. Eating alone at a Vegas restaurant seemed too weird though, and my take-out options were limited. I brought back my food, watched some crappy TV, and was in bed by 10pm.

Domo Digged the Hotel Room

Love Getting Two Beds - One to Sleep In, One to Lay Clothes On

Cool Desk and Interactive TV

Modern Bathroom

Ummm ... Viewing Panel From the Shower?

The next morning my plan was to run over to Caesars, set-up the booth, run back, shower, get ready, and then head back over. Putting the booth up is moderately difficult manual labor and I didn't want to do it in my work clothes. When I got to the business center the next morning they were so backlogged with deliveries that they told me they couldn't give me my items for another hour ... which was when the show started. AHH! I ran back to my hotel (got in a nice 2 mile run roundtrip!), showered, changed, and accepted the fact that I'd be setting up in a dress. Sigh.

Got To Do Fake Surgery with my Booth Neighbor
(The funnel pops the implant in through an incision hole)

Smart Girls Walk in Flats, Carry Their Heels

Luckily when my booth was delivered and I started to put the framework together, the men on either side of my booth helped me out. And they say chivalry is dead! Alone the booth can take 45 minutes to an hour to assemble, but with help you can get it together in 20 minutes. Right as I put the finishing touches on our display (slipped the DVD into the player), my counterpart from Sales showed up. Go figure! The first day of the show was pretty long (8am - 7pm!!), but at least they served drinks and appetizers in the final hour.

Waiters With Appetizers - Score!

The "Shot Show" Was in Town

After the show we had a group dinner over at Prime at the Bellagio. We've eaten there the last few times we've been in Vegas and its one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. The food is incredible and so is the service. If you're looking for a nice steak restaurant next time you're in Vegas, check this place out!

Celebrity Arrival? Check Out That Luggage!

Cupcake Tower - Amazing!

Prime Steakhouse Seafood Platter - Incredible!

The second day of the show was shorter (8am - 5pm), and luckily it was also time for me to go home right after! I needed to get back to San Diego Friday night since I would be working the Carlsbad Marathon expo all day Saturday on behalf of the San Francisco Marathon. Two days pimping my product in Vegas followed by one day pimping my hometown marathon in Carlsbad? Tradeshow warrior!!

The Casinos Were All Decked Out for Chinese New Year

Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan

Morning Run on the Strip

When I got to the Vegas airport I was dismayed to see that there was a "weather delay" in Phoenix and the flight was delayed. Huh? Weather delay?? Turns out one runway was closed in Phoenix for repairs so all of the flights were backed up. Um, doesn't that seem like something they would have scheduled around? Anyways, I suffered through major anxiety worrying about missing my connection in Phoenix and getting into San Diego late on Saturday, but luckily all flights in and out of Phoenix were delayed so I made my connection and got home by 10pm Friday night. Whew!

Possible Weather Delay??

Snacks Waiting When You Board - Gotta Love First Class!

The trip to Vegas was quick, tiring, and a bit fun. I will need to make sure that my next trip back there is for fun instead of work!

Resolution Run 15K

Last weekend I ran the Resolution Run 15K as my first race of the year. I love the 15K distance (9.3 miles) because its further than a normal training run but its not so far that I need to train for it or stress out about it. Its also short enough that I feel like I can push myself and my speed, while also being long enough to somewhat challenge my endurance. There aren’t many 15K races, and this race in January and the Coronado 15K in July are two of my favorites. 

Freezing Before the Race

This race was also put on by Sandy Feet Events, whose owner is the race director for the GOTR Sparkle & Shine 5K. Gotta support those who support us! I was planning on registering for this race several months ago, and when an Active Shwaggle came up for 50% off registration fees I was super excited! I love cheap races!

Foggy Morning in Mission Bay

 

This race draws about 1000 runners each year and has a decent sized ‘expo’ the morning of the race. Both GOTR and Glam Runner were lucky enough to get a table at this event which Tara and I would be working with fellow board member Lana, her husband, and another GOTR volunteer. 

GOTR Coaches & Board Members

It was chilly and foggy on race morning, and we arrived at the event when it was still dark out, meaning it was freezing! Luckily the sun came up before the race started around 7am, and suddenly it was time to run. They started the runners in waves but I was talking to someone over by our tables when the 7-9 minute pace wave was called. Whoops! Oh well, I just started with the 9-12 minute group and spent almost the entire race passing people. 

Resolution Run Start

While its fun to pass people when there is enough room, I wish I had started when I should have so I could have locked into a faster pace. I ran this race last year and finished in 1:17:29 (8:18 pace), so my goal for this year was to at least match my finish time from last year, or hopefully shave off a little time. I figured shooting for a 8:00 pace was my best bet and had a 1:15:00 finish time in my head.

I looked at my Garmin several times during the race and noticed that I was running around a 8:00 minute mile, and varying a bit between 7:30 – 8:30. Its funny how such a range in pace is hard for me to really feel. I knew I couldn’t sustain a 7:30 pace for 9 miles, so whenever I dipped below 8:00 I’d slow down a bit, and if I tipped too close to 8:30 I’d pick up the pace. 

My Chins and I Racing to Win

This race course goes around Fiesta Island, which is one of my least favorite places to run in San Diego. The island is only 4 miles around, but I swear it feels like 20. I’ve done several running races and triathlons around Fiesta Island, and every single time I wonder if there is some black hole you go into where time bends.  I didn’t look at my watch much in the last few miles of the race and decided to just go off how I felt. I was getting tired from pushing for so many miles and didn’t want to psych myself out by seeing that I wasn’t going to PR. About a quarter mile from the finish I finally looked at my watch and was amazed to see that I was going to PR by several minutes! Wow! I crossed the finish line at 1:14:22 which came out to a 7:58 pace overall. A 3+ minute improvement? Awesome!

Running Makes Me Smile

After the race I went back over to the GOTR/Glam Runner tables and hung out with my GOTR comrades for another hour or so until the event ended. It crossed my mind that maybe I had placed in the race, but it turns out I had just missed 3rd in my AG by 40 seconds. Oh well, I’m still really happy with my performance!

Overall time: 1:14:22

Overall Pace: 7:58

Overall ranking: 113/509

Age Group ranking: 5/70

I am not registered for another race until the Oakland Half Marathon in March, but I’ve been planning on either running the Mermaid Half Marathon on Feb 11th or the San Dieguito Half Marathon on Feb 12. Last year I ended up doing both (more on my blog Double Whopper Weekend), and while I’m tempted to do that again this year, sticking with my New Year resolution to race less and train more, I might actually skip both! (More about my resolutions on my blog 2012 Goals.) 

Lana's Husband is in Tutu Too!

My big race coming up in May is a 66 mile bike race as part of the San Diego Century Event, and I need to spend as much time as I can on the weekends training for that. On Sunday following the Resolution Run I rode 30 miles, my longest ride ever! It was tiring but fun, and at this point its hard to imagine biking more than twice that distance.  Good thing I have four months to prepare!

Fun at Work - Iron Chef Time!

Have I mentioned recently that I love my job? Not only is working in Marketing totally fun, but I also work in a fun industry and have fun coworkers. Now for the best part - a couple times a year we get together for our sales meeting and the team-building events we do are REALLY fun! Back in July our team-building event was a photo scavenger hunt. (More on my blog Fun at Work.) We split up into teams and ran all around Seaport Village down by the San Diego Harbor while taking pictures of things related to a list of clues. This time we did something different, we had an Iron Chef-like cooking challenge!

The Four Cooking Stations

Dining Area in the Back

The cooking challenge was held at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center. My boss and I had heard some complaints from the women on our sales force that our activities were usually too physical. In some of our past sales meetings we've bowled, golfed, and had the scavenger hunt. The ladies wanted to do something laid back like go wine tasting. We thought about doing just going wine tasting but wanted to do something that was more team oriented, and preferably had a challenge involved. This Iron Chef competition was perfect!

Fresh Ingredients for the Team

We were split up into four teams, given a recipe, had access to a huge table of ingredients, and had a master chef watching over us and answer questions and providing assistance. There were two dishes that we would be making - Sauteed Shrimp with Sweet Peas, and Chicken, Seafood and Chorizo Paella. 

The Recipes

As soon as it was go-time, our team split up to get the ingredients for the two dishes. We were going to make the shrimp dish first (since it was labeled First Course) but the chef advised us to make the paella first (Second Course) since it took longer to cook. One of my favorite dishes as Cafe Sevilla (my favorite restaurant in San Diego) is their black paella. Yummy!

The Competition - Teams 1, 2, 3

 

We started out the paella by sauteing a long list of ingredients in the saucepan. After everything was nicely browned we added some wine and vegetable stock and let that simmer for a while. Once some of the liquid cooked off a bit we added a few more ingredients on the recipe list until it looked like the pan couldn't possibly hold one more thing! The paella then went into the oven for its final cooking. 

Our Paella Cooking

The Bread Crusting in the Pan

Once the paella was in the oven we got to work on the shrimp. We were allowed to take some creative license with the recipe so we added extra sausage, garlic, and wine. My teammates were extremely liberal with the wine! It cooks off though right? As a final touch we browned some bread with garlic to have on the side.

My Team Hard at Work

 

My Team Cooking the BEST Paella

After each team finished their two dishes they had to plate a small serving for the chef to taste. I think we did a pretty good job with the food itself, but I think our plating was the best on the table! The chef tasted each of the dishes and then announced the awards. I can't remember which award we won, but there were four different awards given out ... and gee each team won one. That was kind of disappointing! I wanted to know if ours really was the best! 

My Team's Shrimp Dish

 My Team's Paella

The Aftermath of our Cooking

Once the judging was over it was time for us to all enjoy our hard work. Everyone was encouraged to go around and try all of the other team's dishes, but I was too full and too lazy to go around and sample anything else. Ours was the best anyways, why face disappointment?

Paella Plated for Judging

 

Shrimp Dish Plated for Judging

After dinner a group of us went to a bar down the street to play pool. To my boss' delight they also had karaoke! I personally hate karaoke. I can't sing to save my life and the idea of revealing my warbling, off-key voice to the public is the last thing in the world I'd ever want to do. I was forced to sing karaoke at a sales meeting two jobs ago and in the process of being forced up onto the stage I honestly thought about quitting. That is how much I don't want to sing in public. 

 Playing Pool in the Gaslamp

Well, thanks to peer pressure yet again, I got dragged up to the stage with my group to sing "We Are the Champions" by Queen. To my delight, with our large group and the blaring speakers by the stage, you couldn't even hear yourself! That made it a lot easier. We made it through the song and it ended up not being the worst thing in the world I'd ever done, and somehow as the night progressed we went up for a number of other songs. To the patrons of the bar that night: I apologize to you and your ears.

Karaoke Stars Singing "Islands in the Stream"

The night was long but a lot of fun. If you are interested in trying out the two recipes, here they are.

Sauteed Shrimp with Sweet Peas

Ingredients

• 20 ea. shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tbs garlic, minced
• 1/2 ea onion, diced
• 10 oz olive oil
• 1 cup tomato, diced
• 1 cup sweet peas
• 1/4 cup mint, fresh and chopped
• 1 cup pea shoots
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup butter, unsalted
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In a hot skillet, pour the olive oil in the pan and sear the sausage to render the fat, stirring it frequently until the sausage is slightly browned. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onions are just turning transparent. Add the shrimp to the skillet and stir frequently until lightly colored on both sides. Add the tomatoes and peas, toss quickly. Deglaze with the wine, then add vegetable stock, simmer for about 1 minute. Reduce heat and add butter to incorporate. Finish with fresh mint and pea shoots and season to taste.

Option
Serve with warm or grilled crusty bread.

Chicken, Seafood and Chorizo Paella

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 6 ounces chorizo, cut into 1/2 inch slices on the diagonal
• 1 pound manila clams, clean
• 1 pound black mussels, clean
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 pinch saffron threads
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 pound roast chicken (meat from 3-pound chicken skinned, deboned, and torn into chunks)
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1 tomato, chopped
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Heat oven to 400F. Heat oil in a large casserole or paella pan over high heat. Add chorizo and cook until browned and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes.

Add rice, paprika, saffron, and bay leaves. Stir to combine and coat the rice, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add roast chicken, seafood, peas, and tomato; stir to combine.

Transfer skillet to oven. Cook uncovered until rice is tender and no liquid remains, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

If you try out either of these recipes let me know how it goes!

2012 Goals

Everyone has been posting their New Year's Resolutions this week and instead I would like to post my 2012 goals. It often seems like people (including myself) make resolutions which are things they'd like to do, maybe try a bit to do, but often don't achieve. The worst part is most people are okay with giving up on their resolutions mid-year. Goals on the other hand are something people strive to achieve and make plans for. S.M.A.R.T. goals are even better.

Resolution (def) - a resolve or determination

Goal (def) - the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

Being a planner, I have specific ways I plan on achieving my 2012 goals. These goals are grouped together into the categories below.

Health

• Floss regularly
• Sleep a minimum of 8 hours per night
• Eat more vegetables
• Eat less processed food (I love you Trader Joe's frozen turkey meatballs!)
• Enjoy less vino 

Fitness

• Register for less races and focus more on quality training
• Incorporate strength training into my routine at least twice a week
• Bike at least twice a week (once indoors, once outdoors)
• Do Bikram Yoga at least twice a month
• Run a 3:55 full marathon
• Run a 1:45 half marathon
• Complete at least one triathlon (preferably Olympic distance)
• Complete a century ride (100 miles) 

Life

• Get to work by 8-8:30am regularly (instead of 9am)
• Develop a personal branding statement
• Manage my expenses better
• Attend church regularly
• Play the piano at least once a week 

 

And ... continue to work to improve on everything I do. Change is good, improvement is better.

2011: A Year in Lists

Its hard to believe that its already 2012. Last year went by in a flash! So as not to bore you with a lengthy summary of my past year, I thought I would present to you my year in review with lists - my favorite!

Celebrating NYE 2012

Notable Purchases

• In January I traded in my beloved Volvo S40 for a brand new Volvo XC60 through the Costco Auto Program and got a smoking deal (More on my blog New Year, New Car)
• I also purchased a new road bike (Specialized Dolce Triple) with the financial assistance of David and my dad, fell and hurt myself the first time I tried to clip in, and then spent three months trying to work up the courage to get back on it again (More on my blog Facing Fears)
• Later in the year I bought the Timex Ironman Global Trainer GPS watch as a triathlon compatible upgrade from my Garmin Forerunner 205

My New Set of Two Wheels

  

Travel

• I flew 49,396 miles (missing Dividend Miles Gold Preferred by 624 miles .. WAHHH)
• I earned 101,630 frequent flyer miles which I'm hoarding for a trip to Maui
• I cashed in 32,500 miles for one round-trip flight for David
• I was on 42 planes and had momentary flying anxiety 84 times (takeoff and landing)
• I traveled to Phoenix, Boston, Philadelphia, Vegas, Vegas, Dallas, Washington DC, and Seattle for work
• I traveled to College Park (MD), Paris, Shepherdstown (WV), San Francisco, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, and Shepherdstown (WV) for personal trips or races

  

My Dogs Spent a Lot of Time w/My Pet Sitter

Tradeshows

• I worked the Carlsbad Marathon expo on behalf of the San Francisco Marathon and was amazed by how different it was from my day job (More on my blog Tradeshow Warrior)
• I worked 5 other tradeshows for work with the names AACS, AAFPRS, ASAPS, Vegas Cosmetic Surgery Show, and THE Aesthetic Show

Pretending to be Fabulous in Vegas

 Races

• I completed 21 races total
• 4 Marathons
• 7 Half-Marathons
• 3 Triathlons (Sprint, International, Sprint)
• 2 10Ks
• 3 5Ks (one was part of a relay)
• 1 15K 
• 1 4 mile race

Racing in Tutus Equals FUN

Full Race List

• Jan - Resolution Run (15K), Carlsbad Half (recap)
• Feb - Surf City Half (recap), Mermaid Half , San Dieguito Half (recaps)
• Mar - Super Seal Sprint Triathlon (recap)
• Apr - ACT Today (5K), Painted Rocks Half (recap)
• May - OC Marathon (recap), Liver Life  (5K), Coronado Bridge Run (4 miles) (recaps)
• Jul - San Diego International Triathlon (recap), San Francisco Marathon (recap)
• Aug - America's Finest City (5K) (recap)
• Sep - Heartbreak Ridge Half (recap), LA Triathlon Relay (recap)
• Oct - SheRox Sprint Triathlon (recap), Marine Corps Marathon (recap)
• Nov - Santa Barbara Half (recap), Nitro Turkey (10K), Quarry Turkey (10K) (recaps)
• Dec - California International Marathon (recap)

Chillin' With Bart Yasso at my Post-SFM BBQ

Racing Firsts

• I did my first International distance triathlon (longest to date)
• I participated in my first triathlon relay
• I ran back-to-back Half Marathons on a Saturday/Sunday
• I PR'd in the 5K in August and then again in September
• I PR'd in the Half Marathon twice in February
• I PR'd in the Marathon (FINALLY) in December
• I ran a LOT of races in a tutu

Glam Runner Tutus Supporting GOTR San Diego!

Training

To prepare for these races I completed 1544 training miles:

• I ran 1283 miles
• I biked 241 miles
• I swam 20 miles

Fun Times w/GOTR Coaches

 

Other Events of Note

• I spent the first 7 months of the year as a San Francisco Marathon Ambassador
• I spent the last 6 months of the year as a Team Sony Walkman Ambassador (More on my blog Team Sony Walkman)
• I was Head Coach for two seasons of Girls on Track again
• My friend Tara and I started the tutu business Glam Runner (More on my blog That's a Whole Lotta Tutus)
• I celebrated my one-year swimmiversary
• I went on the Zappos Insights tour in Vegas which was really neat
• I went to the NKOTBSB concert with my high school friends (More on my blog Living a Teenage Dream)
• I was accepted into Yelp Elite and went to two of their parties (More on my blogs Yelp Elite - Oh Yeah and Yelp Elite - Seeing Green)
• I attended TEDx San Diego which was totally amazing (More on my blog TEDx San Diego)
• I read a LOT of books (More on my blog 2011: A Year in Books)
• And ... I spent the my 4th Christmas with my favorite person in the world and his family.

My Fave "The David"

Happy New Year!