Healthy Travel: Running in Las Vegas

This week, my posts will revolve around Las Vegas and staying healthy while traveling. A week in the city of sin can alter a healthy lifestyle very quickly if you’re not careful. Therefore, one of my goals for the week is to stick with my workout routine. I’ll have to alter it slightly since there aren’t spin bikes in the hotel gym, but I will still be doing my resistance/weight training and running.

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This morning when I saw this amazing view out my window I knew there was no question of whether to run outside or inside. Since the temperature was only 53 degrees I chose to run in my Lululemon crop pants and my new Nike Run NYC technical shirt.

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Within minutes I was out the door, using my Garmin to keep track of my distance. I chose a simple route,  running up the strip and back, so I didn’t have to worry about safety or getting lost. I captured pictures for y’all during my run so you could experience the Las Vegas strip, in the bright morning sun.

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I really enjoyed my route except for a few things which I forgot about running in Las Vegas:

  • During my 3.2 mile run there were 5 stoplights, 1 of which I made. Therefore I had to reroute a number of times.
  • You have to run up the escalators or stairs at every crosswalk which tired my legs out quicker than normal.
  • Even though the Weather Channel says its only 53 degrees out there it felt like 83!
  • It is really, really dry and my body still hasn’t adjusted.
  • The altitude here is 2,000 feet which is a big difference from running at sea level.

My plan is to run outside at least a few more times this week and hopefully I’ll see improvements each time as I continue to hydrate and fuel for the week’s activities.

Question: Do you exercise when you travel for business and/or pleasure?

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A Las Vegas Afternoon

Greetings from sunny and warm Las Vegas!

My early wake up call was well worth it as I’ve had the entire afternoon to relax poolside.

Newark Airport was empty this morning when I arrived which meant that I flew through check-in and security within 10 minutes.

It was still dark when I boarded flight #1 to Cincinnati.

I slept the entire flight which was made even easier since the flight was only half full. I had the luxury of sprawling out across my row.

When we landed in Cincinnati at 8am I was starving! There weren’t many breakfast options in our terminal which made finding a healthy option a bit more difficult than usual. The Starbucks didn’t serve hot breakfasts and the McDonalds line was wrapped around the corner. Luckily, I remembered that Subway now serves breakfast.

The egg white, ham, and cheese melt on a whole wheat english muffin was filling and delicious! At 4 grams of fat you can’t beat this for an airport option. I paired this with a Dannon Light & Fit yogurt and a bottle of water.

This breakfast kept me going the entire flight to Las Vegas. This flight, while packed, was wonderful due to the plane’s newness. There were power outlets and televisions at every seat and I enjoyed plenty of leg room in my exit row seat. Thanks to the internet,  I had a great time keeping tabs on all my friends running and walking the More Half Marathon via Twitter!

Time flew quickly due to my many distractions and before I knew it we were landing in Las Vegas!

The airport itself was a madhouse packed with hungover vacationers, gamblers, and lots of smoking. I quickly stopped at the Starbucks for a banana and water.

Luckily, within fifteen minutes I had retrieved my luggage and was in the shorter than normal taxi line. Last year when I came to Vegas for our national meeting the taxi line took over an hour!

The dessert terrain and bright blue sky greeted me as soon as we hit the interstate towards the Strip.

Our hotel is definitely an upgrade as well versus last year’s location! The staff has been very helpful so far and each of our rooms are suites! Theodora was amazed when I sent her pictures of the amazing room we’ll share this weekend!

After jumping up and down with excitement, I calmed down enough to unpack everything neatly into the drawers and closet. If I stay in a hotel more than one night, I always unpack immediately so I feel at home.

My next stop was poolside, in hopes of enjoying my book, relaxing, and getting some color. The pool area is perfect as it has a balance of relaxing areas and then also a huge wave pool and lazy river near the DJ. Today I stayed near the cabanas, away from the noise so I could focus on my book and enjoy my own tunes. I also shelled out $17 for Banana Boat Deep Tanning Sunscreen since I forgot to pack one of my many bottles at home. Oops, at least I protected my skin while I was out in the sun!

I ordered a grilled chicken caeser salad around 4pm EST/1pm Pacitic time as my stomach was making sounds and the time change started to hit me. I was surprised that this huge salad was only $9 and happily enjoyed it with dressing on the side.

After three hours of sun, I was ready to chill in my room before this evening’s festivities begin. Tonight I’m enjoying a casual dinner with a few of my other co-workers who came in early for our national meeting.

See you later!

Question: Have you been to Las Vegas before? If so, any recommendations of shows, clubs, or restaurants?

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You Really Should Enjoy Downtown Savannah…

Sometimes the world works in crazy ways.

We arrived at the airport yesterday, exactly one hour before our flight, only to find out that it had just been cancelled. While most of the Midwest and Northeast flights yesterday were cancelled due to weather reasons, ours was cancelled due to mechanical issues. However, these weather issues meant that there was no way they could rebook us on another flight yesterday.

Before he left the ticket counter, the kind ticket agent gave him a tip, "You really should enjoy downtown Savannah. It’s quite lovely this time of year."

Bo, my mom, and I each quickly embraced the idea of enjoying the sunshine and 70 degree weather for one more day!

Taxi and food vouchers in hand to use Tuesday morning, we decided to embrace the extra day and spend it enjoying downtown Savannah.  Luckily, my mom didn’t have any plans yesterday so she was able to enjoy the day with us.

IMG_0496 IMG_0498 IMG_0497 Our first stop was Soho South Cafe, one of our favorite lunch spots in downtown. A funky, hip art boutique and restaurant, their menu is extensive and always delicious. This is one of those restaurants where anything you order arrives just as your taste buds imagine.

IMG_0506 Soho South Cafe Savannah We each tried something different than normal, but also decided that we were in the mood for their famous sandwiches. They make their chicken and tuna salad in house as well as their pork. Armed with this knowledge, my mom and I decided to order the Waldorf style tuna salad sandwich and the chicken salad sandwich, sharing each of them.

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We weren’t able to finish either of these sandwiches due to their enormous size, but they were out of this world! The toppings (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and sprouts) were piled high and both salads included apples, grapes, and the perfect level of seasoning!

Bo ordered their Cuban sandwich as it came highly recommended and is always one of his favorites.  As Cuban sandwich lovers know, this is often a risky sandwich to order at restaurants. It is either delicious, and spot on, or it is underwhelming served with one slice of cheese and a slice of ham.

As you can tell from the below picture, this Cuban was a gooey mess of ham and cheese.

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If you’re ever in Savannah, I highly recommend stopping by Soho South Cafe for a wonderful lunch break. They feature indoor and outdoor seating, a full beer and wine menu, a large assortment of sandwich and salad options, as well as some out of this world desserts!

After our lunch, we spent the afternoon walking around the historic downtown area and City Market.

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IMG_0525 IMG_0523 Garibaldi Seafood RestaurantA final vacation day wouldn’t be complete without a dessert stop, now would it? 🙂 Luckily, we came across a new to us cupcake shop. Mabel Francis Potter’s Cupcake Emporium has been in Savannah for 5 years, serving creative cupcakes and cookie cupcakes to locals and visitors alike. outside of Mabel Francis Potter's Cupcake EmporiumMabel Francis Potter's Cupcake Emporium

Unfortunately, a busier than normal holiday Monday caught them off guard yesterday. Therefore, they only had two flavors when we arrived- cotton candy or coconut.  The owner warned that the cotton candy is a child favorite due to it’s extreme sweetness. We tried the coconut, thinking it was a safer choice.IMG_0509IMG_0510Coconut Cupcake with Coconut Buttercream IcingThe coconut cupcake with coconut butter cream icing did not disappoint! The cake was very moist, one of my requirements for a good cupcake. The icing was a traditional butter cream with only a slight hint of coconut extract topped with fresh coconut.  While I was disappointed in their selection, the cupcake was perfect and my mom said she would definitely order cupcakes there in the future.

 

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