Reading Recap and Multiple Illnesses

It all started with the tots.

Friday night I was planning on taking it easy since I wanted to get to bed early and do well at the KCPL Racing to Read 5K on Saturday morning. My friend Jenn invited me to a happy hour on Friday evening that seemed right up the "taking it easy" alley. Her boyfriend Shane, who is the reigning 2009 Cincinnati Tater Tot Eating Champion, was granted an all-you-can-eat tot party for 20 of his closest friends by Bar Louie (who sponsored the tot-eating contest) as part of his victory spoils. So at 5 p.m., I was at Bar Louie and hungry for tots.

I'm not sure whether it was the tots, too many Blue Moons, or some of the crap I ate later that evening, but by about midnight, I felt not-so-great. After a few hours of bellyache followed by a violent exorcism of evil from my digestive tract, I got some sleep and was feeling bright and chipper by morning.

My brother Nick called me at about 8. He had made a last-minute decision to come run the 5K with me. Despite the previous evening's illness, the run went well. My goal is to get my 5K time under 30 minutes this summer, and so coming in at 30:35 was not too shabby for the first try. I was impressed that my brother (who is a great athlete but not a runner) was able to keep up with me through the whole race.

After the race, we gobbled up our free pancakes from First Watch, and I headed home to get showered and changed for football. Football was exhausting after the race, but the rest of the weekend was a lot of fun. Matt and I took the Gangsters, Gamblers, and Girls tour of Newport Saturday night, and it was really interesting and entertaining. So much history; it was just fascinating. They are going to be running the tour again in the fall, and I highly recommend checking it out.

Monday night I got through a mile on the treadmill before feeling crampy. Something was definitely wrong. I had a restless night of sleep, then woke up feeling worse Tuesday. After about an hour at the office, it became apparent that whatever it was wasn't going away. I took the rest of the day off, and spent most of it hugging porcelain. By mid-afternoon, I was feeling a little better and gingerly sipped down a vanilla milkshake. Things got better from there. Today, I am back to about 99%.

I'm pretty sure I've narrowed down the possible causes of my second illness to some mediterranean rice and bean salad that I ate Monday afternoon. I got it off the olive bar at Kroger. I guess the fact that there is a sneeze-guard on those things should have sent up a red flag... ugh.

So, two lessons learned: 1.) No more food from anything under a sneeze guard and 2.) Tots should be eaten in moderation.

Back in action, reluctantly

While my head is still in Vegas sipping a cocktail by the pool, my body is finally coming to terms with being back in Cincinnati. (I might have to be back from vacation, but I don't have to like it.) After a week of gluttony at 5-star restaurants and buffets, I am trying to refocus on my fitness. It hasn't been easy.

After taking last Wednesday and Thursday off of running, on Friday and Saturday I was ready to attack some respectable mileage. I did a combined 11 miles (7 Friday night and 4 Saturday morning). I am finding that doing a shot of Gu before my runs gives me a little extra "oomph" to get past the 4-5 mile mark. While my body is sending me messages that I should still be taking it easy after the marathon, I know the only way to get over the hump is to slurp up my Gu and suck up my pain.

After 11 miles in two days, I also played flag football Saturday afternoon. More specifically, I played the whole game (40 minutes), with no subs. While I was okay afterward, I really started feeling it while hoofing up the steps to the 500-level at the Reds game Saturday night. At least it was worth it; the Reds took home the victory in extra innings.

After lazing about on Sunday, this week I've been trying to hit the gym harder: I did an easy 4 miles Monday plus Group Power class, then last night I did a 30-minute abs class plus a fast 3-miler. Tonight I'm planning on 5-6 miles (probably on the treadmill due to the rain) and tomorrow I'm doing something called FitCamp, which I have a sneaking suspicion is going to be crazy-hard and will make it difficult for me to sit down or stand up for a few days.

On Saturday, I'll be participating in my first race since the Flying Pig. I'll be running the KCPL Racing to Read 5K. While I know it actually helps fund the Kenton County Public Library, I really wanted to do it because it sounds like the kind of race that might help support The Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good... "What is this? A center for ants? How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to read if they can't even fit inside the building?"

Vegas Recap

I could go on and on and on and on about how much fun I had in Vegas and all the cool stuff we did, but I don't want to write a whole novel about it (and I doubt anyone would want to read it), I'll just stick to some of my favorite highlights:

Stumbling into lions: After flying in late Saturday night, we got up early Sunday and started exploring the Strip. Matt has been to Vegas tons of times, so he was a great tour guide. While wandering through MGM Grand, we noticed a large mountain lion exhibit. We found out that in just 15 minutes from now there would be a live show and feeding. So we grabbed a cocktail (there's nothing like rum in the a.m.), and waited for the lions to make their appearance. Two 1500-lb. mountain lions wandered out of the den and showed off for the crowd.

The Palazzo: The first night in Vegas we stayed at the Mirage, and the room was acceptable but not fantastic. I wasn't complaining, but I certainly wasn't impressed. Little did I realize Sunday that we were about to get an upgrade. Matt kept this as a surprise - for the rest of the week we'd be staying at the Palazzo, which was about 1,000 times nicer than the Mirage and probably the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in (I say probably just because the suite I stayed in at the Galt House in Louisville a few years ago is right up there with this one). Palazzo means "palace" in Italian, and our room felt like a palace.

Swimming with the fishes: It worked out really that Matt likes to gamble and I like to lay by the pool. On Monday we headed to downtown Vegas at the Golden Nugget. I spent the afternoon outside in their kick-ass pool with a shark tank in the middle of it, while Matt played Craps inside (he lost, but made most of it back on roulette...lucky, lucky).

Joining a gym: Yep, only I would join a gym while on vacation. When I realized on Monday that there wasn't a free gym in the hotel, I knew I'd go crazy without getting in at least a few workouts (especially with all the great food we were eating!). So I decided to join the Canyon Ranch for two days. Not only did I get in 10 miles on the treadmill and a Pilates class, I also treated myself to some crazy spa treatments including a Finnish sauna (relaxing), an Aquavana bath (odd) and a shower called "tropical rain storm" (get me out of here, I hate this!).

The food was delicious, especially our steaks at Table 10 (Emeril Lagasse's restaurant) and the buffet at the Wynn (I had at least 4 different desserts, all tasty). The weather was perfect, especially since I spent two afternoons working on my tan (I still can't find it). I learned how to play Craps, and got to help out by rolling the dice a few times, but I don't see myself ever actually placing a bet. I just can't see risking $50-$100 that could be better spent on a cute handbag.

Matt fake-tried to throw me over both the Stratosphere and the Hoover Dam, but then made it up to me and then some by buying me some beautiful pink heart-shaped Saworski crystal earrings with some of his winnings. We spent 4 days there but there's still so much more we wanted to do and see. Also, I'll need to get another one of these:

(Yep, it's a margarita shaped like a football.)

What a great trip! I'm very seriously looking into going back soon. There's a half-marathon there on December 6th. Hmmm...