While December is the off season for many, it is not for me. With an Ironman March 17 and a 2 week trip to Cambodia that will not allow for much training, I found myself heading to Dallas for 5 days needing to train and stay healthy. This is my company's annual meeting and to say these people like to have fun is putting it mildly. Many are up every night until 2,3, 4 am.. When dinner starts at 7 it is hard to stick to my 8:00 bed time. So I have to manage the week to ensure I am visible and participating in the events yet staying true to my goals. I left Tuesday after doing a long run in the AM and coming off 9 days of solid training. The goal was to run every day and stay well while in Dallas. The hospitality business is all about good food and even better drinks. While I was pleasantly surprised to find egg whites + spinach one morning, most of the fare is laden with heavy sauce, decadent flavors and thousands of calories. We are overfed with decadent food and wonderful treats in our rooms each nigh (which I promptly put in the hall to avoid all temptation)
The people are great and while it is all work from 8a-10pm ( at the minimum) it could be alot worse. For me my priorities are stay hydrated ( bring my on water bottle with a container of NUUN), commit to running every morning (thus planning accordingly at night) and being choosy with my food and beverage. So many asked if I was on a diet (by looking at my food choices) No...just making good decisions. Being in Texas there was alot of beef which was okay (most was choice and very lean) so I indulged on the protein and skipped the delectable side dishes of carbs and creams and who knows what else... I am not a monk and certainly enjoy a good glass of wine, but balanced that with 1-2 glasses of water, When the reception is from 5-7 and then dinner...I just have to be careful. I drink a lot of water (add a splash of pineapple juice and peer pressure to have a cocktail subsides - yes peer pressure to drink at 46) Enjoy wine with dinner and when the party gets going and it is after 10, I head to the restroom and never come back.
I had a ton of fun, enjoyed myself and managed to dance for hours last night..... it was great - I am tired from standing much of the day, wearing real shoes, staying up to 10 or even 11, but all in all I feel good! I get made fun for my careful eating and rigid schedule but am respected ( I think anywat) for the job I do. Many admire my accomplishments in triathlon and I like setting an example of how that can happen. Yes I miss karaoke at 11pm and sure there is relationship building done after hours...but I don't think my career has suffered and my body certainly does not.
We leave for Cambodia in 9 days, I have not swam nor been on my bike since Monday. I don't have the holiday stresses of decorating and shopping (since we are leaving) so my commitment will be a solid block of training before the trip. Bike Camp!! My training this week was easy running but 2x a day to get some volume in. I was tired going to Dallas and know I have a big block so the really, really slow pace allowed my to keep running but still recover. The only issue was Boot Camp on Friday. I am thrilled we had an exercise initiative (never happened before) So 24 hours later I am sore, Ironman sore, we did more lunges, squats and push-ups than I thought possible. My arse was sore within an hour so you can only imagine that pain today - I was looking in the mirror for bruises.. This is a
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