So I’ve been backburnering part 2 of my Vegas 2011 trip report for so long now that I figured I would just post a bunch of pictures and be done with it for the most part. It is worth noting that my girlfriend, Meagan, came out during my 2nd week and we had an amazing time. We hung out at the pool and saw 3 different shows, including O, Mystere, and Jersey Boys. Surprisingly, the highly touted O was our least favorite and Jersey Boys, a show we only saw based on recommendations and the fact that it was playing in our hotel, absolutely blew us away. It also helped that we had VIP seating due to being guests at The Palazzo. If you enjoy Frankie Valli even in the slightest, then this show will be one of your favorites. However, if you are interested in a Cirque show, I’d recommend Ka or Mystere. O and Love were both good, but I enjoyed them less than the other two. That being said, many people think O is the best so I’d pick 2 if possible.
The other main activity in which we participated was EATING. And we ate A LOT. And it was YUMMY. The following will be an assortment of photos of the various food we consumed.
I’ve never liked running. Whenever we had to run in practice for whatever sport I was playing at the time, I dreaded every moment of it. It reminds me of baseball in that it takes a long time, is exceedingly boring, and the only thing that would make it better is some nachos and a hot dog. Ok, maybe I stretched that analogy a bit, but you get the point.
With that being said, I’m thinking about signing up for a 5k race. Makes sense right? Well, this isn’t a normal 5k. It’s called Run For Your Lives because THERE WILL BE ZOMBIES.
Per their website:
HOW IT WORKS
Run For Your Lives is an apocalyptic 5K obstacle race. But you’re not just running against the clock — you’re running from brain-hungry, virus-spreading, bloody zombies.
BASIC SURVIVAL
Before the race, you will be given a flag belt, just like the overly intimidating game of flag football. These flags represent your health.
The zombies want to take your flags and maybe eat your brains.
If you lose all your health flags, you die. And the zombies win.
Health bonuses will be hidden throughout the course. If you find one and carry it to the finish, it will save your life.
WHAT YOU’RE UP AGAINST
Throughout the 5K obstacle race, there will be 12 man-made and natural obstacles for you to complete. Runners may choose NOT to complete an obstacle, BUT any runner who skips an obstacle will not be eligible for prizes.
There will be zombies. Their job is to chase you and eat you — but mainly go after your health, in the form of your flag belt. Avoid the zombies to keep your health flags.
Use speed, strategy and your intact brains to make it to the FINISH LINE with at least ONE FLAG INTACT. If you finish with zero health flags, your time will be recorded, but you will not be eligible for awards.
HOW YOU’LL DO IT
There will be a start line, and a finish line, but what happens in between is up to you. There are multiple routes to reach the finish. Choose wisely, or your 5k might turn into a 10k.
Now in order to train for this event, I’m going to follow the “Couch to 5k” program (h/t Entity), found here. I play basketball regularly so I might skip the first few weeks as they seem pretty easy. It’s a 9 week program and I have 8 weeks until I need to be in zombie shape so that’ll work out nicely if I skip the first 2 weeks.
I imagine the zombies and obstacles will add a fun twist to things so I’m going to need to be ready for anything. That means I can’t just train to jog 3 miles. There will be climbing and sprinting and dodging and 3-man-weaving. Luckily, I’m also currently training hard at the rock climbing gym so I’ll just need to work on some sprinting to ensure I don’t run out of steam.
Speaking of climbing, I’m still improving my rock climbing skills. I attended the Renaissance Festival (more info here) last year and they had a climbing wall. It was $10 to climb and you get 2 tries. If you complete it, then you win $30. Now, I’m not too concerned with the financial aspects of it, but it is not an easy wall to climb and I made it my mission to train hard enough so that I could come back the following year and complete it. If you know anything about climbing, at that time last year I was just starting out and was climbing 5.6s/5.7s and maybe some V1s. I’m now starting to work on 5.10s and have done many V4s. PygmyHero climbed it last year and said it was probably a tough 5.10 so I’m making a final push in these last 2 months to train even harder. There is one big problem in that they don’t allow climbing shoes, but I’m going to give it a shot anyway
If I can manage to do well in the 5k and beat the climbing wall at the RenFest, then I will be very happy! At that point, the new Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Elder Scrolls games will be coming out so I can proceed to lose everything I trained for and just play video games and eat bon bons. Or keep training. Definitely one of those.
