Tag Archives: business travel

City Reviews, Fitness, RoadWarrior, Travel

Sometimes you have to let your subconscious win

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On my travels this week I found myself staying in a wonderful Marriott hotel in Hartford, CT.   I won’t even try and hide it, I am a hotel snob and will try and stay in a full service hotel any chance I get.

Yes the rooms are wonderful.  Yes, the concierge lounge is a great amenity but what I really look forward to is the gym.  I know if I am staying full service, there will be a full service gym as well.  I get legitimately excited knowing that I have all of my gym options available to me.

Full service gyms make me a happy traveler.

As my cab pulled in under the portico at “oh My God’ early this morning, I caught a quick glimpse of the stairs leading up to the Connecticut Convention Center next door.  Stairs that were clearly and loudly calling my name.  I have no idea why but I had an inkling then that I would be skipping the gym the following morning and heading up those stairs.  Again and again and again.

Stairs 2

Even though I was arriving late I made sure the alarm was set for enough time to do the workout in the gym that my heart was heart set against.  As I was appropriately adjusting my phone’s settings, I kept telling myself I could always sleep in and hit the great gym on the 22nd floor.  When the alarm finally went off at 7:00 AM I was already awake.  Time to get moving.

I promptly got dressed, had my coffee, checked emails and eventually headed up to the 22nd floor to check out the gym.  It was a great gym.  Cardio, weights, kettle bells, stretching space….the works but it was not enough.  No stairs.  No stares from the other travelers and folks walking to work wondering;

“Who is that guy and why does he hate himself so much to put himself through that!?!”

So after fully surveying the scene, I got back in the elevator and headed down to the lobby level and out the front door, walked next door and stared up at the stairs.

Then I started running.

Up 100 stairs.  Push up or dips at the top.  Run back down 100 stairs.  Squats or pistol squats at the bottom.  Up and down 20 times.  This was a workout I did alone.  There were no others there to lend that non-verbal supportive head nod like you get in San Diego (read about that run here).  Just me, 100 stairs and a goal – 2000 stairs and it was awesome.

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Sometimes the subconscious has to win.  Sometimes you have to skip the gym in order to hit the stairs.  Sometimes you just have to crush it.

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You can take the boy out of Cali but you can’t take the Cali out of the boy

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I travel all over the country for a living.  I have literally seen every corner of the country in the last 4 weeks and am always grateful to get back to Texas.  Sleep in my own bed, kiss my boys and my wife goodnight and wrestle with the dogs.  However, back to back trips to California and New York have definitively proved for me that Texas is not home and it probably never will be.

You can take the boy out of Cali but you can never take the Cali out of the boy

I am currently on a plane from New York City back to DFW.  Over the last 10 days I have spent time in San Diego for a convention, Orange County for nearly a week with my family visiting my in-laws and the last few days in New York City.  I may own a house in Texas but it is clear that home is on the Pacific.  How can I tell?  Simple:

Your heart literally aches when you get off the plane:

When I first landed in San Diego, one of the first things I saw was the apartment community where I was first a leasing manager at some 20 years ago.  I immediately had memories of late night dinners with my wife, surfing the California coast on Dog Beach before I even thought about owning a dog and commuting back and forth past Sea World every day for next to nothing in pay…and desperately longing to go back to those days.  Even though I have lived in Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and now Dallas, nowhere else makes me feel like this.

You are willing to drive an hour for 90 minutes on the beach:

On my family’s last day in Orange County, we had an afternoon flight.  After breakfast with GiGi (Great-grandma) it was a unanimous decision to drive an hour to spend the last 90 minutes of our vacation on Laguna Beach.  Truth be told, it was not even a decision with my crazy family.  If we can get sand between our toes, sun on our back and the taste of salt on our lips, we are in.  To do this on the beach where my wife and I were maried, no brainer.

You are not willing to do the same anywhere else:

I routinely find myself in Florida on the beautiful East Coast and I even routinely take late even flights after morning meetings to spend time running on either Fort Lauderdale or South Beach.  However if I only have 90 minutes, I am probably heading to the Admiral’s Club.  90 minutes is not enough time for it to be worth it for me to deal with the sand and the salt if I am on the East Coast.  Same 90 minutes in SoCal?  I am researching where I can rent a surfboard by the hour before I arrive.

The final proverbial nail in the coffin for this self-realization that California will always be home was the last two days in New York City.  I found myself in the heart of Manhattan, the City that never sleeps.  A place where people from all around the world mingle in a beautiful melting pot.  I spent time visiting Rockefeller Center, running through Times Square and Central Park enjoying the city but all I really wanted to do was head back to Texas.  When we were getting ready to leave California, all I could do was think of ways to stay.

So while you can live anywhere, I think we all really do have a home.  Mine will always be Southern California.

Diet, Fitness, RoadWarrior, Travel

So you’re heading to RealWorld – – now what?

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realworld

This upcoming weekend marks my 5th RealWorld Conference.  For those not in the know, RealWorld is the conference specifically dedicated to RealPage and their partners where we showcase the latest developments in the industry, the product improvements being delivered/developed and most important, thank our partners for their continued partnership.  It is 3 days of networking, learning, previews and fun but let’s face it, it is also long days, longer evenings and tight schedules.  In order to make the most of the sessions and travel fit, you have to have a strategy to thrive.

Over the last 5 years, I have developed a strategy to make the most of both the conference material and my health while I am at RealWorld.  So here are my RealWorld rules to live by:

Tip #1: Plan ahead:

I cannot over emphasize this one enough; Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail.  If your plan is showing up at the conference and getting a workout in ‘whenever there is time’……not going to happen.  There are just too many great options of sessions to attend and fellow RealPage users to meet.  If you don’t plan ahead, your workout is not going to get done.

Plan your day and block out your workout time (if you haven’t downloaded the App yet, do it here now.  It is an awesome tool).  How much time do you need?  Where is the gym?  Is the conference center so far away from your room that you will be walking 20,000 steps each day anyways?  As I look at my calendar for this upcoming week, I know I have to get my workouts in in the morning or they are simply not going to happen, my afternoons are filled with speaking engagements and evenings with great events like visiting to Seussville.  For me, it means I will be running early and hitting the gym late (see tip #3).

Tip #2: Stay hydrated:

water bottle refill

You know you should normally be drinking 8 glasses of water a day.  Well if you are going to be walking more than you normally do and potentially imbibing on an alcoholic drink or two in the evening, I am going to recommend you up your water intake from the standard 8 glasses.  Trust me, you will thank me when you are waking up on days 2 & 3 of the conference.  Now this is where planning comes in again.  I find that it is a very rare thing to find a conference center that keeps the water pitchers/bottles full throughout the conference.

SO BRING YOUR OWN!!

You may not always be able to find a nice chilled bottle of FIJI but you can usually find a water fountain to fill up your own bottle.  And if you are anything like me, you find an empty water bottle strangely motivational.

Tip #3: Recharge:

weary traveler

This will look different for each of us but I find I need a point in my day to recharge more than just my phone.  For me, it is time in the gym.   I can get my head on straight and work all the kinks out that I am feeling from standing all day.  For others it is a power nap in the room, others it is 15 minutes in the sun out by the pool or overlooking the bay.  Whatever it is that recharges and helps your re-center your mindset, make sure you have time built in each day to accomplish it.

Tip #4: Eat well & Eat often:

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Make sure you take the time to eat like you should.  Do not sacrifice the quality of your diet because you need to rush somewhere.  Stop by the store on the way to the hotel and grab some snacks for the room (don’t get me started on the mini-bar options for $10 bucks each).  Put a bar in your purse.  Throw an apple in your bag for later in the day.  Your body needs fuel to thrive vs. survive.  Give it what it needs.

Bonus Tip:  Most hotels that host conferences have pretty good gyms.  Gyms where they actual stock fruit for the taking.

Tip #5: Have fun:

Dr. Seuss

If this is your first RealWorld Conference, you are in for a treat.  It is a blast, especially the theme party on Monday night – which this year is celebrating the life and works Dr. Seuss.  If you don’t have an outfit picked out, I cannot encourage you enough to do so.

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The picture above was from RealWorld 2 years ago when we had a Super Hero theme.  Every year people outdo themselves with their dress for the theme and I expect this year to be no different.  And yes, I will be dressed up…..and you can find out as what on Monday.

Time for me to go pack and finish my presentations but hopefully I will see you at RealWorld!!