Trust the Practised Expert

If you want to know how to do something, listen to someone with proven practical experience rather than an academic, as they say.

So when I decided to sign up for the London Royal Parks Half Marathon this year (something I’ve never had any previous inclination to do) I turned to my personal trainer Gaby Rosenthal who also has a sideline in running marathons; finishing 2^nd in the 2012 London half marathon, 4^th in the 2008 London full marathon in the female listings.

I told her that I was raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital and what was important to me: 1. Enjoying the process and the race. 2. Not injuring myself 3. Finishing in a good time. And of course, 4. Looking good at the finish line if I get photographed!

Gaby started me off on a short book called ‘Slow Burn’ by Stu Mittleman who holds various long distance running records which make my half marathon jog around the London Royal Parks seem like…. well, a walk in the park! He ran 587 miles in 6 days. 1000 miles in 12 days and then 3000 miles from San Diego to New York in a leisurely 56 days. He also took an entire corporate team of non-runners through the New York Marathon with only 9 weeks training. Clearly he was someone to give me some insight. 

Reading the book, it's clear that Stu has taken himself into the Zen space of running. It explained a lot to me about the body's metabolic processes, much of which I've sort of heard of before but never really understood until now. Gaby also put the Nike App on my iPhone which is brilliant for tracking performance whilst running. 

Beyond 10-20 minutes on a treadmill I had never run long distance, other than an attempt at a 10k in Regents Park 3 years ago which was more of an endurance test. I finished quite well at about the midway point of 400 runners at 47m 20s but can’t say I enjoyed it and never went back to distance running. 

'Slow Burn' has changed everything: in the 3 weeks since I started I’ve run 10k four times with pleasure and relative ease, and a 13k run too. Not superfast, my last 10k yesterday morning was 52m 25s but I have 7 months to work on my fitness and stamina and am aiming to shave a fair bit off that. In last year's London Half Marathon the top 10% were within 1h 40m and Gaby suggests this would be a creditable achievement for a beginner. Watch this space...

Zappos Visit

We dipped out of our Tuesday morning Redken seminar today for a company tour around Zappos. Headquartered just outside Las Vegas, this is the internet shoe company snapped up by Amazon a few years ago for $1.4 Billion.

Tasilia, Lane, Russell and
Michael at Zappos Las Vegas

It has a quirky culture that has attracted imitators from around the world. They are dedicated to delivering happiness to their customers by keeping their staff happy. At this call centre for about 600 staff, that means allowing individuals to design their own workstations and areas which results in  a medley of student digs styles.

Whilst amusing, it would drive me nuts after a while but then none of them are in visual contact with customers and it clearly works for the company. Access to life coaches, free or heavily subsidised canteen and strong team ethic are all part of the caring culture. Underlying the apparent laissez faire paternalist approach are disciplined business principles and strong vision from Tony Hsieh.

They certainly treated us like Royalty and we took away a lot of inspiration.

Flashy & Trashy

When I first came to Las Vegas in 2010 for a Tony Robbins Business conference, I had huge prejudices about how tacky it would be – an extreme version of all the negative excesses of American culture, on steroids!

I stayed at Steve Wynn’s  recently opened Encore and was bowled over by the quality of this fantasy extravaganza. I loved the trip and returned to the Encore this year but included a weekend. Well... what a difference. Packs of testosterone filled lads strolled around with beer bottles, and no sartorial respect for the plush surroundings, along with legions of seriously overweight girls with a worryingly low fabric to flesh ratio, no doubt inspired by ‘Jersey Shore’. I booked dinner at the smart new Asian restaurant, Andrea’s, for Saturday and was reminded of the dress code – no flip-flops or shorts! I think this A-List resort’s target market has cascaded down the social alphabet a little since opening. Must be the difficult economy.

Andrea’s PR gush, promised a unique model in Asian dining; the merger of..…“exotic Asian flavours from chef Joseph Elevado and musical talent of chef Steve Angello into an unforgettable nightlife experience!” In the end it was just another Nobuesque offering but with loud clubby/retail music. Unfortunately not loud enough to drown out the table next to us; 18 Jocks trying to outdo each other on the decibel count or the similar sized party next to them who wanted to be sure everyone in the restaurant knew they were there to celebrate a birthday…all evening. The kitchen had run out of their Black Cod Miso which is always a good test comparison of a modern Asian restaurant, but the dishes we had were virtually on par with the best Global Asian offerings.

The Encore may have the biggest Ferrari dealership in America but now charges $10 to go in and many of the visitors want to buy the photo of themselves sitting in their favourite car. Disneyland came to mind; the resort seems to be becoming more of a tourist attraction.

As I walked through during Saturday, coach-loads of day-trippers were taking in the sights as they would any other National Monument, like The Tower of London or Notre Dame Cathedral. 

“Okay ladies off to The Venetian now!” screamed one tour guide. I can enjoy the buzz of the crowd but when it’s incessant and reminds me of the rush hour for the London Underground, I start to question if I’m in the right place. The hotel remains luxurious but it no longer feels exclusive. I guess that’s hard with 2000 rooms. Thankfully the wonderful spa was still quiet and tranquil (clearly the hordes don’t do Zen) and I could retreat to my generously proportioned suite which is incredibly good value by international standards.

They do a great job of keeping it fresh and clean. The interior finishes look better after 4 years than most new buildings after 4 months, a creditable achievement in a resort this size. I definitely recommend it, but avoid the weekend. Moving on now to The Hotel at The Mandalay for the Redken Symposium.