In and around town...IM 70.3 World Championships

If you're looking for a run-down of my opinions on the Las Vegas 70.3 World Championships course, it's here. A couple of things I forgot to mention (or didn't stress enough): 1) The winds will decide how hard the course is. Our first day riding, it was cake. The second day riding, kind of CRAZY! We had a headwind heading all the way out to the turn around at mile 18, a tailwind for the first 15 miles back towards town, and then around 11am, the winds shifted direction so we got another headwind. It seemed very unpredictable. 2) I said it's not crazy hilly, but am thinking that if you are from Florida and you come to the race, you may want to punch me in the face. So, just a reminder, that its not as hilly or steep as southern California, but folks from other regions may be plenty "impressed" by the hills.

Anyway, back to the important stuff.  As we know, what happens around the race is just as important as the race itself..Here's my take on where to stay, eat, and play.

STAY
First off, you need to decide where to stay which is kind of tricky as T1/start and T2/finish are 15 miles apart. After some deliberation, for the race, we chose the T2/finish area. (However, for training camp, T1/start by Lake Las Vegas was the way to go for us because of really nice dirt cheap condos). For the race, we will be staying at Green Valley Ranch Resort and Casino. For me, this was perfect because we got a room before they jacked up the prices. AND, since you need to check in your bike the day before the race, grabbing a shuttle or ride or taxi to the start on race morning shouldn't be that bad. Besides, the GVRR is  right around the corner from Whole Foods. No further explanation required

EAT
For most of our pre-race meals, we will be eating at Whole Foods in Henderson, NV. This is a BIG whole foods, with lots of samples. We did our share of sampling when we ran in there all hangry after some mean workouts.

The traveling athlete's kitchen :) 

We also stumbled upon (okay, yelped) the best frozen yogurt place of all time. Josie's frozen yogurt uses only pure crystalline fructose (which they say is way better than HFCS but I have no idea why) but they also have sugar free versions sweetened with Stevia and even one with added L-Carnitine...MOST importantly, all of the flavors, even sugar free, were delicious. Totally hit the spot after a 19-mile run and float swim.

YUM

Brandy approves! 

Cappucino & berries...it's practically health food. ha. 

BIKE
If you need anything bike-related, go to The Bike Shop at  2578 Wigwam Pkwy. We walked in there and the owner (Terry) helped us out with a quickness and was super friendly and helpful. We will definitely return to get any last minute things we need. They also have a great selection of nutrition, magazines and all the other tri junk you may need.

SWIM

We did not swim in Lake Las Vegas and I'm not sure if you're allowed to before the race. If you want to get in a swim while you're there- the Henderson Multigenerational center (basically at T2) has a 50-meter pool (divided into lots of 25yd lanes) and it is only $2 to lap swim! Total deal. Even if the water is like 85 degrees. Whoa. It was steamy in there, but still, outdoors, clean, and only $2!

That's all I've got for now. If you know the area, please feel free to post your recommendations in the comments! It's always nice to have some tried and tested choices and options.