22 Hours Straight

After yesterday’s 20 mile run, I was ready to lay horizontal for the next few hours! I was absolutely exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

Luckily our hotel, the Tampa Marriot Waterside, included a gorgeous pool area which, despite the below picture, was the perfect place to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather all afternoon.

IMG_4998 (640x478) I went straight from the ice bath to the pool lounge chair. After learning the hard way that Aleve should never be taken on an empty stomach, I enjoyed a small bag of pretzel thins while the boys were off getting lunch.

IMG_4999 (478x640)Lunch couldn’t have come soon enough! This delicious barbecue grilled chicken sandwich with sautéed mushrooms and onions was gone in no time! The fries were a little mushy so unfortunately they weren’t enjoyed nearly as much as the sandwich.

IMG_5001 (640x478)I spent the afternoon alternating between water, Corona Light, Cigar City Good Gourd beer, and Miami Vice.

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Luckily, I had good friends to relax and drink with poolside.

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Unfortunately, at 5pm we had to head up to our rooms to get ready for the wedding which meant saying goodbye to Meghann and Derek! 

I was especially excited for my wedding attire since I was able to use my late grandmother’s earrings and clutch. Neither of which hold much value to anyone else, but to me I felt like she was looking down on me all night.

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The wedding organized shuttles to transport guests from the hotel to the church and then to the reception, a gesture which we appreciated greatly as out of town guests who were ready to party!

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The Catholic wedding ceremony took place in Tampa’s beautiful Sacred Heart Catholic Church.  The wedding  was shorter than we expected as it turns out there are two types of Catholic weddings: wedding ceremony and wedding mass. Last night’s celebration was a wedding ceremony instead of mass which meant the following:

Mass Or No Mass

If the ceremony takes place without a Mass, the ceremony concludes with nuptial blessings and a final prayer from the priest. He then tells the congregation, "Go in peace with Christ," to which they respond, "Thanks be to God." If the ceremony includes Mass (which adds only 15 minutes to the service), the priest asks for the "sign of peace," in which everyone shakes hands with their neighbors. Holy Communion follows. Finally, the priest recites a concluding prayer and nuptial blessing asking for strength and protection for the couple.

IMG_5010 (640x478)After the wedding we boarded the shuttles for the reception at Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club. The evening weather was perfect for a cocktail hour on the back veranda overlooking the palm trees and golf course!

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IMG_5017 (640x478) We enjoyed the cool evening weather with their signature cocktail, a French Martini, and passed appetizers which included escargot stuffed mushrooms and rack of lamb.

IMG_5014 IMG_5019An hour later we were seated for a sit down dinner before a night of dancing. The decor was gorgeous and the food was some of the best wedding food we’ve enjoyed. Everything was cooked perfectly and seasoned well. As soon as we were seated for dinner, my post long run hunger caught up with me which meant I enjoyed the meal thoroughly! IMG_5022 (640x478)  IMG_5024 (640x478) IMG_5025 (640x478) 

After dinner it was time to party! We realized very quickly that Puerto Ricans truly know how to party!

IMG_5023 (640x478) We danced from 10:30pm until 2:30am enjoying both Puerto Rican music and Top 40 hits alike!

IMG_5030 (640x478) It was a wonderful evening with old friends but by the time I hit the bed at 3am I was beyond exhausted! After staying up for 22 hours straight all I wanted was our hotel room’s king size bed and compression socks!

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A Twenty Mile Running Tour of Tampa

One of the things I love and hate about running is that every run is different. Some days you’ll head out expecting a horrible run and you’ll PR by accident and then some days you get out there, and even when you give it every ounce you have, you still feel like you failed since you didn’t meet your mileage or pace goal.

In fact, this is one of the reasons that I’m not putting too much pressure on myself for my upcoming marathon. Each day I put a ton of pressure on myself in my career, which I love, but I need running to be my outlet. Therefore, this morning as Meghann and I ran I told her that my goal for the marathon is to beat last year’s time of 5:06. If it’s 5:05:59 I’ll be happy! For me, at this point in my life, running is my stress reliever after a long day of work or the best part of waking up in the morning. The last thing I want to do is add more stress to my life.

Therefore, instead of looking back on today’s run as a failure, I am remembering it as a 20 mile run completed in beautiful and very scenic Tampa with one of my best friends and the best running cheerleader I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet!

After seven hours of sleep I jumped up this morning, quietly made my pre-run breakfast of a bagel thin and peanut butter and got dressed in the bathroom; doing my best not to wake Bo. Having a pile all prepared definitely helps when you’re trying to get ready quickly in a foreign hotel room.

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I met Meghann in front of my hotel at 6:05, ready to rock our run! We both wore at least one piece of Lululemon which spurred a discussion about the brand, prices, and quality. One thing’s for sure, I’m a running skirt convert! Running in this skirt was so much fun and I had ZERO chafing issues. If it ends up being above 50 degrees on marathon day I’ll be rocking this skirt! I’m not going to lie, I think it’s the most becoming article of running clothing I own!

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My tour guide had a great running route planned for us which included Harbor Island, Davis Island, and Bayshore Boulevard. While I’ve been to Tampa before, it’s been ages and my visits were historically limited to the waterways where our rowing team competed many a Saturday during high school.

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Our first few miles were done in the dark and I was thankful when, by mile 5, it was light enough to see the sights. The first miles flew by as we talked about living with men, Meghann and Derek’s recent cruise, travel, and races.

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Around mile 10, just as we were leaving Davis Island, my left leg started getting really tight. I’ve never felt a pain like this before but it was a radiating pain in my quad. No matter what I did or how many times I paused to stretch, it didn’t really help. I told Meghann at this point that we may need to reduce our speed but that I was finishing the 20 miles even if I needed to do a run/walk combination. While many people disagree, and I don’t normally advocate the run walk method, I know that part of doing a 20 miler is just getting your body accustomed to moving for that duration of time.

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Around mile 15 I decided to focus on run/walk versus stretch breaks because I didn’t want my muscles to get tighter and I wanted to be done. At this point, Meghann really turned into my running cheerleader. I told her I didn’t want “ra ra giddy” type stuff but instead just something to keep me going. She told me the story of her best and worst marathon experience, how blessed she is to have Kelly as a running cheerleader, and about her future goals and adventures. It was during these miles that I realized just how close a friend Meghann has become. I felt zero shame about my legs even though I knew thousands of people would see that it wasn’t a wonderful run. She stuck with me even though we were running a completely straight path and I told her more than once that she could run ahead and I’d be fine!

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By the time we reached the front of my hotel I was more than ready to be done. I think 19.63 miles is close enough to 20 and you know what, I’m going to spend four hours dancing tonight which will just compensate for those 4 tenths of a mile. Smile  It wasn’t fast, clocking in at 3:47, but it was still faster than my marathon pace last year and we finished!

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I quickly headed upstairs for an ice bath and banana, happy to be done and looking forward to hours of poolside fun all afternoon!

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Tampa Greetings

Greetings from Tampa!

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Luckily, I’m not traveling for work this weekend. Instead, Bo and I are down in Tampa to celebrate the wedding of one of his good friends from graduate school. Therefore, it means that I’m the lone wife tagging along with he and his two best friends. I’m sure it will be a weekend of debauchery and fun with a side of sunshine and pool time. Everyone attending the Rodriguez/Hoback wedding was greeted with a welcome sign, compliments of the Tampa International Airport!  How fun!

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Lucky for me, I have friends in Tampa who were available for a dinner date! Meghann and Derek picked me up at the airport tonight fresh off of their vacation cruise! Bo had to stay in New York late this evening due to his work schedule but I was ready for the mini vacation to begin!

Due to parking issues and other obstacles, we ended up relying on Yelp for a restaurant recommendation last second which worked out wonderfully! It turns out they recommended the winner of Tampa’s Best of the Bay Italian Restaurant!

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Bella’s Italian Café was the perfect dinner spot for a casual but delicious carbohydrate rich dinner. When Meghann asked where I wanted to eat in preparation for our 20 miler tomorrow morning my only request was “somewhere with either pizza or pasta.” Located on South Howard Avenue in South Tampa, this fit the bill wonderfully!

The restaurant was packed when we arrived but we were able to snag a table without a wait. Within seconds of sitting down, our waiter presented us with complimentary bruschetta, just the thing to hold off our hunger.

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The menu was huge, with options ranging from salads, pastas, fish dishes, and make your own pizzas. My eye was immediately drawn to the pizza sections, especially when I saw the oak burning oven and read about their delicious thin crusts.

I created my own pizza including mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions as toppings along with the tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. On the side, I added a small salad since I felt like my day was lacking in vegetables.

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We had so much to catch up on while we waited that I felt like our food came out very quickly! In the middle of their Cozumel stories, our pizza and pasta graced the table. Derek chose a tomato cream pasta dish while Meghann took a risk on their Rustica pizza: prosciutto, caramelized onions, roasted potatoes, mozzarella, and fontina cheese.

My pizza was exactly what I was craving and the perfect size for one person! The size of a large dinner plate, I ate 3/4 of the pizza.

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After our delicious dinner we stopped at Publix Greenwise before heading towards my hotel. While I double checked my list three times to make sure I didn’t forget anything for tomorrow’s 20 miler, I totally forgot about pre-run food.

Meghann and Derek were excited to share Greenwise with me, the Publix version of Whole Foods.

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It was amazing! It reminded me of a Whole Foods but improved since you could buy all your favorite Publix staples there as well, such as my Jif Peanut Butter and Thomas Bagel Thins!

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I ended up buying two bananas, Cinnamon Raisin Thomas Bagel Thins, Jif, and a treat for Bo when he gets to the hotel: a six pack of his favorite beer!IMG_4984 (640x478)

Now that I’m safe and sound at our hotel, over looking the gorgeous bay and surrounding islands, I’m ready for bed! I’ve organized all my gear, filled my CamelBak, and set the alarm!

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Hopefully our 20 miler through scenic Tampa will be awesome tomorrow!

 

Question: Tonight at dinner we debated whether beer should be savored or enjoyed quickly upon purchasing. How long does a six pack of beer normally last in your home?

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